I’m Brook, ESG Outreach Supervisor at Hospitality House. I assist individuals and families quickly regain stability in permanent housing after experiencing a housing crisis or homelessness. I also help homeless individuals find the needed medical and financial resources to help them get back on their feet and into housing.
Since the pandemic, housing has become the most significant barrier for low and fixed-income Nevada County residents. Because of this, getting someone housed is a difficult task that can take months of working with an individual to achieve.
Knowing that our work with each client will take time, we celebrate every milestone achieved when helping our clients.
Recently, Salvation Army’s Booth Family Resource Center referred a woman to me; we will call her Tina. Tina is a Nevada County resident and mother of a 13-year-old daughter. When I met Tina, she had extensive health issues and was living in a broken-down van.
For Tina and her daughter, my priority was to get them both to a safe location. Once we achieved this, I assisted Tina with her applications for disability benefits and connected her with health care and specialists to aid her with her health issues.
After working with Tina for a few weeks, it became clear that Tina was emotionally attached to her van, as it had been a safe space for her and her daughter during the time in crisis. Knowing this, our next priority was fixing Tina’s van.
With Tina’s health sorted and her transportation secured, we can now work towards the next milestone on her journey – helping Tina find permanent housing. We will continue to provide Social Security advocacy for disability benefits and assist with completing housing applications. If anyone has housing leads for Tina and her daughter, please call me directly at (530) 559-5411, or consider a donation to further our work.
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, and Chef Gina is safely cooking all meals instead. We’d like to thank Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains, St. Mary’s School, Unity in the Gold Country, Seasoned with Love, Peace Lutheran Church, 7th Day Adventist, 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 this week:
- Twin-sized blankets – CRITICAL NEED
- Ponchos
- Sweatpants (men’s and women’s)
- Pillows (new only)
- Toilet paper
- Hairbrushes
- PPE masks (paper disposable or neck gators)
- Ibuprofen/Tylenol
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Topical tooth pain reliever
- Men’s and women’s deodorant
- Men’s and women’s small – xxlarge Depends
- Headphones
- Men’s pants size 48
- Women’s shoes size 8 and up
- Men’s shoes size 9.5 and up (urgent need for size 12-14)
- Women’s medium to xxlarge long sleeve shirts
- Leggings
- Sweatshirts/Hoodies
- Underwear (men’s and women’s, size small and medium)
- Handwarmers
- Gloves
- Plastic utensils
- Paper plates and bowls
- Bottled water
- Travel bags/duffle bags/backpacks
For increased safety and to streamline our donation process, donations are no longer being accepted at our shelter. Please drop off your items Monday – Friday, 8am – 5pm 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, including Thanksgiving Day and the day after). 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!