I’m Fred Skeen, and I’m a case manager at Hospitality House. My job is to assist guests with qualifying for social services benefits, medical care referrals, and eventually housing. We want to guide our guests to transition from homelessness to self-sufficiency and housing.

I’d like to tell you a story about a very nice 65-year woman whom I will call Sandy. Sandy came to our shelter about a year ago. She went through a life phase having lost her income and her previous rental. Sandy has been working part time at a local retailer and has been very frugal. She has saved up enough money for a comfortable move into a new rental. We were able to assist her with completing an application for local senior subsidized apartments in the area. Sandy recently received the good news that she and her sister were accepted at one of the subsidized senior apartments. Sandy was also able to join resources with her sister to share the new rent. They are both now living independently again and enjoying a “sisterly reunion” and emotional support for one and other. Congratulations to Sandy and her sister!

We’ve made significant progress through the pandemic as we have individuals and families counting on us and the pandemic will not slow us down. . We are standing strong and moving forward because of your continued support. In these last four months, 356 unique individuals in crisis have been helped because of community supporters like you, with the following services provided:

• 25,385 meals served
• 1,785 case management services provided
• 1,583 rides provided to medical and related
• 191 life skills/housing counseling sessions given
• 49 mental health counseling sessions provided
• 47 hygiene packages delivered on the streets
• 38 people moved from homelessness to housing!

There is more work to do and we welcome your support. Please visit hhshelter.org if you can make a gift to help.
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 cook groups are supporting our meals by donating financial support and food, and Chef Chris is safely cooking all meals instead. We’d like to thank Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains, Divine Light Spiritist, Unity in the Gold Country, Seasoned with Love, Choppers, The Home Team and Seventh Day Adventist Church for all their help. To everyone who donated our most needed items last week, thank you as well!

Now down to the nitty gritty needs of the shelter for this week…

• Adult coloring books
• Colored pens and pencils
• Any crafts that can be done by one person
• Deodorant
• Shampoo and conditioner, regular sizes
• Men’s and Women’ razors
• Men’s body spray
• Takeout food containers
• Disposable gloves, size XL
• Hand sanitizer
• Paper masks
• Bleach
• Guitar picks

Anyone who has upgraded their personal assist devices, and have old ones just lying in their dresser drawer, please consider donating these gently used items:

• Diabetes test kits (Glucose meter & test strips)
• Hearing aids, any condition
• Eyeglasses, any kind
• Earplugs

Please drop off urgent items to Utah’s Place, located in Brunswick Basin, past the DMV, at 1262 Sutton Way. 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 certainty. If we all stick together, we’ll get what we need. Thank you!

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