Posted on April 13, 2011
Did you know that 62.8 million Americans performed volunteer service in 2010? That means that about one in every five Americans volunteers! Just about every household contains at least one person who volunteers. Volunteering is an activity that cuts across gender, age, racial, and ethnic lines. It is open to all individuals regardless of their educational degree, income level, or marital status. People representing all political and religious convictions can and do volunteer. Volunteering is one of the most optimistic, altruistic, and empowering activities we can engage in.
Volunteering happens inside and outside, day in and day out, weekdays and weekends, throughout the year. But there is one week every April when we stop for a moment to recognize, honor, and celebrate the service of volunteers, and that is National Volunteer Week (April 10 – 16). National Volunteer Week is an annual event organized by the Points of Light Institute and Hands-On Network to promote the contributions of America’s most amazing and inexhaustible resource – volunteers.
What in the world would we do without volunteers?
Here at Virginia Supportive Housing, we believe that homelessness is a problem that affects everybody in the community, and community volunteers can and should be a part of the solution! Through their activities, VSH volunteers support our very low-income, formerly homeless clients in their efforts to stabilize and reinforce their connections to a caring community. What could be more compelling and meaningful than that?
In 2010, VSH volunteers completed 6846 hours of service. This gift of time was collectively equivalent to $142,739 in support. Within the past year, they painted VSH properties, cleaned units, raked yards, planted flowers, constructed shelving, put up drywall, helped clients move belongings & furniture, served food, played Bingo, hung decorations, made holiday cards, taught computer skills, wrote newsletters, composed blogs, interviewed clients, conducted research, donated canned goods, and led collection drives for household items like pots & pans, bedding, and towels.
VSH is very proud to join the nation in honoring our volunteers with a National Volunteer Week recognition event on Wednesday May 3 from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. In addition to speakers and refreshments, VSH will also select one individual to receive the Bob Sledd Volunteer of the Year Award for outstanding service in support of VSH’s proven permanent solutions to homelessness. We hope you’ll be a part of the celebration. To RSVP, please send an e-mail to [email protected] or call 804-836-1061.
If you didn’t get a chance to volunteer with VSH in 2010, don’t worry. VSH offers opportunities every single month for volunteers to roll up their sleeves, have fun, and make a big difference! Take a look at the upcoming schedule of projects below and let us know if you can help by sending an e-mail to [email protected]. We can’t do it without YOU!
SATURDAY APRIL 16 FROM 12 – 4:00: GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY
This project is suitable for middle & high school youth volunteers. 25 – 30 volunteers are needed to rake and clear debris, cut grass, trim bushes, clean out beds, mulch, and plant flowers at a VSH property that serves adults with chronic illness. At least five volunteers must be adults who can help with supervision of the activity.
WEDNESDAY APRIL 20 FROM 1:00 – 4:30: HELP GET A FAMILY OFF THE STREETS!
25 – 30 volunteers will paint a vacant three-bedroom apartment in the Highland Park area so that a homeless family can get off the streets!
MONDAY APRIL 25 – THURSDAY APRIL 28 FROM 1:00 – 4:30: AFFORDABLE HOUSING AWARENESS WEEK
15 – 20 volunteers are needed every day to paint occupied units, administrative offices, and community spaces at a downtown property that serves 47 very low-income formerly homeless single adults.
FRIDAY APRIL 29 FROM 1:30 – 4:30: VSH OFFICE MAKEOVER
5 – 8 volunteers are needed to paint a large office at the VSH headquarters so that APTS staff can better serve VSH clients.
SATURDAY APRIL 30 FROM 10:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M.: SPRING SPRUCE-UP CAMPAIGN
20 – 25 volunteers are needed to rake and clear debris, cut grass, trim bushes, clean out beds, mulch, and plant flowers at a VSH property in the Fulton Hill area that serves adults with traumatic brain injuries.
COMING IN JULY 2011: 1,000 HOMES FOR 1,000 VIRGINIANS!
What else can you do RIGHT NOW to give the gift of your time in support of our proven, permanent solutions to homelessness?
• Check out photos of volunteers in action on our Facebook page
• RSVP for a 1,000 Homes for 1,000 Virginians information session on April 15 at 5:30 p.m.
• Attend the next volunteer orientation on May 6 at 5:30 p.m.
• Sign up for our volunteer e-newsletter
• Submit a Volunteer Interest Form
• Request an application
• Resolve to get involved!
Posted on November 2, 2010
Alice Tousignant is the Executive Director of Virginia Supportive Housing. She holds a Masters degree in Social Work Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Rhode Island. Alice has over 30 years of experience in the fields of housing, homelessness and social services. She is a founder and past President of Emergency Shelter, Inc. and past President of the Richmond Community Development Alliance. Alice is currently the Board Chair of the Virginia Collation to End Homelessness.
During this Season of Thanksgiving, it’s important to stop for a moment and take the time to evaluate what is truly important to us. Messages of hope, optimism, and giving are flowing through the chilly breeze as we recognize the significance of simple gifts such as family and friends, food and housing.
