Tagged with shelter …

Jan 07 2013
Leave a comment
homeless

Homelessness sounds like a made up word

and I wish it were.
I wish I did not have to drive by 4 homeless men on my way to work, just so I can speak to 20 homeless parents each day.

If I could just “make up” anything, it would be shelters for these families and a list of open jobs (dead end or not) to place them into until they find meaningful work in their areas of interrest.

If I could just Make-up or invent anything, I have a design in mind for open air shelters that people could safely sleep in at night when there are no shelter beds, motels, or family & friends available to take them in.

I hate that I live in a fantasy world of hope instead of a hopeful reality.

This is getting very hard to keep doing and so I have posted less often, I appologize.

Tagged , ,
May 23 2012
Leave a comment
homeless

Service Agency Responce – From a Client Perspective

While it is possible that he scrambles to find openings and was just faced with budget cuts: this is all we see

Tagged , , , , ,
Dec 05 2011
Leave a comment
donation, Volunteer, winter shelter

How to volunteer for a Homeless Shelter

these are ideas from @Ascencia  and @URM

Volunteer

 for Ascencia (in Glendale)

Volunteers do a wonderful job of helping us maintain our facility and provide more programs to enrich our clients experience while here.  Depending on your skills and interests, you may be able to help with the following:

  • Reading to children
  • Holiday parties
  • Crafts
  • Play dates with the children
  • Gardening
  • Spring cleaning
  • Tutoring (this is managed by School on Wheels, click here for more information)
  • Miscellaneous building repairs
  • Clerical support
  • Professional services, including accounting, public relations, and grantwriting

Donation “Drives” for:

  • new socks
  • new underwear
  • new or gently used blankets
  • new linens
  • hygiene kits
  • diapers/ pull-ups (especially sizes 4, 5 and 6)

For more information, please contact Elizabeth Tismeer by email or call (818) 409-0506.

♥♥♥♥♥☻☺for The Union Rescue Mission ♥♥♥♥♥☻☺

Volunteers Needed for Christmas Store

We are busy preparing for our 20th Annual Chistmas Store, and we need your help! There are opportunities to volunteer at this years Christmas Store on December 15th and 16th – from Gift Wrappers to Personal Shoppers to Kids Store Crafts, there is something for everyone.

Christmas Store allows families in need to shop for their children for free – we have a Main Store for parents to shop for their kids, while kids get to spend time in the Kids Store shopping for mom and dad, taking a picture with Santa, making crafts and more!

If you are interested in volunteering, PLEASE COPY/PASTE the link(s) below into your browser. For some reason, the links are not working if you click on them. You will need to enter all your individual information in order to be registered; if you are coming as part of a group, please make sure each individual registers through these links.  If you have any questions, please email volunteer@urm.org

Thursday, December 15th from 8am-12:30pm — www.urm.org/christmasstorethursday8am

Thursday, December 15th from 12pm-5pm — www.urm.org/christmasstorethursday12pm

Friday, December 16th from 8am-12:30pm — https://www.urm.org/christmasstorefriday8am

Friday, December 16th from 12pm-6pm — https://www.urm.org/christmasstorefriday12pm

Tagged ,
Dec 22 2010
Leave a comment
homeless

Homeless Evacuated From Temporary Shelter

Rain in the OC has caused a Laguna Canyon “alternative sleeping location” to be evacuated.  45 men and women were taken away by bus and dropped off at another location – in the rain.

♥ read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/12/homeless-evacuated-near-downtown-laguna-beach.html

Tagged , ,
Dec 20 2010
Leave a comment
children, homeless

Dear Santa,

I don’t have a chimney
because
We don’t have a home
Instead of mailing a Christmas list
I am sending you this poem.

How a child should think of Santa, and how a Homeless Child sees him

The nights here have been rainy
and we have been so cold
I just want a bed
I don’t need a doll to hold
I don’t need toys to play with
when I am cold and wet
But I am telling you
my one wish
because I think we’ve met.
I saw you in the mission
when you served my one hot meal.
And in the Social Service office
although you looked like a cog in the system’s wheel
I think you are the man who drove us to the shelter
and glimpsed you in the clinic when my fever felt like swelter
I have seen you, Santa
in the middle of July:
handing out free water when my throat was parched and dry.
I have seen you Santa
and I hope you believe in me
All I want for Christmas
Is a place with my own key.

Tagged , , , ,
Nov 15 2010
Leave a comment
shelters

December 1, 2010 Winter Shelter

December 1 is the start of Winter Shelter in Los Angeles County.

Their web page has not been updated with the 2010-2011 scheadule – however they do post an overview of the project:

“LAHSA’s Winter Shelter Program (WSP) runs annually from December 1 through March 15. This season, the WSP will increase the number of emergency shelter beds by approximately 1,650 beds at 14 locations throughout the City & County. In addition to temporary emergency shelter, each winter shelter provides meals and access to services and supportive housing.

LAHSA is fortunate to partner with local service providers to administer the day-to-day operations of each program. This season, Catholic Charities, East San Gabriel Valley Coalition, EIMAGO, Inc., Long Beach Rescue Mission, MJB Recovery, People Helping People, Pomona Neighborhood Center, The Salvation Army, and the Santa Clarita Community Development Corporation will operate shelters in Bell, Burbank, Culver City, West LA, the East San Gabriel Valley, Lancaster, Long Beach, Pomona, Santa Clarita, Sylmar, Compton, Downtown LA and South LA.

