Hospitality House is the only emergency homeless shelter in Nevada County, with 69 beds for homeless men, women and children.
My name is Nicole Lescher and I’m a case manager at Hospitality House. I work one-on-one with individuals struggling with homelessness. Part of my job involves understanding individual struggles, such as job loss or addiction, and helping each individual connect to local resources they might not be aware of—all in our effort to provide a pathway to housing.
Every path is different, but one path I’d like to share with you is that of a woman I’ll call Pam. Pam is local and has struggled with substance abuse for 30 years—specifically an opioid addiction. And I mention this because if you’re unfamiliar with opioids, it’s a legal, prescription drug, but it’s also a highly addictive drug. The United States is currently in an opioid overdose epidemic with an average of 130 people dying every day, according to the National Opioids Crisis. Pam was originally prescribed this drug for pain and has struggled with addiction ever since.
It led to her becoming homeless; it led to losing her family; and it also led to stealing, which ended up being revolutionary in her journey to recovery. In going to jail, Pam became sober, which is a feat itself, but once she was released, she was still homeless and asked for our help to get back on track. So we made a deal with Pam: continue outpatient treatment for addiction and we’ll help you in any way we can—job referrals, extensive housing research, case management, anything we could do to support Pam.
We’ll, I’m happy to tell you today as it stands, Pam is 5 months sober! And she made amends with her family—so much so, that this past January she moved in with them as a paying renter. In addition to this, she now has a full-time job! Her whole attitude has changed since she’s been clean and sober. She has truly take back her life and has said more than once, jail and Hospitality House saved her life.
I get chills when I think about Pam’s success because it’s just so wonderful, but her success is a community effort. Many caring donors, volunteers and business partners help further our mission and we’re always looking for more to join force. To learn about volunteer opportunities or to support Hospitality House with a financial gift, visit hhshelter.org to get started.
And while you’re there, tab over to Bread & Roses Thrift & More. Every sale at Bread & Roses supports the shelter 100%—and now, patrons can save even more on their purchases. Every Tuesday, Bread & Roses will honor its military servicemen and servicewoman, including veterans, with a 10% discount. Additionally, all seniors age 55 and older can also benefit from 10% off their entire purchase on Tuesdays, too. Just show proper identification and get a deal while supporting a great cause.
And one more great cause I’ll briefly touch upon is Empty Bowl—an annual benefit for our shelter taking place on Saturday, March 23. Enjoy soup and break bread with friends as a we take a moment to appreciate what a bowl of soup truly means when you’re hungry and without a home. Full details and ticket information is available at hhshelter.org. Thank you to SPD Markets for helping make this event possible!
To everyone who volunteered to cook and provide meals last week, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We recently lost two cooking teams at the shelter, Veritas and Mountain Stream Meditation Center, and their warm smiles and willingness to help those in need will be greatly missed. It reminds of us how lucky our shelter is to have so many wonderful volunteer groups who cook tirelessly every day to support our 69 hungry friends. To the cook groups this week, we thank you: Nevada City United Methodist Church and Quaker friends; St. Patrick’s Church; Sierra Presbyterian Church; Jazzercise; the Home Team; Crossroads Church; and Alta Sierra Latter Day Saints. And to everyone who dropped off needed items last week—thank you as well! Now down to the nitty gritty needs of the shelter for this week…
- Men’s jeans, sizes 30/30, 30/32, 34/30, 34/34, and 34/36
- Men’s boxers, size Medium
- Large and XL winter Jackets
- Men’s & women’s winter gloves
- Women’s pants, sizes 5 – 10
- Men’s & women’s Winter Boots
- Thick Blankets
- Ladies pull up-style depends, size medium
Hospitality House is the only emergency homeless shelter in Nevada County, with 69 beds for homeless men, women and children.
My name is Nicole Lescher and I’m a case manager at Hospitality House. I work one-on-one with individuals struggling with homelessness. Part of my job involves understanding individual struggles, such as job loss or addiction, and helping each individual connect to local resources they might not be aware of—all in our effort to provide a pathway to housing.
