If you attended the evening session of Empty Bowl, you may have heard one of our homeless guests, Randi, speak. After working in nursing and being a “soccer mom” for years, she experienced a great amount of loss and it sent her into depression which turned to addiction. After years of struggle, she came to Hospitality House and our case managers helped her get into treatment. Because one has to be sober to stay at the shelter, that helped Randi maintain her sobriety when she got out of treatment. She moved out into housing and was there for a year until a bad roommate situation forced her into homelessness again. But she has been clean for three years and Randi is saving money again and is hopeful to find an affordable place to rent soon. Thank you to all of you out there that give hope to Randi and other people struggling.
Now down to the nitty gritty needs of the shelter . . .
– Rain gear (ponchos with hoods)
– Little silver emergency blankets
– Hand and foot warmers
– Protein bars for lunches
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 joined us at Empty Bowl last Saturday! About 650 people attended either the lunch or dinner seating and went home with a very special bowl thanks to all the talented potters and woodturners! By attending the event, you provided for 687 shelter beds. Thank you to skilled photographers Charlotte Peterson and Dee Anne Dinelli for taking portraits. You can download yours at marioncharlottephotgraphy.com. And thank you to Heather MacAdam and Dan Scanlan and Vadi for keeping us energized with music. 94 gallons of soup and 1000 baked goodies were stirred up by many home chefs and local restaurants. Thank you to all for standing in solidarity with those who are hungry and homeless.