My name is Celeste LaPedus, and I’m an Outreach Case Manager at Hospitality House. I specialize in building rapport with individuals experiencing homelessness and encouraging them to engage in case management services.
This week I’d like to share a story with you about a woman I’ll call Lennette.
Lennette hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up she was violently abused and last year, her daughter passed away. Understandably, Lennette’s grief has been significant and coupled with physical trauma, she began self-medicating with drugs. She’s struggled with homelessness off and on these last few years and I found her on the side of the street a few weeks ago in complete agony. She was heaved over on her side and in extreme pain.
It was clear Lennette needed urgent medical attention, so we helped her get to the hospital, where she remained hospitalized for eight days. Following, she was released into our Recuperative Care Dorm. The dorm is designed to give homeless individuals released from the hospital a safe place to rest and recuperate from their ailments and injuries to increase their rate of recovery and decrease their likelihood of returning to the hospital.
In partnership with AMI Housing and Community Beyond Violence, together we are caring for Lennette, collectively sharing resources and services. This week, Lennette will move from the Recuperative Care Dorm at Hospitality House into temporary housing with AMI as we await receiving the keys to her permanent home. She is expected to move into her permanent home this May!
Having learned in great detail the significant heartache and trauma Lennette has been through, I can’t express enough how happy we all are to see her start to rebuild her new life—a life without violence and a life without addiction.
Those interested in helping more women like Lennette and additional women, children and men in need, are invited to make a donation to Hospitality House by sending a donation to 1262 Sutton Way, Grass Valley, CA 95945 or by visiting our website at hhshelter.org.
At this time, we’d like to thank our volunteers for their past week of support, including: Telestream, who returned to the kitchen this past Saturday, serving up delicious lasagna for all our guests; the Repeat Offenders who donated financial support in lieu of cooking in person; and to Hilary Dart for helping us grocery shop. Thank you, all! We also want to thank all of our community members who have been giving financially in place of donating goods during construction at Utah’s Place. However, we do have a need for the following select items:
- Tampons (not pads)
- Depends / adult diapers
- NEW Pillows (must be new)
- Twin-sized bedding, including blankets, sheets, pillowcases, and quilts
To increase safety during construction, donations are no longer being accepted at our shelter. Please drop off your items Monday – Friday, 8:30 am – 5 pm at our admin office, located at 488 Crown Point Circle, Suite 100, Grass Valley, Ca 95945 (the admin office is closed on all major holidays and weekends). 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!