Hospitality House is the only year-round emergency homeless shelter for the general homeless community in Nevada County, with 69 beds for homeless men, women and children.
I’m Nicole Lescher and I’m a case manager for Hospitality House, working one-on-one with people to help them transition from homelessness to housing.
Each week I like to tell a story about a guest at the shelter so community members can get a view into the lives of homeless community members and their successes. I am going to tell a story about a guest I will call Lana. Lana is an older female who has been a Nevada County resident for over 15 years, of those 15 years, she has spent 10 of them in and out of homelessness. Lana was the victim of domestic violence over a decade ago which left her with a traumatic brain injury and cognitive impairment. Her TBI impacts her memory, focus and ability to complete tasks on her own which is why it has been difficult to secure housing. I am excited to share the good news that Lana moved into her own apartment last week. When I went to visit her, it was so sweet to see all of her belongings out of storage and placed on the floor and art waiting to be hung on the walls. Lana has almost everything she needs, with the exception of a bed. If anyone reading this has a queen bed that is in very good condition that they’d like to donate, please call me directly so I can help coordinate getting it to her at (530) 228-9127.
These last several weeks, we as a nonprofit feel fortunate to have so many caring people in our community. We know these are tough times for all and we feel inspired by all the people who continue to help and if you are someone wanting to do more right now, anonymous donors have come forward to offer our shelter an incredible match opportunity. Throughout this month, they will match all gifts, dollar-for-dollar, up to $25,000. This means a gift of $10 automatically becomes $20 and will give 20 people struggling with homelessness each a hot and healthy meal. A $50 gift normally provides complete wraparound services, including customized case management, to one person, but because of the match, two people will be helped.
Visit hhshelter.org to have your gift matched right now or mail your check payable to Hospitality House at 1262 Sutton Way, Grass Valley, CA 95945. Donations will be doubled through May 31.
Normally each Friday we thank all the cook groups who came and cooked over the last week, but to keep our shelter safe amid COVID-19, our cook groups are supporting our meals by donating financial support and food, and Chef Chris is safely cooking all meals instead. We’d like to thank IFM Impastas, St. Patrick’s Rookies, Jazzercise, Repeat Offenders, Alta Sierra Latter Day Saints, The Home Team and Twin Cities Church. A big thank you also to The Oaks Clubhouse in Lake Wildwood for helping us provide meals on weekends and to Friar Tuck’s Restaurant for launching a food fundraiser for us too. To everyone who donated our most needed items last week, thank you as well!
Now down to the nitty gritty needs of the shelter for this week…
- Breakfast cereals and instant oatmeal (dental friendly – no nuts or granola)
- Pump hand soap
- Sanitizer
- Q-tips
- Tylenol (not ibuprofen)
- Gloves
- Masks
- Adult coloring books
- Colored pens and pencils
- Any crafts that can be done by one person
- Deodorant
- Bleach
- Shampoo
- Special request: Guitar strings and guitar picks to help our guests play some music!
- Special request: A queen size bed to help our recently housed guest.
In addition to these urgently needed items, we are also actively collecting needed items to slow the spread of COVID-19. Please visit our website at hhshelter.org to see the full list. Please drop off urgent items to Utah’s Place, located in Brunswick Basin, past the DMV, at 1262 Sutton Way. For a tax receipt, please ring the doorbell and wait for someone to come outside to assist you. We greatly appreciate the community’s help at such times of certainty. If we all stick together, we’ll all get what we need. Thank you!