My name is Janella Kirkman and I’m the Social Service Manager at Hospitality House. I oversee a team of dedicated case managers, all working to help guests on their journeys back to housing.
Today, I’d like to tell you about Kristel, a current homeless resident living at Utah’s Place, our homeless shelter. Generally, when we give guest updates, we change names to protect our guests’ identities, but Kristel was brave enough to bare all.
For years, she struggled with addiction and was in a toxic relationship, and things only got worse after she lost her home and her job in the same day.
When Kristel turned to Hospitality House for help, she was met by supportive staff who worked with her one-on-one to rebuild her life. Today, Kristel celebrates over 100 days of sobriety! And this past week, Kristel landed a brand-new job, too.
“I’m done getting high,” said Kristel. “I went so long without living.”
Because of supporters in the community, Kristel’s next step is finding and securing permanent housing and after getting housed, she’ll continue to receive case management support.
Watch a short video message from Kristel below.
Additionally, right now we are actively looking for angel donors and business sponsors for Night of Giving on Dec. 18. This year’s Night of Giving will look and feel very different, but the impact we hope to create with your help remains critical. Please contact us at (530) 615-0852 or email at info@hhshelter.org if you’d like to help or learn more.
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 cooking groups are supporting our meals by donating financial support and food. Chef Gina is safely cooking all meals instead. We’d like to thank UUCM, St. Mary’s, Unity in the Gold Country, Meals by Heels, First Baptist, BriarPatch Food Co-Op and SPD Markets 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 week:
• PPE masks (paper disposable or neck gators)
• Men’s t-shirts m, l, xl
• Sweatpants Men’s and Women’s
• Blankets- twin size!!!
• Pillows
• Headphones
• Bottled water
• Travel bags/ duffle bags/ backpacks
• Toothbrushes
• Toothpaste
• Leggings
• Sweatshirts/ Hoodies
• Jackets larger sizes
• Plastic utensils
• Paper plates/ bowls
• Hairbrushes
• Underwear men’s and women’s small and Medium
• Hand warmers
• Gloves
• Ibuprofen / Tylenol
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!