February 2006 Newsletter
The President’s Man
Comes Calling
An important visitor pays you a compliment
By Cecil Dunn
Last month we had a
visit from Philip Mangano. He is the executive director of the United
States Interagency Council on Homelessness. The Interagency Council is a
part of the Domestic Policy Council within the Executive Office of the
President and is responsible for the coordination of 20 federal agencies in
their response to reduce and end homelessness. Mr. Mangano was appointed by
the president to head the council in March, 2002.
Prior to his appointment, he was the founding executive director of the
Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA), a statewide coalition of
80 agencies that operate over 200 programs. During his tenure MHSA developed
statewide strategies to reduce and end homelessness in
Massachusetts.
Research conducted by MHSA led to greater emphasis on the prevention of
homelessness especially from mental health, substance abuse, corrections,
and foster care systems.
I’m giving you these excerpts from Mr. Mangano’s record just to point out
that he is a man with long experience in matters involving the homeless. In
other words, he knows his stuff.
That’s why it was gratifying that he chose to visit us. He had heard so
many good things about what we are doing here that he decided he needed to
come and see for himself.
We told him about all the different programs we operate to help homeless
individuals learn how to get off the street and stay off the street. We
talked to him about mental illness and addiction. We outlined our
employment and transitional housing programs. Like Mr. Mangano, we have
learned that there is more to helping the homeless than food and shelter.
We also gave him a tour of the
Ball-Quantrell
Jones Center for Women, home to our Recovery Program for Women. He had
heard a lot about Recovery
Kentucky,
the new state-wide program for homeless people suffering from addiction. He
wanted to see the facility that will serve as the model for every Recovery
Kentucky Facility in the state. We showed him.
As I mentioned,
it is gratifying when people come to see what you are doing because they
have heard so many good things about your work. Since the Recovery Kentucky
program was announced we have led literally hundreds of substance abuse
professionals on tours of our facilities. We have sat down with them to
describe the program and to go over the financial considerations. We have
received countless compliments including the best compliment of all – a
commitment to imitate what we are doing.
The Hope Center Board of Directors over the years deserve a ton of praise
for the vision and commitment that have helped create this state of affairs,
but there’s also another point I want to make.
I especially take pleasure in telling these things to you, the readers of
this newsletter. You are indispensable partners in everything we do. When
Philip Mangano comes to
Lexington
to learn more about how to help the homeless, he is, in a very real sense,
paying tribute to you. Your faithfulness to our clients and to our mission
is the reason he was here. Thank you.
RUN FOR IT!!!
(The Clover
Classic, that is.)
That’s all it takes for
you to help the homeless in central
Kentucky. Runners and
walkers of all ages are encouraged to participate March 11, 2006, in the 10th
Annual Clover Classic 5k Walk/Run. The event will be held on the grounds of
the Kentucky Horse Park using Steeplechase Barn.
The Hope Center
and Johnny and Karen Morgison invite you to get on your mark, get set, and
go to the Hope Center Clover Classic 5K Run/Walk, where you can have fun,
stay fit and make a difference to those in need. The Clover Classic is in
honor of the Morgisons’ son Ryan Lee Morgison, who understood what a
difference compassion can make in the life of someone less fortunate.
All proceeds from this event will benefit the
Hope Center’s Emergency
Shelter and Substance Abuse Recovery Programs. Your participation in this
exciting event will help feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, free the
addicted and restore hope to the desperate, right here in Lexington! So
run for it…!
What: The Hope Center’s 10th Annual Clover Classic 5K Race, in Loving Memory of Ryan Lee Morgison
When: Saturday, March
11, 2006, 9:00
a.m.
On-site registration begins at
7:30 a.m.
Where: *The
Kentucky Horse Park
4089 Ironworks Parkway
Lexington, KY 40511
Cost: $15 to pre-register $20 to register at the race $50 for groups of 5
For Clover Classic sponsorship and registration information or to find out how you can help from home, visit www.hopectr.org, or call Stephanie Ramsey at (859) 252-7881 or e-mail at sramsey@hopectr.org.
*Please note the new location at the Steeplechase Barn!