Here at Virginia Supportive Housing, we would like to express deep thanks to all of our wonderful supporters throughout the community who have helped to make this organization a success. How do we measure that success? By fulfilling our mission to provide permanent housing for more than 1300 individuals through our residences and programs, and by offering supportive services to ensure that more than 90 percent of our clients don’t return to homelessness.
While we have successfully transformed the lives of many individuals and families over the past two decades, it’s important to remember that we still have a long way to go to ensuring that everyone has access to that most basic of human needs: housing. Homelessness is an issue that affects all of us, and together we can end it.
GiveRichmond.org is an exciting NEW online tool designed to make charitable giving more accessible and convenient, and as a registered 501(c)3, Virginia Supportive Housing is pleased to participate in this initiative. This season, options for contributing your efforts to ending homelessness within the Commonwealth of Virginia are more plentiful than ever.
Consider participating in Give Richmond’s Giving Card program. Instead of populating your wish list with bathrobes and socks, you can request Giving Cards. These cards come in a variety of denominations and can be redeemed at GiveRichmond.org. By designating Virginia Supportive Housing as your organization of choice, you give the gift of housing to someone who is homeless and demonstrate the true meaning of the Giving Season. You can also use Giving Cards as stocking stuffers for everyone on your list. There’s never been an easier way to show your support for Virginia Supportive Housing.
What are some other ways that you can support the work of VSH?
- Make a financial contribution as an individual or through your employer. Gifts are not only tax-deductible (tax ID# 54-1444564), but you can also take advantage of valuable NAP state tax credits. For more information, click here.
- Donate items on our wish list. VSH gratefully accepts donations of canned vegetables, peanut butter, pasta, paper products, and cleaning supplies all year round and distributes them to needy VSH clients who are struggling to get by on very limited incomes. For a complete list of needed items, click here.
- Volunteer your time! VSH has many opportunities available throughout the year for individual and group volunteers who want to make a difference. Opportunities range from client interaction to administrative to the beautification of our facilities. To find out more about VSH volunteer opportunities, click here.
As 2010 comes to a close, VSH would like to acknowledge all of its supporters with deepest appreciation. With your help, we will continue to provide proven permanent solutions to homelessness, bringing our region closer each day toward its goal to end homelessness. It’s a mission we can’t fulfill without you – thank you!
Posted on September 21, 2010
Are we really doing a disservice to people who are experiencing homelessness by renovating the park or are we making it a nice place for everyone to visit and use?
If you’ve walked through Monroe Park lately, I think you would agree with me that it is in sad shape and in bad need of a facelift. After having walked through or by the park numerous times in the last few years, I’m ready for this makeover. I now have a granddaughter who started her freshman year at VCU and I’ve told her to stay away from the park, especially at night. Deteriorating and poorly lit places breed crime.
It seems to me the issue isn’t about whether the renovations should happen but whether the renovations will discourage people who are homeless from using the park and in some cases sleeping in the park. Once the park is renovated, it should be a great place for anyone, regardless of their housing situation. And, call me crazy, but I don’t think a park bench is a safe place for anyone to sleep. People who are experiencing homelessness should be inside if at all possible – in housing, preferably permanent housing – but if this is not available, in an emergency shelter. We have 1000 emergency and transitional beds in this community and we have The Healing Place for folks with substance abuse issues.
Currently there is also a lot of concern over the weekend happenings in the park, where many well-meaning people from various congregations and groups come to provide food, clothes and bedding to those in need. This is not an organized effort (i.e., no one is in charge) and I have heard complaints that oftentimes trash and stuff that is not picked up by folks is simply left for the City to pick up.
So, is this the best way to feed people on the weekends? For those of you who don’t know, Freedom House serves a meal on Saturdays at 3:30 and a brunch on Sundays until 2pm. They will also give bag lunches on Sundays to folks who need them. The meals are served at the Conrad Center, which is at 17th and O Street. Meals are also served there during the week in the morning and evenings. Lunches are served every day by the downtown churches. So why do people feel compelled to bring food and other things to the folks who are experiencing homelessness who gather in Monroe Park?
Are we as a community doing this because the folks who gather there need food, clothes or bedding? Or are we doing it because we need to feel like we are doing something to help?
I don’t mean to disparage anyone who has helped people experiencing homelessness in Monroe Park, but I know that Freedom House could use more volunteers to help serve meals. To find out more about opportunities with Freedom House, please contact Christy Ellis, Community Resource Director at 233-4064, est. 209. VSH also has plenty of opportunities available and would welcome individual and group volunteers who have a passion for helping people in need.
We’ve worked very hard in this community to develop a system of helping people in crisis and I think it works fairly well most of the time. It is accessible and treats people with respect and dignity. I don’t think we need to continue to use the park as a place to sleep or as a feeding program on the weekends. I think it should be a beautiful place where my granddaughter and anyone, including people who are experiencing homelessness, can enjoy all of the time.
