I’m Chase Smiley, a case manager at Hospitality House. I work specifically with homeless victims of crime which is a common occurrence for a lot of our homeless population.
I would like to share a story about a guest named Sarah. Sarah is 54-year-old woman who arrived at the shelter in the spring, left and then returned in July. When she arrived the second time it was apparent that she was eager to obtain housing and regain independence. I became her case manager and together we worked diligently to find her affordable housing. Over the one month she was here, she met with me regularly to complete apartment applications and search for rooms to rent in our community. Sarah came to us while working with our friends at FREED Center of Independent Living. With FREED she was placed in the Housing and Disability Advocacy Program (HDAP), which offered financial housing support while she continued her Supplemental Security Income application process. Eventually Sarah created a Craigslist advertisement searching for a room to rent. She was met with a welcoming reply and was offered room and board in a house in the area. The excitement and relief were clear on Sarah’s face. In addition to HDAP, we contacted AMI housing in order to secure rapid re-housing funds to provide additional financial support for Sarah to move into her new room. On August 1st Sarah packed her belongings and moved into her new home. With the collaboration of local organizations and the diligent hard work Sarah displayed, she was able to go from being homeless to being housed. The support of our community members is a big factor in helping individuals like Sarah return to housing. We are so grateful for all the support we receive here at Hospitality House from donors, volunteers and from our community partners. If anyone has a home or room they may want to rent, please call me, Chase at 530-615-6006. There is no obligation to rent to anyone when you call. We just appreciate you calling to learn more about how we work together with landlords.
Normally at this time we also 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 Alta Sierra Latter-Day Church, Twin Cities Church, Trinity Episcopal Church, Mountain Stream Meditation, Kitchen KutUps, The Home Team and Repeat Offenders for all their recent help. 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…
- Earplugs
- New pillows
- New blankets
- Men’s pants, *only size 32-34
- Men’s gym shorts
- Men’s & Women’s shorts and tank tops
- Adult coloring books
- Colored pens and pencils
- Any crafts that can be done by one person
- Deodorant
- Hand sanitizer
- Body soap
- Shampoo and conditioner, regular sizes
- Bleach
- Bottled water
- Guitar picks
Anyone who has upgraded their personal assist devices, and have old ones just lying in their dresser drawer, please consider donating these gently used items:
We will be delighted to have these items for repurposing to any shelter guests with those specific needs.
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 get what we need. Thank you!