Things we need
Robitussin PM (Alcohol free)
Feminine hygiene items
Dryer sheets
Detergent
Notebook paper
Prepaid phone cards
Recovery Bibles
Deodorant
White socks
Razors
Shaving cream
Underwear
T Shirts
Random notes on homelessness in America …
Hate crimes against the homeless during 2004 were studied by the National Coalition for the Homeless. According to their statistics: There were 25 lethal attacks and 80 that were non-lethal; Attacks occurred in 36 cities in 22 states and Puerto Rico; The age range for the victims was 20 to 65 years; The age range for the accused or convicted was 12 to 45.
Thinking back to December
December was a wonderful
month for the
Hope
Center as we partnered
with many sponsors and volunteers from the community to make the season of
giving a special time for those less fortunate.
On December 15th, as we do every year, we opened our doors to the
homeless and at-risk families in the community to join with us here in a
Christmas celebration. Over 400 clients and guests were treated to cookies
and punch as they waited their turn to see Santa and receive a gift or two
to top off the night. It was great to see so many smiling faces and warm
bodies receive a touch of hope that evening.
Gifts for this event were kindly donated in an annual tradition from
Ashland, Inc., Bluegrass Credit Union Chapter, Christ the King, Central
Baptist Church of Paris, Commonwealth Travel, the Newman Center and Whitaker
Bank. Without the help of these sponsors and their employees this affair
could not have been possible. Thank you.
Another item to celebrate was the terrific response we had to our annual 12
Days of Christmas. If you are not familiar with this tradition, the
Hope
Center relies on
the kindness of friends and neighbors throughout a period of twelve days to
help provide, cook and serve the dinner meal each night. Both an undertaking
of cost and time, volunteers work to feed 200 men at the Loudon Avenue
facility despite the demands on their own budget and schedule at that time
of year.
This past year’s calendar ran from December 22, 2005 through
January 2,
2006. We had
such a positive turnout in sponsorships that not a day was missed. Thank
you to the following families and groups for making this year a memorable
one in the hearts and stomachs of our clients!
First Presbyterian Church, Episcopal Church of the Resurrection,
Dudley’s
Restaurant, The Jo Robertson Family,
Lowell and Betty Nigoff,
Second Presbyterian Church, the Winchester Church of God, Daybreak Community
Church, Hill-n-Dale Christian Church, Christ Church Cathedral, Shiloh
Baptist Church, Lexington Korean United Methodist Church, Beaumont
Presbyterian Church and Victory Baptist Church.
The 12 Days of Christmas demonstrate what a special experience it is to
prepare, bring and serve a special meal for the clients. This experience is
a great one any time of year. If you or your group would be interested in
participating in the life of the
Hope
Center
in this way, contact Katie Locklar, 859-252-7881 or klocklar@hopectr,org.
Christmas anytime! If you or your group is interested in preparing, bringing and serving a special meal at the Hope Center, contact Katie Locklar at 859-252-7881 or klocklar@hopectr,org. It can be a special and rewarding experience for the clients and for you.
There passed this way …
“Jack” came to the Hope Center a homeless addict. He joined the Recovery Program. Here’s some of what he has to say:
I had my first drink at
8, marijuana at 10, and, from ages 10 to 24, alcohol was the supplement to
the marijuana. It was something to enhance the marijuana, my drug of choice
from 10 to 24. From the age of 12 to 24 I smoked marijuana daily. I
started hanging around with a lot of radio personalities. They were all
cocaine users. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday it wasn't uncommon for
me to use five, six or seven hundred dollars worth of cocaine a night.
Still, I was putting away five to eight hundred dollars a week of profit
even though I was using that much. I was really selling in order to enable
me to use, but I was still able to make money on the side. I was also able
to keep a job and do so well they kept me even though they were enabling me.
The biggest part of this
process for me is starting to get to know myself. I've always defined me by
my job, by what kind of income I earned, what I drove, where I lived, and my
family. About a year ago, someone in the program asked me, if I couldn't
talk about my job or my family, what could I say positive about my self. I
really didn't have anything to say. I was still defining me by everything
around me. Here, I've had to really look at me. It's put me in the
position where I'm relying on God this time instead of some of these outside
issues. I didn't see it then, but I can see it now, because I'm here. That
daily contact with my family that I enjoyed for 37 years of my life is no
longer there.
The way I see myself now, number one, I'm an addict -- in recovery. And I'm a child of God with something to offer. God has blessed me with a lot of abilities or a lot of talents. But I'm just scratching the surface of them.
