Cause Project
by HEART AND HOME COLLABORATIVE
$10,000.00
Donation Goal
Donation Goal
Project Details
Homelessness is on the rise in the US for the first time since the Great Recession. This is an issue that is intimately personal to our Bay Area community; in San Francisco, about 7,500 homeless people were counted last year. Along with this rise, access to affordable housing and shelters is limited. Waitlists to get into shelters can exceed 1,000 names.
At Heart and Home, we provide a warm winter shelter for unhoused women in the greater Palo Alto community. We hosted an average of 7 women per night in 2018, amounting to a total of 450 winter nights spent in our shelter rather than outdoors. This year, we will expand to a third congregation, enabling us to operate for the entirety of the winter and provide greater support to our shelter guests. This extension would not have been possible without your generosity in last year's #GivingTuesday campaign.
Stanford students spearheaded the initiative to create the shelter in 2012, after talking with unhoused individuals in Palo Alto and recognizing the immediate need for more shelter beds. For several years, we have operated our shelter in the winter months, keeping our shelter guests out of the cold and building a tight-knit community. The shelter currently operates as a partnership between Stanford students and community members, including members of the congregations who give their space to our shelter and individuals who have been affected by homelessness in their own lives. Working with Palo Alto congregations, we provide space to sleep in a professionally staffed environment from 7pm-7am; mattresses and bedding; dinner; breakfast and to-go lunches; daytime storage for 2 bags of belongings; laundry service; a weekly shower truck; and special community events.
Heart and Home is unique in its approach to shelter because of its client-centered model. We understand that our shelter guests are our experts, and give them a leading role in shaping their shelter experience. Through sharing meals and personal conversation, Heart and Home has sought to develop and strengthen personal friendships among guests and volunteers. Our network of volunteers comes from the Stanford student body, Palo Alto church attendees and other community members, and local high school students. Nearly fifty Stanford students and other affiliates volunteered at the University Lutheran Church in 2018, with many of them returning repeatedly.
This year, with your help, we look forward to continuing to build connections with our neighbors and peer organizations in the Bay Area, increasing our capacity to support those we serve and to strengthen our community of guests and volunteers.
Donation Deadline
Tuesday, Jan 1, 2019
Project Website
http://www.hhcollab.org Project Location
1611 Stanford Ave, PALO ALTO,
California 94306-1255
United States.