Summer is Winding Down
August 31, 2008 – 12:05 am
Print This Post
|
Summer has been good to us thanks to the many community partners and churches that continually stop by to help. On July 12th 17 residents hopped on a bus with members of Valley View Community Church and went to a Reading Phillies game. Other than the R-Phillies losing the night was perfect and even included some fire works.
|
|
Church of the Savior, in Wayne, came out 2 more times: Once for an afternoon of fun and games (we now have a volley ball net, softball bats and gloves, and other outdoor activities) and then again in August for more bowling fun.
Gwynedd Mercy College started back to class and came to us for their “unscripted reality 101” day of service. Thank you so much. Our storage area originally made by students from Friends Central High School is finally neat, clean, and orderly. They spent several hours emptying the storage area, cleaning it from top to bottom, and then helped our residents to transfer all their belongings from plastic bags to bins.
|
Program Updates and Statistics
We completed our first HUD annual progress report (APR) since becoming part of RHD. Though at times it feels as if we are always coming up short and we are focusing on our need as a program, the statistics show that what we do works; people do leave us and do so by getting housing. It may not always happen as quickly as would like or as smoothly as we would like but it does happen and we are grateful.
| Total clients served | 339 |
| Male (entered new) | 194 |
| Female (entered new) | 94 |
| Veterans | 31 |
| Chronically Homeless | 64 |
| People with disabilities | 149 |
| Age of Clients | 62 and over | 51-61 | 31-50 | 18-30 |
| Male | 12 | 39 | 114 | 29 |
| Female | 3 | 26 | 47 | 18 |
As an emergency shelter we have many folks that stay with us for less than a month. However, due to difficulty of finding affordable housing combined with the personal difficulties that the people we serve face we also have a group of people that stay with us for over 6 months and some for over one year. As Montgomery County works to improve housing options on a large scale we are able to shorten the length of time that people stay with us. Of those that left us during this reporting period 10 have been with us for over one year. Of those that stayed 14 have been with us 1-3 years. Our HUD goal states that 20% of the people we serve will find housing within one year. We surpassed that goal by having 43% of our clients leave us by obtaining housing.
Updates from Previous Web Page:
Summer time is slow for all of us and rightfully so. Slow, however, does not mean no progress is made:
- We have started work on the kitchen: we have sinks, counters, and other appliances on site and we have started the electrical work needed to make this a reality.
- Peer Support workers were trained in mid August and Berta from Consultants in Context is actively seeking and interviewing peer support volunteers to partner with our residents.
- The shelter fee and savings program has begun. Though not all residents are using it yet we currently have several clients that are saving their money and paying fees. We are looking to increase that number and add all new clients to that program throughout the fall.
- Drug testing has not begun. However we have researched several companies that can do the testing for us and we will be starting a trial run sometime in September. The purpose for testing is to encourage those that would benefit from treatment to get that treatment. Homelessness ends when both societal and personal issues are addressed and the CHOC’s main goal is to meet basic needs while offering the opportunity to address personal issues. Simultaneously we are working with the county and other area agencies to work on the societal issues of affordable housing. When both issues are addressed MAGIC HAPPENS.
As always we are grateful to and for the many partners that assist us in making change and transformation a reality for those we serve including Gwynedd Mercy College, Hedwig House, Horizon House, the Salvation Army, Montgomery County Emergency Services, Wayne Church of the Savior, Valley View Community Church, Magellan, and Cabrini College.
Please do enjoy the rest of your summer and have a great back to school, back to work, or back to your routine season.
