At the Center

How quickly time passes! Of course it was a pretty busy month so that makes the days go by in a flash. We had another record-breaking month, 20 new people used the center for the first time in April. We saw 466 in the daytime and 562 joined us overnight. I’ve also become increasingly aware of the lack of affordable housing for seniors.   A homeless shelter should never be the only option for a senior citizen but there are not many options. 

We’ll be changing our hours soon. The Center has always opened at 6 pm and closed at 8 am.  When it’s cold, that’s fine but with warmer temperatures and in the interest of making our ESG monies last a little longer we will be changing overnight hours from      7 pm to 7 am.  

All our employees have successfully registered for fingerprint cards, three still need to get their fingerprints taken but the process has been started.  This is a very hard job to come to every day!  Verbal gratitude to staff and volunteers is incredibly important so I encourage positive feedback on a regular basis.

Chamber Mixer

Our chamber mixer /open house/ ribbon cutting was a great success! We handed out  little flyers detailing our immediate and ongoing needs. It was surprising to see how many miles those flyers went! Several people, not at the mixer, arrived with donations based on our updated list.  Such kind gestures continue to surprise and amaze me.  

During our mixer, we met a fellow who worked for many years in the Utah prison system where he started a speech program training people to motivate others by using examples from their own experiences. He would like to try something similar here and of course anything that can improve people’s lives is something we wholeheartedly support. 

Rollins House-Transitional Housing

We’ve finished editing our Procedure and Policy Manual and lease agreement for tenants in Rollins House. We hope people will start moving in by mid-month.  

Around Town

Board President Carol Quasuala and I went to the grand opening of Hope House in Sedona.  Hope House is a transitional living home for families.  They can house up to 3 families and I am so supportive of their endeavors!  We will meet again soon to  discuss how we can support each other  and we’ll get to explain how our transitional housing will operate. 

Rhonda Bishop

Executive Director