Two families found housing and left the program this week!  It’s quiet at the Day Center, which I appreciate but it’s also kinda weird. I become accustomed to little ones knocking on my door, hearing fussing, chatting with parents, or sharing a laugh.  

When families leave, we provide them with resources, such as referrals to places like New Digs, and Off The Streets for furniture and home goods; a big goodie bag of cleaning and health and beauty supplies; sometimes we work with partners to collect items for the home, occasionally we help them move in. It’s always different.

 If they desire it, we will continue to work with families after they launch, providing diapers, through the Healthy Steps Diaper Bank, case management (working on credit, assisting with solving issues that might arise, etc). AND we always like to hear how they are doing.

K who left yesterday, was teary. She felt torn between really wanting to have her own place and being totally grateful for her time here. We get it. It’s not an easy program. Families live in common with people they don’t know, stay at churches that they must travel to each evening and store their belongings in a 4’ X 6’ locker. Nothing about homelessness is easy.

 Thanks so much to our partners for supporting these families with a safe place to stay, lots of food, and plenty of great conversation, working with them till they found their feet.  Now let’s do it again.