I’m Janella, Housing Retention Case Manager. My main priority is to help homeless individuals find and retain permanent housing and help with the transition from homelessness to self-sufficiency.
I want to share a story with you, a story about a guest who I will call Jake. Jake went through a series of unfortunate situations, one after another, resulting in him becoming homeless. He went through a divorce and then lost his job due to COVID. He came to our shelter in May but was determined to find a job and find housing quickly. He took on the role of a caretaker at the shelter and helped with anything that was needed, such as cleaning and repairing things. He also worked diligently in getting all his paperwork and life back together again. He was going through a rough time, but he always maintained a friendly and positive attitude. I will always remember his impeccable ethics and how goal oriented he was during those hard times. He worked so hard that he was housed in only one month after arriving to the shelter. He is doing very good now and is grateful for the services that we have provided to him. He was very dedicated to finding housing and he did it by working really hard and following his case plan to the tee. Since he found a new job and has been housed, he has been able to enjoy his family and begin to build stronger relationships. We are proud of his determination, and we were delighted to see him blossom so quickly. When you give to Hospitality House, you help people just like Jake, and because of donors, he has a home again. Give today or learn more about our work at hhshelter.org.
If you haven’t heard, Empty Bowl is back this September with a safe new format. Tickets now on sale! Instead of a large gathering, patrons will visit a select restaurant to try a specialty dish and will keep an artisan bowl forever too (generously donated by local artists). Help people on their journey back to housing and support local businesses too. The restaurants participating are donating every meal to help make the event possible, so please patronize them. We’d like to thank SPD Markets for being a sponsor again this year. Thank you, SPD! For additional details about Empty Bowl, please visit hhshelter.org. Tickets on sale while supplies last!
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 Alta Sierra Latter-Day Saints, Divine Light Spiritist, Unity in the Gold Country, Seasoned with Love, The Home Team and Abundant Life, SPD Markets and BriarPatch Food Co-op for all their help. To everyone who donated our most needed items last week, thank you as well!
Now, on to the needs of the shelter for this week are:
• Blankets, twin size
• Bottled water
• Deodorant
• Disposable masks and gloves
• Headphones
• Men’s underwear, sizes M, L and XL
• New pillows
• Paper plates
• Paper towels
• Plastic utensils
• Toilet paper
• Travel bags, duffle bags and backpacks
• Women’s underwear, sizes S, M and large
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!