My name is Salem Peterson. I am a Shelter Case Manager at Hospitality House, offering person-centered, wraparound care to homeless individuals and families staying at Utah’s Place shelter. This week, I have celebratory news to share about a family I have been working with for nearly six months.
After a long, tumultuous and challenging journey, my clients—whom I will call Dan and Sharon—and their 10-month-old baby have moved into their very own apartment at Brunswick Commons, an affordable housing community for people who were previously homeless, but now have a home of their own. By receiving ongoing support from Hospitality House case management, they have now transitioned from homelessness to housing.
The new apartment is a significant milestone for Dan, who has been chronically homeless for over a decade, consumed with substance use and risky behavior. Throughout the years, Dan stopped by Hospitality House from time to time, unable to gain real traction in achieving stability until a car accident inspired change. Dan found a job, met Sharon, and the two were soon expecting a baby. A criminal history, however, and lack of affordable housing made a permanent home an impossible attainment, forcing the couple to share an apartment with Sharon’s mother.
When that living situation became untenable, Dan and Sharon found themselves homeless with a baby on the way. They lived in Dan’s truck and eventually came to Hospitality House, where they were surrounded with resources such as case management and housing guidance as well as comprehensive support including a safe place to sleep, warm meals, clothing, and transportation. Hospitality House helped Sharon obtain medical care for herself and her unborn child through all stages of her pregnancy. We ensured the baby had everything needed—formula, diapers, daycare—and connected Sharon to community behavioral health and new-mom resources.
Dan and Sharon, their baby, and two dogs are deeply grateful for the generosity of our donors who made not only their own apartment possible, but in doing so, also gifted them a new, hopeful future.
If you would like to give hope to homeless individuals and families like Dan and Sharon’s, please consider joining our Hearts & Hands Club, where giving as little as $10 per month can add up to a big impact over the year. To learn more, please click here or call 530-615-0852. Also, stay tuned for our upcoming May Match Challenge, where a donation in any amount can change the lives of twice as many of our unhoused neighbors.
A big thank you to our volunteers and partners for providing ongoing food and/or financial support: Interfaith Food Ministry, the Bishop Store (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nevada City) and Food Bank of Nevada County. To everyone who donated our most needed items last week, thank you as well! We are incredibly grateful to all of you who give your time, energy and compassion to the most vulnerable in our community.
The shelter’s wish list for the week:
• Men’s and women’s sneakers (any size).
DONATION HOURS AND DROP-OFF LOCATION: Donations from our needs list above are accepted at Hospitality House Administration Office on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am – 3pm at 488 Crown Point Circle, #100, Grass Valley, CA 95945. We ask all unexpired/store-bought foods to be donated at Utah’s Place shelter: 1262 Sutton Way, Grass Valley, CA 95945.
Thank you for your generosity and support!