Every path is different, but one path I’d like to share with you is that of a woman I’ll call Pam. Pam is local and has struggled with substance abuse for 30 years—specifically an opioid addiction. And I mention this because if you’re unfamiliar with opioids, it’s a legal, prescription drug, but it’s also a highly addictive drug. The United States is currently in an opioid overdose epidemic with an average of 130 people dying every day, according to the National Opioids Crisis. Pam was originally prescribed this drug for pain and has struggled with addiction ever since.
It led to her becoming homeless; it led to losing her family; and it also led to stealing, which ended up being revolutionary in her journey to recovery. In going to jail, Pam became sober, which is a feat itself, but once she was released, she was still homeless and asked for our help to get back on track. So we made a deal with Pam: continue outpatient treatment for addiction and we’ll help you in any way we can—job referrals, extensive housing research, case management, anything we could do to support Pam.
We’ll, I’m happy to tell you today as it stands, Pam is 5 months sober! And she made amends with her family—so much so, that this past January she moved in with them as a paying renter. In addition to this, she now has a full-time job! Her whole attitude has changed since she’s been clean and sober. She has truly take back her life and has said more than once, jail and Hospitality House saved her life.
I get chills when I think about Pam’s success because it’s just so wonderful, but her success is a community effort. Many caring donors, volunteers and business partners help further our mission and we’re always looking for more to join force. To learn about volunteer opportunities or to support Hospitality House with a financial gift, visit hhshelter.org to get started.
And while you’re there, tab over to Bread & Roses Thrift & More. Every sale at Bread & Roses supports the shelter 100%—and now, patrons can save even more on their purchases. Every Tuesday, Bread & Roses will honor its military servicemen and servicewoman, including veterans, with a 10% discount. Additionally, all seniors age 55 and older can also benefit from 10% off their entire purchase on Tuesdays, too. Just show proper identification and get a deal while supporting a great cause.
To everyone who volunteered to cook and provide meals last week, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We recently lost two cooking teams at the shelter, Veritas and Mountain Stream Meditation Center, and their warm smiles and willingness to help those in need will be greatly missed. It reminds of us how lucky our shelter is to have so many wonderful volunteer groups who cook tirelessly every day to support our 69 hungry friends. To the cook groups this week, we thank you: Nevada City United Methodist Church and Quaker friends; St. Patrick’s Church; Sierra Presbyterian Church; Jazzercise; the Home Team; Crossroads Church; and Alta Sierra Latter Day Saints. And to everyone who dropped off needed items last week—thank you as well! Now down to the nitty gritty needs of the shelter for this week…
- Men’s jeans, sizes 30/30, 30/32, 34/30, 34/34, and 34/36
- Men’s boxers, size Medium
- Large and XL winter Jackets
- Men’s & women’s winter gloves
- Women’s pants, sizes 5 – 10
- Men’s & women’s Winter Boots
- Thick Blankets
- Ladies pull up-style depends, size medium
In an effort to streamline donations for those in need, we kindly ask that all donations now be dropped off at the backdoor of Bread & Roses, our thrift shop, located at 840 E Main Street, directly next door to Sierra Cinemas. Bread & Roses is equipped with a team of wonderful volunteers who sort every donation upon arrival—both for the store and for the shelter, including the shelter’s most urgent needs. When you arrive, simply tell the greeter where you’d like your donation allocated, but remember, a donation to Bread & Roses is also a donation in support of Hospitality House with every sale supporting those in need. And if we stick together, we’ll get what we need.
In an effort to streamline donations for those in need, we kindly ask that all donations now be dropped off at the backdoor of Bread & Roses, our thrift shop, located at 840 E Main Street, directly next door to Sierra Cinemas. Bread & Roses is equipped with a team of wonderful volunteers who sort every donation upon arrival—both for the store and for the shelter, including the shelter’s most urgent needs. When you arrive, simply tell the greeter where you’d like your donation allocated, but remember, a donation to Bread & Roses is also a donation in support of Hospitality House with every sale supporting those in need. And if we stick together, we’ll get what we need.