Posted on December 6, 2011
This blog was written by VSH’s volunteer resources manager, Alison Jones-Nassar.
Whether we admit it or not, homeless people can cause us to feel instinctively afraid. Not long ago, a VCU student wrote to me seeking permission to photograph some of our clients for a school assignment whose topic was fear. “Unfortunately, everyone I know is afraid of homeless people… [This explains] the general…reaction of walking past the homeless without making eye contact…or just plain ignoring them all together….I can personally understand this ‘fear’, as I have possessed it too, until recently. It’s saddening…how people with homes will act as if the homeless are simply dogs. I am glad to have broken out of that shell of irrational fear.”
What is the source of this “irrational” fear? For many, I think it has to do with the belief that homelessness only happens to “other” people. It happens to people who somehow deserve it, people whose poor life choices and anti-social behaviors have resulted in understandable consequences, people who are not like us or anyone we know.
But what if your mother was homeless, or your brother or daughter? Would it change how you think about homelessness?
Would it change your perceptions about people who are homeless? Would it help you become more compassionate about them and less afraid?
There is a lady who lives in one of our properties (I’ll call her Shelley) who has a lot in common with my mom. Both grew up in impoverished households with abusive alcoholic fathers. The volatility and cruelty they experienced as children caused them to develop a mentality common among abuse victims, drawing them subconsciously toward abusive personalities most of their lives. They married young to escape their situations, only to realize their choices had actually perpetuated the cycle of alcohol and abuse. But because they lacked the skills and confidence necessary to support themselves, they tolerated the situation, even saw themselves as somehow deserving of the degradation and abuse. Chronic depression and anxiety disabled them even further. But at some point along the way, their stories diverged. Shelley became homeless and my mom did not.
A few weeks ago my mom handed me a stack of clothing that she wanted to donate. Nice sweaters and tops from L.L. Bean, slacks from Coldwater Creek, warm coats from Orvis. I immediately thought of Shelley because of their physical resemblance. Both are petite in height and weight, though Shelley, with her worn-out smile and deeply lined face, looks much rougher around the edges. That’s what homelessness will do to you. So the clothes made their way anonymously to Shelley, and the first time I saw her wearing them, I felt a stab of visceral recognition that caused the hair to stand up on the back of my neck. I realized that, under slightly different circumstances that we can’t really understand or predict, my mom could have ended up homeless just like Shelley.
So.
Are you willing to confront your fear?
Are you willing to look into the face of a homeless person and recognize someone you know, maybe even someone you love?
To explore volunteer opportunities, click here.
Posted on October 5, 2011
Last Friday, Capital One hosted a picnic for VSH clients and staff, and thirty-seven Cap One associates supported this great event. One volunteer, Tracy, shared this story about her personal experience with homelessness:
“My father had been searching for his father, my grandfather Jack, for over 40 years. A few years ago, we found out that he was homeless and had been living on the streets of San Diego for 30+ years.
“We found out that, in 1949, he received a dishonorable discharge from the military. We also found out that he had been involved in some criminal activity after his discharge. All of this alienated him from his family and eventually led to his homelessness. After searching for so many years, my father didn’t care so much about any of that. He just really wanted to get him off the streets. Even though we didn’t know him very well, we still had our own special bond with him and really wanted to help him!
“Despite everything we were able to find out about Jack’s situation, it proved extremely difficult to locate him. We were able to establish that he was consistently using a certain shelter in downtown San Diego, and we called several times and spoke to a priest who said he would give him our information. We were also able to contact his case manager and she has been wonderful trying to piece things together for us.
“My grandfather knew that we were looking for him, but no matter what we did we couldn’t get through to him. At one point, my dad even drove out to California to see if he could make contact, but he didn’t succeed. The case manager told us that my grandfather was sick and needed medication but wasn’t willing to take the help that was being offered to him. He was becoming sicker and sicker but continually refused to be hospitalized.
“On the evening of March 16, I was at home doing some additional searches and I found out that Jack had passed away on 2/19/2011. He passed away in the hospital after being found near death on the street by a Good Samaritan. Unfortunately he was alone!
