Every day, I go out with Officer Brown of GVPD and we proactively engage our homeless population to see how we can best help. We connect with folks daily, offer them services, and we clean up camps and debris to mitigate for fire. Additionally, all homeless-related calls to GVPD for service are routed to Officer Brown and I for support. Most recently, we received over 30 calls for service for the same homeless woman, who I’ll call Jackie.
Jackie is 61 years old and was living in the forest in close proximity to a new development under construction. Officer Brown and I located Jackie and assessed her circumstances. It was evident to us that Jackie needed medical attention, so we called our Homeless Outreach and Emergency Engagement (HOME) team, which is an extensive outreach team led by Hospitality House with County of Nevada, CA and Turning Point Community Programs. On HOME team is Nurse Casey, who does medical assessments anywhere and everywhere needed, including the forest. Nurse Casey treated Jackie, and additionally, with the County’s help, we were able to secure temporary motel shelter, so as today (literally a few hours ago), Jackie will no longer be surviving in the forest.
We are often asked why we place people in motels when we have a physical shelter, Utah’s Place. For those unaware, we have more people experiencing homelessness than available beds and often, like now, our shelter is at max capacity. We and our partners will care for Jackie in the motel for now as we work toward permanent housing solutions. Community members interested in furthering these efforts are invited to donate at any time. Just visit hhshelter.org to get started or mail your donation to 1262 Sutton Way, Grass Valley, CA 95945.
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, Gold Country Calvary Chapel, St. Pat’s Sidekicks, Meals by Heels, Jazzercise, First Baptist Church, 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:
• Toilet paper
• Ponchos
• PPE masks (paper disposable or neck gators)
• Men’s t-shirts – m, l, xl 2xl -4xl
• Sweatpants
• Blankets – twin size
• Pillows (new only)
• Headphones
• Bottled water
• Travel bags/ duffle bags/ backpacks
• Toothbrushes
• Toothpaste
• Leggings
• Sweatshirts/ Hoodies
• Jackets larger sizes
• Men’s sized Jackets
• Plastic utensils
• Paper plates/ bowls
• Hairbrushes
• Underwear men’s and women’s small and medium (new only)
• Hand warmers
• Gloves
• Ibuprofen / Tylenol
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Topical tooth pain reliever
• Men’s shoes 91/2 and up; also size 12 -14
• Woman’s medium to 2xl long sleeve shirts
• Woman’s shoes 8 and up
• Hair brushes
• Men’s and woman’s deodorant
• Shampoo/conditioner
• Lotion
• Body soap
• Men’s pants, size 48 a couple pairs
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. 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!