Posted on August 3, 2011
Richmond Registry Week concluded successfully on the morning of August 3! 66 volunteers, 35 staff representing 10 different agencies, 8 police officers, 10 community leaders, and 60 out-of-town observers took to the streets this week in the early morning hours to identify Richmond’s most vulnerable chronically homeless individuals. In three days, more than 130 individuals were interviewed. You can watch an interview with VSH’s executive director Alice Tousignant here, or read more about Registry Week here.
Richmond Registry Week results will be announced at the Landmark Theater on Friday 8/5 at noon. To attend this event and find out what comes next, RSVP to [email protected]. Scroll down to see pictures of volunteers who are helping to end homelessness in Richmond, and don’t forget to check out our Facebook page! To find out more about volunteer opportunities with Virginia Supportive Housing, click here or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Posted on July 21, 2011
This week’s blog was condensed from a sermon delivered at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church on July 17 by The Rev. Deacon Barbara Ambrose.
My husband John and I often enjoy visiting Washington DC during the Christmas holidays to see all the decorations, visit museums and try out a new restaurant or two. It is not unusual for us to stroll downtown in the evenings when homeless people are emerging to set up sleeping areas in the doorways and niches of buildings closed for the night. It is surreal to be sharing the sidewalk with expensively dressed people heading to warm environments and nourishing meals and then look down and see another human being in deep sleep under blankets and plastic sheeting surrounded by all that they possess. Responding to these situations is difficult – I have felt powerless to do anything other than pray for the homeless person as I pass and wonder how human beings can live in such desperate conditions in the midst of so much wealth, power, and beauty.
Of course one need not travel as far as Washington to experience the reality of homelessness. For decades Richmond’s population has included people who make their home on the streets. Many suffer with mental and physical illnesses that impede their ability to make a living or different choices. Numerous groups work tirelessly to assist these most vulnerable members of society, but there is also a tacit effort to keep “the homeless” in designated areas. In recent months great controversy erupted as plans to improve Monroe Park included vanquishing the homeless individuals living there, removing them along with debris and pushing them ever further toward the margins of society.
Maybe it is our human nature to establish artificial constructs of “good” and “bad” and then to separate out the bad. As children, the criteria for separation may be the way someone dresses or the color of their hair. Disabilities can also render children the target of scorn and estrangement from their classmates. As we get older the lines of demarcation are just as arbitrary – athletic prowess, intellect, or career path. And disability, mental illness or chronic medical conditions often remain as lines of separation.
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus makes it quite clear that the job of judging our fellow human beings will fall to the angels and not to us. As Matthew’s Parable of the Weeds (Matthew 13:24) demonstrates, it is not our job to determine which plants should remain in the field and which should be removed. But I do believe that we are expected to tend the field – keep it watered and nurtured so that it remains a fertile ground for the plants to flourish and mature.
The Oregon Hill Neighborhood [where St. Andrews is located] is one such field, and we have long been aware that our community includes homeless people. While many within this congregation have longed for the ability to confront the challenge of homelessness in a meaningful and loving way, the path has seemed ambiguous and daunting. Fortunately an opportunity to participate in a city-wide initiative has emerged, and there has been some exciting planning underway to participate in 1000 Homes for 1000 Virginians – Richmond campaign. This project’s goal is to systematically locate and interview every chronically homeless person in Richmond and include them in a registry that will be used to provide housing to those in the most need as it becomes available. Virginia Supportive Housing and Homeward are the two agencies leading this initiative, along with the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness. The advantage of partnering with them is that they have the resources and expertise to develop and facilitate a comprehensive program that can make a substantive impact in lives of chronically homeless individuals. With their guidance we can engage in specific tasks that will contribute to this very ambitious undertaking.
After training on July 31, a group from our parish will go out into our neighborhood on three consecutive mornings to locate and interview our homeless brothers and sisters so they can be included in the registry. Volunteers are also needed to compile the information gathered by teams throughout the city, help manage the central command center, and support everyone involved with this project.
While registry week is the focus of this initial “mission trip at home” it is only a beginning. This is an opportunity to cross that elusive line that has challenged our engagement with homeless people residing in our community. Each of us can discern how we might be called to follow that path to tend our field and ensure that every plant growing here has a chance to flourish. Hopefully our efforts will enable some who live on the streets of our community to eventually move to their own homes, and as we grow in relationship with them we can help facilitate those transitions, all the while celebrating our shared humanity as children of the kingdom.
Posted on May 18, 2011
This past weekend staff from Virginia Supportive Housing and Homeward took part in the 100,000 Homes Registry Week Boot Camp in Philadelphia. On Saturday and Sunday staff learned how to implement to 100,000 Homes Model in Richmond. Part of that model is a Registry Week where the community administers health surveys to people experiencing homelessness. Volunteers, including Boot Camp attendees, went out at 4am three days in a row to canvas the streets of Philly to find and survey homeless individuals and families. It was an amazing experience. The blog below is after the second day of Registry Week. Please stay tuned for more information on Richmond’s Registry Week (August 1 through 5th) and how to get involved.
