My name is Sydnie Day, and I am the Supervising Case Manager for Hospitality House’s emergency shelter, Utah’s Place. I help to equip guests at the shelter with the tools that can help to get them back into permanent housing faster. Some examples of those helpful tools are access to medical care, mental health care, recovery treatment, obtaining vital documents, resume writing, job interview prep, social security benefits, disability benefits, and housing applications. One person who has successfully transitioned through Hospitality House’s continuum of care, is a woman who I will refer to as Sophie.
Sophie sought refuge at Utah’s Place, after leaving her home in Tahoe to escape domestic violence. She arrived at the shelter alone, frightened and in need of medical and emotional care. Within the safe and supportive confines of Utah’s Place, Sophie was able to spend the next several months healing, physically with the help of medical services and emotionally with regular access to therapy. With case management support, shelter and sustenance, her transformation was noticeable to staff and peers. Sophie’s bright and spunky personality was being unearthed as she became more confident and empowered.
When I was able to secure her social security disability benefits, and she was ready for housing, Sophie was given an opportunity to live at Sierra Guest Home where she could “practice” living on her own again. She was responsible for paying rent, taking care of her personal possessions and had time to look for permanent housing options near her adult children. Sophie proved herself able to pay rent consistently, and to live within her means, however, she did not have a large nest egg to use for the security deposit and first month’s rent. Luckily, Hospitality House’s Rapid Rehousing Program can sometimes offer that last boost to help homeless guests secure a home for themselves. After a few months at Sierra Guest Home, Sophie secured a one-bedroom apartment in Truckee and a team of Hospitality House staff members happily served as her moving crew.
Today, Sophie is living a happy and independent life in Truckee. She checks in with the Hospitality House staff regularly and remains grateful to the entire organization of individuals who supported her on her journey from homelessness back to permanently housed.
Right now, your ability to help people like Sophie is doubled if you donate to Hospitality House on or before March 8th. In celebration of International Women’s Day, Lauren Maddux, co-founder of The Event Helper, has generously offered to match all donations to Hospitality House up to $10,000. That means your donation of $50 becomes $100 and doubles our ability to shelter, feed, and support those working their way back to housing. To take advantage of this incredible opportunity to positively impact your community, please click here, call: (530)615-0852, or send a check to: 1262 Sutton Way, Grass Valley, CA 95945 by March 8, 2023.
As always, we remain grateful to everyone who furthers our cause. This week we’d like to say thank you to Larry Gruver for his help with the administrative department at Hospitality House this past week. If you’d like to volunteer, individually or with a group, we welcome you to email us at info@hhshelter.org or call (530) 615-0852.
Now down to the shelter’s wish list of the week:
- Twin-size blankets – URGENT NEED
- Pain relievers (Tylenol, Advil, Aspirin, etc.) –New & Unopened – URGENT NEED
- New pillows (we are unable to accept used)
- Men’s winter coats, jackets and hoodies (all – sizes; no women’s attire at this time)
- Granola bars
DONATION HOURS AND DROPOFF LOCATION: Donations from our needs list above and all unexpired/store-bought foods are accepted at Utah’s Place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30am – 3:30pm and Saturdays from 10am – 2pm. Our shelter is located 1262 Sutton Way, Grass Valley, CA 95945. We greatly appreciate the community’s help at such times of uncertainty. In the words of Utah Phillips, “If we all stick together, we’ll get what we need.” Thank you!