I’m Danna and I’m the Medical Case Manager for Hospitality House. I connect our guests with medical services as well as handle their medical insurance needs. I also helps guests who own animals connect with our Pet Program, which provides full care for animals.
This month I assisted a woman, KC, who recently was diagnosed with breast cancer and was informed that there was immediate need to go into surgery to hopefully remove cancerous masses. This diagnosis was a surprise for KC, and it has been incredibly emotional and stressful for her and her husband as they currently live in their cars, with the added challenge of winter. This couple prefers to stay in their cars and while it was an option for KC to be accepted into our Recuperative Care program to recover after surgery in the shelter, she did not feel comfortable having to be separated from her husband during her recovery time. Fortunately, as an agency, we were able to pull resources together to provide gas vouchers so they could transport themselves to the surgery and related appointments, as well as access to a hotel room post-op. In addition to being able to stay in one of our local hotels, she has received daily meals, continual case management from myself, and medical care monitoring from Casey, our HOME team nurse who assists many of our clients with their immediate medical needs. While it is too soon to know if any further steps must be taken to rid her of any further cancer, we will continue to support her in the hopes that she makes a full recovery and can continue to make positive progress towards a more comfortable and stable life.
If anyone right now might have an interest in helping KC and her husband or other individuals by renting a room, studio, apartment or house, I invite you to call me today. Also, we encourage landlords that are curious or accepting the Housing Choice Voucher program to please call for more information at 530-271-7144. To learn more about the work we do in the community, everyone is invited to go behind the scenes of our shelter on a virtual tour. Virtual attendees will have a chance to meet staff members; learn about our programming and services; see the dorms where local men, women and children sleep each night; and hear directly from homeless individuals receiving help at the shelter. Please visit hhshelter.org to view the virtual tour, available until February 8. Learn more about this opportunity at hhshelter.org and we hope to see you virtually!
Normally at this time we thank all the cook groups who came and cooked over the last week, but to keep our shelter safe, 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 Simple Truth, Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains, Saint Patrick’s Rookies, Jazzercise, The Home Team and Crossroads Church for all their 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…
• PPE masks and gloves (please keep donating these)
• New* pillows
• Blankets, twin size
• Toilet paper
• Alka-Seltzer
• Bottled water
• Men’s and Women’s diabetic socks
• Men’s and Women’s winter gloves
• Men’s and Women’s *new underwear, sizes S, M and L (or 5,6,7 and 8)
• Men’s jeans, sizes 30-36
• Paper towels
• Men & women’s sweatpants – sizes m, l, xl, 2xl
• Headphones/ earbuds
Please drop off urgent items or mail them to Utah’s Place, located in Brunswick Basin, past the DMV, at 1262 Sutton Way in Grass Valley. 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 uncertainty. In the words of Utah Phillips, “If we all stick together, we’ll get what we need.” Thank you!