We opened up early yesterday when it started snowing in order to provide a place of refuge for our homeless guests.
This week our case manager Fred worked closely with a guest who is starting hospice care due to a severe respiratory illness. Being homeless and in the final stages of illness is a difficult situation, especially given that we do not have funding for a daytime program for someone who is ill to rest. If you know of someone that has a separate cottage that could offer it to this gentleman for a few months so that he could receive hospice care, please contact 615.0852 or email Debbie@hhshelter.org.
Recently I’ve been working with a client in collaboration with Turning Point and Behavioral Health. The client is an older gentleman who suffers from severe depressive episodes, (I know many people can relate to the effects of depression) and he lost his job due to one of these episodes. He also lost his housing, because he lived where he worked, so he came to Hospitality House for help. Because of his mental health issues, the county will care for him in one of their supported homes, and I’m working with him to develop a housing stability plan that will ensure he has a safe, supportive home for a long time to come.
By the time someone becomes homeless, they are probably struggling with multiple issues. In order to continue to improve the services we offer, our staff tries to learn from other effective programs. To that end, executive director Nancy Baglietto and one of our board members visited a progressive program in Petaluma that helps many people into permanent housing. Hospitality House continues to look at best practice ways to help reduce homelessness right here in Nevada County.
Now down to the nitty gritty needs of the shelter . . .
– Rain gear (ponchos with hoods)
– Little silver emergency blankets
– Gas cards (imagine having a car but not being able to use it)
– Here’s a big one—one of the men’s upstairs showers (45 men have access to two showers every night) is leaking into the offices downstairs because it wasn’t installed with the proper support. If you own a plumbing business or would like to sponsor this expensive emergency repair, please call 615.0852, or email Debbie@hhshelter.org.
Drop off your donations at Utah’s Place, located in Brunswick Basin, past the DMV, at 1262 Sutton Way.
Thank you to all of you who are helping with the Empty Bowl and attending it this Saturday, March 17! Lunch is sold out, but dinner tickets are still available. With this weather, you will really enjoy a bowl of yummy Mushroom Miso, Stout Beer Cheese Soup or Chicken & Wild Rice made by local restaurants like Three Forks, Matteo’s Public, Fudenjuice, BriarPatch, Old Town Café, Ike’s Quarter Café and California Organics, in addition to newcomer businesses like Thirsty Barrel Taphouse & Grill and Blum n Bru Broth. There will be vegetarian and vegan options as well. Parking will be tight so carpool if you can, and more parking spots are available across the street at Lyman Gilmore School.
You’ll get a chance to win a $100 gift certificate to a nice dinner at The Stone House and you’ll enjoy music from guitarist Heather MacAdams and folk musician Dan Scanlan. So get your $25 dinner tickets now for Empty Bowl on March 17 at hhshelter.org or at BriarPatch! Thanks to the generous folks at Northern California Mortgage and the Nevada County Association of Realtors for sponsoring the Empty Bowl this Saturday.