“As a family we were very disappointed that we were not able to reconnect with my grandfather before he passed, and very sad that he died without family. As I have gone through this whole search process, I have come to realize that there are an amazing number of people on the streets who are in a similar situation. My prayer is that homeless people will get the assistance they need before it’s too late. At the picnic, I was reminded again that what Virginia Supportive Housing does is so important. No one deserves to spend their last days like my grandfather, sick, alone, and homeless.”
Unfortunately, Tracy is right. There are more than 100,000 chronically homeless individuals sleeping on the streets of America on any given night. Their ages, backgrounds, and experiences may differ, but one thing unites them all. Their medical vulnerability and chronic homelessness makes them three to four times more likely to die prematurely in circumstances we wouldn’t wish upon anyone.
Like Tracy, we at Virginia Supportive Housing strongly believe that no one deserves to live on the streets, struggling with illness and cut off from loved ones. That’s why we work hard every single day to provide permanent housing and support services for these individuals, so that their health needs can be addressed, their lives can be repaired, and their hope can be restored.
For Tracy’s grandfather, Jack, it’s too late. But for so many others, we CAN make a difference.
To help VSH win the Amazing Raise Challenge, click here!
Posted on September 27, 2011
On Sunday, November 13, 2011, the city of Norfolk will host the inaugural Freedom Half Marathon, and Virginia Supportive Housing will be one of the charity partners. This race, scheduled for Veteran’s Day weekend, is intended to raise awareness and enlist support from the public for the needs of veterans and their families.
On the surface, the connection between this event and the mission of Virginia Supportive Housing might not be immediately obvious. But, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, about 76,000 veterans (or about 1 out of every 8 homeless individuals) experience homelessness on any given night and many veterans are prone to chronic homelessness.
Under the best of circumstances, the transition from military duty back to civilian life is a difficult one, and our servicemen and women rarely have the luxury of returning under ideal circumstances. Returning veterans who have sustained disabling physical injuries, suffer with post-traumatic stress syndrome or other mental health conditions, or struggle with alcohol or substance abuse disorders (or typically face a complicated combination of these issues) are at very high risk of falling into homelessness. When the problems created by our failing economy are added into the mix, this transition has never been harder than it is right now.
The permanent supportive housing model that Virginia Supportive Housing offers is extremely well-suited to veterans who are struggling with multiple barriers to stability, and 16% of Virginia Supportive Housing’s client population are veterans (including one property in Richmond exclusively designated for veterans with disabilities). Most recently, Virginia Supportive Housing successfully housed an 88-year-old World War Two veteran, and many other stories featuring formerly homeless veterans have appeared in our past newsletters and blogs.
Let’s face it. No one deserves to be homeless. For people with chronic physical and medical conditions, this is even more true, and for veterans who have deliberately put themselves into harm’s way in order to defend our country, this is undeniably true. No one is more committed to this fact than VSH and no one has worked more consistently to end homelessness among those populations in our state that are at highest risk than VSH. So the connection between the Freedom Marathon, veteran homelessness, and VSH is not only logical, but absolutely critical to making real progress toward a permanent solution.
So how can you support VSH through this event?
First, you can register as a runner and be sure to include a donation to VSH in your registration fee.
Second, you can support a registered runner by pledging a certain amount per mile and fulfilling that pledge upon completion of the race.
Third, you can volunteer to support the event by contacting Esther Robert at [email protected].
Fourth, you can help spread the word about this event and encourage others to select VSH as a funding beneficiary.
Sure, thirteen miles is a long way to run. But for all of us at VSH, this event symbolizes the spirit of endurance embodied by our many formerly homeless veterans who struggle on a daily basis and against great odds to put their lives back together. The path to healing and recovery is also long, difficult, and excruciatingly lonely. With your help, our veterans will be reminded that, when it comes to the toughest battle of their lives, they are not alone.
Posted on September 13, 2011
The HandsOn Network and the Points of Light Institute commonly refer to this time of year as the Season of Service. It begins with 9/11 Service Day, a day on which communities have the opportunity to come together to repair the damage caused by the tragic events of September 11, 2001, and ends with the holiday season, a time when we are privileged to share the blessings of family, friends, food, and material bounty with our less fortunate neighbors.
VSH kicked off this season with a fantastic 9/11 Service Day project that inspired thirty-four amazing community volunteers to roll up their sleeves on a beautiful Sunday morning for a day of painting at a VSH property that provides permanent housing and support services for 60 formerly homeless individuals, eleven of whom are military veterans.
