Some of you were able to join us at The Amazing Utah Phillips Memorial Labor Day Matinee Revue last Monday. All the performers standing in solidarity at the end with raised hands brought me to tears. It’s one of the things I love about Nevada County and KVMR—we are a community and a people with a shared value system. So a big thank you to Mikail Graham and Peter Wilson, KVMR, Nevada Theater, Rich Mead for sound and all the performers including John McCutcheon, Sid Dakota, Paul Kamm and Eleanore MacDonald, Mark Ross, Bodie Wagner, Homer Wills, Rebel Voices and Brendan Phillips and the volunteers who helped out!
Now I wanted to give you a snapshot of my work as a case manager at the shelter. I have been working with a woman, I’ll call her Jane, while she has been staying at the shelter for the last month and a half. She grew up here in Grass Valley, raised her family here but has struggled with substance use disorder and homelessness as a result. When a client arrives at the shelter, they are assigned to one of the three case managers. I meet the client where they spend their time during the day. We work to develop a client plan which includes four pillars: housing, employment/finance, health (physical and mental) and other (transportation). I have been helping Jane sort through the obstacles to meeting her goals and identifying an action plan. She has been very consistent in working to set her goals, set a budget and then following through. She got a job working full-time right here in the Brunswick Basin, so she has a steady source of income. I referred her to Janella, our housing case manager, who helped identify a rental and she signed an agreement a week later. She moved in this week and Janella will follow up to make sure she has the support she needs to be successful.
Thank you to volunteer dinner groups who cooked up a storm of fresh garden produce this week for the shelter guests: Universal Unitarians, Nevada City United Methodist, Quaker Friends, St. Patrick’s Church, Sierra Presbyterian, Jazzercise, Cannabis Alliance and the Alta Sierra Latter Day Saints.
We want to thank all of you who dropped off items last week. Now down to the nitty gritty needs of the shelter for THIS week . . .
– backpacks
– ladies underwear size 4-7
– non hospital socks
– arch supports for tennis shoes or work boots
– sweat shirts
– small art canvases 12×12 or smaller
– art stencils
– new nail clippers
– brand name deodorant
– mens pajamas
– blankets
Drop off your donations at Utah’s Place, located in Brunswick Basin, past the DMV, at 1262 Sutton Way. Call 615-0852 with any questions.