Posted on August 17, 2010
I have asked Cristina Wood, one of VSH’s fall communications internship candidates, to write this week’s blog on her experiences volunteering at a homeless shelter in Northern Virginia.
I walked in the front door of the shelter like I had been doing every Thursday for the past several months. After waving to Celeste at the front desk, I proceeded upstairs to find the usual children playing with toys or being read to by other volunteers. I scanned the room for Ashley’s big eyes and long brown hair, and listened for her infectious laugh, but she was nowhere to be found. Peeking into the room next door where the children’s mothers were savoring their time to themselves, I was surprised not to be greeted with a mouthful of Spanish from Ashley’s mom that I could never understand, but always appreciated.
I walked back downstairs to Celeste. “Where’s Ashley?” I asked. “Oh, didn’t anyone tell you?” Celeste said with a confused look. “Ashley and her mother have been relocated.” I stared at Celeste speechless for a moment before questions began falling from my mouth. “Relocated? Why? She was here last week! Where is she?” “We can’t give that information out,” Celeste said and instructed me to go back upstairs to help the other children.
Since I began tutoring at this shelter, I had been assigned to Ashley and was able to witness her progress every week. Her English was getting better and her grades in school were improving dramatically. I looked forward to seeing her every week and helping her with her English and math homework. Her mother assured me Ashley loved my visits as well, but suddenly they were both gone forever.
It was then that I began to realize how strenuous it is to live in temporary shelter, where the only constant in your life is change. Ashley was only in second grade, and her mother spoke no English. I was devastated that Ashley had left and I wasn’t even the one that had to deal with the hardships of moving, possibly changing schools, and getting accustomed to a whole new environment. I could only imagine how difficult it was for Ashley and her mom.
Stability is a precious thing in life. Knowing that you have a home, family, or friends to keep you grounded is invaluable and should never be taken for granted. Providing people who are experiencing homelessness with a permanent place to live allows them to work towards getting their lives back on track without worrying where they will sleep next week. It is truly a wonderful thing and this sense of stability has been proven hugely successful through the efforts of Virginia Supportive Housing. I never saw Ashley again, but I hope that she is safe and, if she hasn’t already, that she will find a permanent home which can provide the foundation for her to build the rest of her life.
Posted on July 13, 2010
I have asked Alison Jones-Nassar, VSH’s volunteer program coordinator, to write this week’s blog. Thanks, Alice
Did you know…that the problem of homelessness manifests itself differently in different countries, but that responses to it reflect universal themes?
According to Wikipedia, there are about 100 million homeless people worldwide. About 3,000,000 people are estimated to be homeless in the European Union, while in Canada that figure is about 150,000. In Australia the official figure is 105,000 and in Japan, between 20,000 – 100,000 people are identified as homeless. In so-called Third World countries, homelessness is rapidly rising due to a variety of factors including poverty, poor urban housing conditions, migration trends, overpopulation, food scarcity, and conflict. Based on available data, one thing seems to be true: homelessness looks very different from one country, region, and continent to the next.
Last week, I had the opportunity to explore this idea when I was asked to participate in a training session for a group of VCU students who are doing a summer social media project in partnership with several Richmond area non-profits. The group consists primarily of Iraqi exchange students (including Kurds), but there are also students from South America and Central Europe.
Among other things, these students are tasked with teaching basic computer and social media skills in a volunteer capacity to residents of Carver district, including some of our tenants from New Clay House. As volunteer program coordinator for Virginia Supportive Housing, it’s my job to prepare these students for interacting one-on-one with our clients, and my training was designed to help these volunteers understand how their knowledge, perceptions, awareness, and sensitivity toward the issue of homelessness could impact their experiences.
Despite the early hour (training began at 8:30 a.m.) the students quickly developed an intense interest in the subject and a lively discussion followed. Coincidentally, one student had already had an encounter with homelessness. In a blog describing her experiences in the US, she wrote about “something negative [that] happened to us that really scared us. We saw a drunk, homeless man, who asked us for money. When we ignored him, he got mad and tried to hurt us. It made us all wonder about the safety in the United States.”
Using this observation to stimulate conversation, I asked them: what is the situation like in your country? What has your exposure been to homeless people there? Why do you think people become homeless there? Why do you think they become homeless here? Do you feel toward the homeless in your country what you felt toward this man?
These questions go way beyond objective understanding to penetrate deeply ingrained value systems regarding personal fault and social obligation, political justice and divine retribution. I won’t pretend to think that I changed anyone’s perspective on the issue, though I do believe it was a very thought-provoking hour and a half for everyone in the room. One thing seems to be universal: people experiencing homelessness are invisible everywhere. People all over the world avert their gazes from the problem and try to pretend it simply doesn’t exist. They shake their heads and pass judgment and are confident it will never happen to them. We can develop our plans and strategies and goals and timelines, but there is still a lot of work to be done where it counts – in the human heart.