In three short hours, these terrific volunteers transformed two large public spaces for the building’s tenants, some of whom have called South Richmond home for more than a decade.
But the gift of their time meant so much more than a couple of coats of fresh paint! For these volunteers, it was also about demonstrating the power of service to impact lives and transform entire communities. Service with VSH means many things, but the ultimate goal is always to reconnect our formerly homeless clients to a caring community and remind them that they are not alone in their struggles to recover and restabilize.
At VSH, the Season of Service has gotten off to a wonderful start….but it’s only just the beginning! Weekly opportunities are available throughout the coming four months and beyond for individual and group volunteers who want to make a difference in the community and support our permanent solutions to homelessness. VSH volunteers are always needed to paint, clean, and landscape properties, serve meals, engage in social activities with clients, offer tutoring sessions, lead donation drives, provide administrative support, and much more.
It only takes a few hours to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others, and you can start right now. Take a look at some of our excellent volunteers in action and then check your availability for the upcoming opportunities below:
- Month of September: Donation drive for new tenant move-in packages
- 9/17: Volunteers are needed to paint at one of our properties that serves individuals with traumatic brain injury!
- 9/22: Pot Luck, Tour & Information Session at South Richmond
- 9/29: Pot Luck, Tour & Information Session at South Richmond
- 10/8: Join VSH’s team for the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Walk!
- 10/15: Property beautification project (details TBD)
- 10/22: Families are invited to join our Make A Difference Day family activity!
- 10/24 – 11/18: Thanksgiving Basket drive
- 10/28: Help VSH clients celebrate Halloween!
- 10/29: HandsOn Day property beautification project (details TBD)
- 11/14 – 11/18: Property projects will take place throughout the week for National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week
- 11/19: Celebrate National Family Volunteering Day with a family-friendly project!
- December (date TBD): Join VSH clients as we celebrate the season with our Residents’ Holiday Party!
- 12/3, 10, 17: Deck the halls of our properties at these fun holiday decorating parties!
Make the gift of your time count this season by supporting Virginia Supportive Housing’s proven permanent solutions to homelessness! To support VSH in Richmond, call 804-836-1061 or send an e-mail to [email protected]. For more information on VSH volunteer opportunities in South Hampton Roads, call 757-394-3077 x 307 or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Posted on September 6, 2011
A 60-year-old veteran now has a home as a result of the 1,000 Homes for 1,000 Virginians – Richmond Campaign!
Bruce Henshaw, who has been homeless and living on the streets of Richmond for three years, moved into a VSH apartment on Thursday 8/25. He is the first person to receive housing as a result of the Richmond campaign.
Henshaw, who has lived in Richmond since the 1960’s, became homeless when he lost his job at a car lot that closed down in 2007. He had difficulty finding a new job because of health problems, and he eventually lost his home. He slept in his trailer for a few months, but had to sell it and began living on the street. “It’s hard to get back up once you start going downhill.”
The 1,000 Homes for 1,000 Virginians campaign is a statewide initiative, led by the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness, to identify and house vulnerable homeless individuals who are at increased risk of death without intervention.
Henshaw was identified as vulnerable, due to his age and health status, during the Richmond campaign’s Registry Week, held August 1 – 3. Eleven teams comprising more than 100 community partners and volunteers canvassed the streets of the city to compile a detailed registry of the homeless, including medical and other information. VSH, Homeward, and other community partners are using this data to identify the most vulnerable members of the region’s homeless population and to prioritize them for permanent housing.
Two hundred and eighteen homeless individuals in the Greater Richmond region were surveyed and 118 of that number, or 54.1%, are considered vulnerable. Thirty-one of those identified as vulnerable are veterans.
Henshaw said it is hard being homeless and that his new apartment “will change a lot” in his life. “It will make me feel better about myself and I don’t have to worry about night time…I don’t have to worry about getting mugged, beaten up, or killed.”
VSH is committed to housing 45 vulnerable individuals identified through the campaign. The residents will pay a portion of their income as rent, and they will have a variety of supportive services available to them in their new homes. Volunteers and supporters are needed to assist with move-ins and other activities. To find out how you can support VSH’s proven permanent solution to homelessness, click here.