This is a guest post by the 100K Homes Philly Campaign. This blog post was originally posted on 100K Homes Philly blog. Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at 07:50PM
It was cold, rainy and just messy on our streets this morning, which means most people want to stay in their nice warm safe beds as long as possible. Thankfully, the 100KHomes Philly teams rose at 2 and 3 am to hit the streets of Philly and see who among us did not have a warm and safe place to be.
Teams were deployed to Horizon House’s Navigation Center, where over 50 people slept on a floor in Mantua to stay out of the rain. We attempted to survey everyone and most agreed. Teams went again to the SEPTA [subway] concourse and now most folks knew we were coming and organized themselves into a line to do the survey. Teams that had walked the streets and found no one had learned to check under the bridges and I-95 and found 4, 5 or 6 people today where yesterday, they had seen none. The same teams want to go back again tomorrow, because they are learning, you just have to keep looking. People are there.
Perhaps most exciting, the NEAT team (also known as Team 3) engaged a person on Monday, who had every vulnerability criteria that the folks from 100K Homes national taught us about on Sunday. Long time on the streets, alcoholism, serious mental illness and chronic health conditions, over 60 years of age, long physical health hospital admissions and ER visits. We had to act. So the NEAT team went and engaged him again today with his case manager of 10+ years from PATH and staff from Pathways to Housing PA, who have housing PLUS services to offer him. We hope we can have him housed by Friday and will keep you posted.
KYW stopped by and did some interviews at 315 S Broad St and went out with a team. Check out their interview at http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2011/05/17/volunteers-conduct-census-of-homeless-in-philadelphia/
This job would be impossible without the dedication and skill of our volunteers. Please don’t lose steam now; we’ve got one more big day and dozens of more people to reach! To date, we have 377 unduplicated interviews. Even for teams that haven’t completed lots of interviews, you are giving us a better idea of where homeless people stay (and where they don’t), which is absolutely invaluable information that will have service and policy implications. Kudos to all who are supporting us.
A warm loving shout out to Project Home and Bethesda Project, that had their opening for Connelly House today. 79 formerly homeless men and women now have a warm, safe place and a community downtown, thanks to the efforts of these two tireless agencies.
Stay dry, stay safe, stay warm, till you come join us again tomorrow. And even when this event ends, we are not done. Stay connected to the site for updates on events or how you can support the efforts. Follow us on Twitter at @100KhomesPhilly or like our Facebook page at 100K Homes Philly.
See you tomorrow. It’s supposed to be wet, so be prepared.
Posted on May 11, 2011
On a beautiful spring evening last week, VSH held a reception to thank volunteers at the home of VSH Board President Leon Shadowen. It was our first official volunteer recognition event since implementing our volunteer program in 2010.
If you look at sheer numbers alone, our embrace of volunteerism has been wildly successful: over 450 volunteers in 2010 compared with 50 in 2009. We logged almost 500 hours per month of volunteer time in 2010!
But, who’s counting? What’s really important is the experience that volunteers have working with VSH, its properties and clients (volunteer satisfaction with their experience was either good—64% or excellent—36%). Even more important is the impact that volunteers have on VSH and the lives of our clients. Just watch the YouTube video that features Capital One volunteers helping Joe Brightful move into his new apartment to get a sense of the impact.
While many volunteers supported us in many valuable ways last year, we felt compelled to give special recognition to three groups of volunteers who went above and beyond the call of duty. We were privileged to give our Bob Sledd Volunteer of the Year Award to:
- Capital One for logging over 600 hours on VSH projects!
- Grove Avenue Baptist Church for faithfully bringing dinner and fellowship to New Clay House residents for more than 10 years!
- Commonwealth Chapel, whose many projects at New Clay House include a 12-hour day installing new tile in the community room—and they’re still coming back for more!
This wonderful new volunteer program at VSH doesn’t just happen on its own. VSH is extremely blessed to have the best volunteer coordinator in town, Alison Jones-Nassar, who tirelessly works alongside the volunteers, smiling and encouraging all the way. The volunteers do an amazing job because they know that every single activity and project they do helps us accomplish our mission to end homelessness!
So, thanks to everyone who attended this beautiful event last week and thanks to Leon Shadowen and his wife Laurie for hosting the event. Most of all, thanks to every VSH volunteer for giving the gift of your time so that we can do what we do best – provide proven, permanent solutions to homelessness. We can’t do it without you!
To see photos of volunteers in action, click here. To be a part of VSH’s volunteer program in 2011, click here.
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!