Access to winter shelters is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Those in need of emergency shelter can access free transportation to a winter shelter via 36 pick-up points throughout the City & County. For a full listing of shelter schedules and pick-up points, click on the PDF document at the top of this page.

LAHSA has administered the Winter Shelter Program since 1994. The program is funded by the City & County of Los Angeles, with the support of the California National Guard. Last winter, the WSP provided emergency shelter and services to 8,605 homeless individuals and 620 homeless families. Over the course of the season, the program provided over 154,000 shelter nights and served over 308,000 meals to persons in need.”

For the most current information, please access the following hotline and/or website: 
Internet Website Address: www.lahsa.org http://www.lahsa.org/winter_shelter_program.asp 

 

 

 

Winter Shelter Hotline Phone:

1-800-548-6047

 

 

Tagged , , ,
Nov 04 2010
Leave a comment
homeless

Bill 18-1059 DC Homeless Bill sucks

It is snowing and cold and you have nowhere to go. You have lost your I.D. and all you want is a warm place to sleep.

Well, don’t try this in Washington DC if 18-1059 passes. Only those who can prove they were residents before becoming homeless will be allowed into shelters. (so, run back into your burning home to get your Photo ID and a utility bill?!?)

If you have children with you – your family may have to share a room with 18 other families; effectively your kids and you will be sleeping head to toe with strangers – but only if you have ID. So, before you run away with your kids from a Domestic Abuse situation, be sure to take proof of where you lived and a Police Report (although this may violate your civil rights), proof of legal residency (again, a possible civil rights violation), and translator if you need it.

—————-

I get it, there are not a lot of services and residents in the area should be the priority among those getting served. Can you think of a better way?

Tagged , , , , ,
Nov 03 2010
Leave a comment
homeless

A Cry for Help in Florida #fb

Okay, This child is on the verge of homelessness and needs you.  I have found the most depressing web site in the world – but it exemplifies all that I know about the people who are trying to avoid and survive homelessness. The literacy Skills, Relationship Issues, and overall need are very indicative of what I see as reality with my homeless friends and clients.

I am quoting her post so that someone here can reach out and help her -

Hi my name is Landie im 19 i stay in jupiter fl My dad is threating me and saying how he going to pick up all my stuff and kick me out in the streets it can happen any day and i wont have nowhere to go im scared i got no job no car nothing to fall back on I jst graduated in may 18 of this year my house hold is nothing out of a fairytale movie same problem different day all the cursing name calling have really take a toll on me my dad curse me out so bad that all ive been thinking about is suicide i dont feel love sometimes i wonder why im in the world My dad say by January he going to kick me out my friend told me about this place where u can get your CNA license in two weeks i really really want to go take the class i call the office and they told me it cost 299 forthe class 161 to takethe exam and 35 for background check in total it will be 495.25for everything i would be able to get a job at a hospital or nursing home I need help bad please…. Add me on yahoo messenger LandieLosie@YMail.Com help me!
 
Tagged , , ,
Nov 03 2010
Leave a comment
shelter, shelters

Living at a Shelter is Driving me crazy

An account by a client: “We are in shelter that moves us to a new church each week. Right now there are four families and we have to be up and showered and out the door by 7 o’clock every morning.

 I am so tired because I have been up since 4 this morning.

The shelter workers are nice, but I wish they wouldn’t tell people to take ‘as long as they want’ in the showers. there are twelve people wo all have to get showered and some of these people take forever.

I am so glad that we have a safe place to sleep every night – but the constant moving between locations is enough to make me crazy. I have to know 4 different bus routes to schools and work and County Offices. Yes, it is so much better than skid row but I can’t wait to have more stability and a place of my own. Everyday I look for a job and every night I pray that I find one so we can have our lives back”

Tagged , , ,
Oct 22 2010
1 Comment
homeless

$ Being homeless is expensive. Really.

You may have heard that it costs more to have a person live on the streets than it does to house them. It’s a weird concept and for a moment you feel like someone is pulling your leg  or doing Reaganomics.  I mean, you know how much it costs to be housed.

Rent+utilities+gardener+repairmen = a whole lot of money.

How can that cost less than living on the streets?

Well, UWGLA has broken it down into 4 pages http://www.unitedwayla.org/getinformed/news/Documents/HomelessCostStudy_09_r2_v3.pdf

but I will give you the quick and dirty break down.

No, you don’t pay rent for the people on the streets – or do you?

 Tax dollars and private donors pay the rent and mortgage on the shelters, jail, and residential treatment centers. You also pay for the utilities there and for the maintenance staff, counselors, administrators and cooks. Unless you live with a full staff including a butler – living in a shelter, program or jail is much more expensive. And – even if you are not currently or constantly a resident there – these services must remain open and available to you while there is a need for them.

Living rough is not terribly sanitary and illnesses are common. There is nowhere to hide from other people who are coughing and sneezing on you. When I went through TB training I learned that each of the Downtown LA Hospitals had a greater rate of  tuberculosis than national average. Just two weeks ago I walked through skid row and watched people fall over and cut themselves, have violent reactions to laced drugs, suffer heat stroke, and vomit on the sidewalks with the flu. When these ill people need a ride to the hospital you are paying the Fire Dept, paramedics, and hospital staff – not to mention the cost of the ambulance ride. (Literally, it cost me $200 once to go around the corner to the hospital – extra because the sirens were on ).

The total cost of public services for two years on the streets was $187,288 compared to $107,032 for two years in permanent housing with support services—a savings of $80,256 or almost 43%. -The United Way of Greater Los Angeles

 

 

 

Tagged , , , ,
← Older posts
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 46 other followers