I’m Chase Smiley, a case manager at Hospitality House. I work specifically with homeless victims of crime which is a common occurrence for a lot of our homeless population.
I would like to share a story about a 43-year-old man named Jack. Jack was a former contractor for many years and became homeless in April of this year due to a string of circumstances. Jack has an exuberant and polite demeanor, and he was well liked here at the shelter. Jack was always easy to work with and eager to work with case management and receive benefits that would help support him getting housed. He remained at the shelter for five months. During that time, with the help of case management, Jack received Social Security disability insurance, connected with Nevada County Behavioral Health, and received health insurance. Working together for the greater good, we are happy to share that on September 1st, Behavioral Health helped secure him a one-bedroom apartment with AMI Housing. On the day he left the shelter we offered Jack housing supplies, cleaning products, and some kitchenware to help him settle into his new home. It was apparent that Jack was surprised and asked, “Is this really happening?” Jack has been living independently for the last two weeks now. He has come to the shelter a couple times and is doing well; he is no longer homeless and has steady income! We are so grateful for all the support we receive here at Hospitality House from donors, volunteers and from our community partners. If anyone has a home or room they may want to rent, please call me, Chase at 530-615-6006. There is no obligation to rent to anyone when you call. We just appreciate you calling to learn more about how we work together with landlords.
On a related note, we’d like thank everyone who responded to our Fund the Freezer campaign. We hit our goal because of you! The new freezer will increase the shelter’s ability to accept food donations, purchase in bulk to reduce costs, and in turn, feed more homeless men, women, children, seniors and Veterans. We are working closely with Nevada County Environmental Health to make this a reality very soon! Learn more about this project at hhshelter.org.
Normally at this time we also thank all the cook groups who came and cooked over the last week, but to keep our shelter safe amid COVID-19, 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 Alta Sierra Latter-Day Church,
Twin Cities Church, Holy Trinity Church – Episcopal: Historic Faith for Modern People, Mountain Stream Meditation Center in Nevada City, Choppers, The Home Team and Abundant Life Community Church for all their recent 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…
• New pillows
• New blankets/sheets
• Adult coloring books
• Colored pens and pencils
• Any crafts that can be done by one person
• Deodorant
• Hand sanitizer
• Poligrip and Polident
• Body soap
• Shampoo and conditioner, regular sizes
• Bleach
• Bottled water
• Guitar picks
• Diabetes test kits (Glucose meter & test strips)
Please drop off urgent items 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 certainty. In the words of Utah Phillips, “If we all stick together, we’ll get what we need.” Thank you!