Weekly News: Woman Moves Out of the Woods, Takes Steps Towards Permanent HousingI’m Kelly, a licensed clinical social worker for Hospitality House and embedded in the Grass Valley Police Department as one-half of the team known as the California Violence Intervention Program, or Cal-VIP. My partner, Officer Jonathan Brown, and I specifically serve unhoused individuals. My main priority is to increase peaceful and purposeful interactions, respond to homeless-related calls for service with Officer Brown, and help homeless individuals transition back into housing through many venues.
I want to tell you a story about a woman we’ll call Mary.
We first met Mary while working on progressive engagement with homeless individuals living in the woods in Grass Valley. Progressive engagement is done through light, daily interactions with individuals to gain their trust and eventually convince them to engage in services.
Mary was forced out of her home as a result of hoarding. She then moved into her car, but when it was towed, she could not pay the inbound fee. Mary then moved into the woods with her two cats and her remaining belongings.
Shortly after settling into her camp, she began getting nightly visits from bears. When I met Mary, her camp was surrounded by bear scat, and she’d lost one of her cats to a bear attack. I knew Mary’s life was in danger, so once I had gained her trust, I brought in Behavioral Health to get her out of the woods and into a motel. Mary had been receiving social security and was able to care for herself and her cats. Now in a motel, she is continuing to work with her Behavioral Health case manager to find permanent housing and manage her hoarding. If anyone knows of any housing opportunities for Mary, please feel free to reach out to me at (530) 271-7144.
We 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 need a select few items presently:
• NEW Pillows – URGENT NEED
• 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 also want to call your attention to a unique opportunity for impact! Artist Adam Shaw is donating six original pieces of art to further the efforts of Hospitality House. 100% of the proceeds will go to supporting men, women, and children on their journeys back to housing. Preview the art and learn more about Shaw here: https://hhshelter.org/artist-inspired-to-action-local…/
Lastly, our kitchen volunteer program is back! We are welcoming volunteers back into our kitchen to prepare meals for the 80 individuals currently in our care. Cook groups plan their own menus, purchase the groceries, prepare the meal in our commercial kitchen, and assist in packaging the meals for transportation to various locations we are serving. Right now, we are looking for additional individual volunteers or volunteer cook groups to cook for our guests. Volunteer slots are available Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 9:30 am -11 am for lunch or 1 pm-3 pm for dinner.
Additionally, Hospitality House is currently looking for a few volunteers to help with grocery shopping. Grocery shopping is done daily, Tuesday-Saturday. Volunteers in this position are provided with a grocery list and asked to purchase the items on the list. The volunteer will deliver the groceries to the kitchen to be prepared by our chef. Volunteers will be reimbursed for these special grocery runs; however, any volunteer who would like to sponsor a dinner or grocery run is greatly appreciated.
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!