My name is Eli Hinojosa and I am outreach case manager at Hospitality House. Part of my job involves helping people unsheltered on the streets access services, such as food, shelter, medical care and housing.

Today, I’d like to share with you a story about a person I’ll refer to as Raj. Raj was living and working with family in town but was kicked out due to behavioral issues. At the time, family was unaware that Raj had several undiagnosed mental health conditions. Subsequently, he found himself on the streets.

I met Raj last winter when he utilized the County’s winter warming shelter to escape snow and freezing temperatures. When the shelter closed as outdoor conditions improved, I gave Raj a ride and extended Hospitality House’s services, which he accepted. I started by doing a coordinated entry with him and referring him to Behavioral Health for an assessment, which is where we learned he needed major mental health support. Raj was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and living on the streets would continue to worsen his condition.

I got him a bed at our shelter, Utah’s Place, for an extended period of time so we could continue to work together. While at the shelter, I helped him apply for Medi-Cal and Cal-Fresh; provided him rides to his appointments; connected him to Chapa-De; secured him social security benefits; and submitted a referral for him to go to Turning Point’s Insight Respite Center, which is a healing environment for individuals with mental health challenges.

After being at Insight for a few weeks, we found supportive mental health housing for Raj. Today, Raj remains housed and continues to manage his mental health.

I share this story because undiagnosed and untreated mental health conditions are serious and often contribute to chronic homelessness. In Raj’s case, his condition was so severe, he struggled to navigate the world on his own. Before being on medication, he would forget going to the doctors, even if it had only been the hour afterwards. But today, Raj is housed, maintaining his treatment plan and managing his overall mental health with the help of several partner agencies.

If you’d like to help us further our efforts, dozens of men, women, and children are preparing to transition from homelessness into permanent housing this summer with the grand opening of Brunswick Commons, which will offer 40 units of subsidized housing to low-income locals, 28 of which will be managed by Hospitality House.

With Independence Day nearly upon us, the community has a special opportunity to help individuals and families celebrate the return of their independence during the 4th of July week. On Thursday, July 7, we will host a special donation drive to provide much-needed home furnishings to new tenants from 9am to 12pm. Please view our Target registry at: https://www.target.com/gift-registry/gift/brunswick-commons or learn more about the donation drive at: https://hhshelter.org/special-donation-drive-help-families-and-individuals-celebrate-their-independence-during-independence-week-on-july-7/

This week, I’d like to give a shoutout to Hilary Dart for helping with grocery shopping and to Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains for cooking up their famous enchilada pie with all the fixing. If you have an interest in learning about our volunteer cooking and shopping opportunities, please call us at (530) 615-0852 or email info@hhshelter.org. A big thank you also to our food partners, SPD Markets, BriarPatch Food Co-Op, Interfaith Food Ministry, the Bishop Store (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nevada City) and Nevada County Food Bank for donating food and produce on an ongoing basis. We also want to thank all of our community members who have been giving financially in place of donating goods during construction at Utah’s Place. However, we do have a need for the following select items:

  • Men’s summer clothing – t-shirts and shorts/pants only
  • Depends / adult diapers
  • NEW Pillows (must be new)
  • Twin-sized bedding, including blankets, sheets, pillowcases, and quilts

To increase safety during construction, donations are no longer being accepted at our shelter. Please drop off your items Monday – Friday, 8:30 am – 5 pm 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 and weekends). 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!

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