FEBRUARY 2007 NEWSLETTER
We Help the Homeless
That’s the simple truth about a complicated challenge
The Hope Center provides so many different services that some times I find it hard to describe in a short phrase exactly what it is we do. At the end of the day, however, we really do one thing: We help the homeless.
The reason we end up providing so many different services as we help the homeless is that the many different individuals who are homeless need so many different services.
When we help an alcoholic or drug addict break his or her addiction, we are helping that person escape homelessness. After all, more than half of the homeless people in this country have some sort of problem with substance abuse.
When we help that alcoholic or drug addict while he or she is in jail for a crime related to substance abuse, we help prevent that person from becoming homeless after release.
Then there are the mentally ill. About a quarter of the homeless people in this country have some from of mental illness. That includes schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and severe depression. When we help that person with diagnosis, medication and life skills training, we save him from a life lost on the street.
We also help people homeless people connect with employment training and opportunities. Often this assistance has to wait until other problems are taken care of, like substance abuse. Those who are disabled, like many of our mental health clients, we help get the benefits they qualify for.
For our recovery clients who leave the shelter, it can be important for them to live in an environment that encourages their sobriety. That’s why we operate Hill Rise Place, a drug- and alcohol-free apartment building.
We also help many other clients find housing that they can afford and even help them put together the funds necessary to get an apartment, funds for things like deposits on utilities and security rent payments.
We connect clients with other services and agencies as well, making sure they know where they can find help.
All the while we provide food, shelter and clothing to our clients as well. This is the immediate help that staves off crisis. Recently, in fact, we set a new record at our male facility by sheltering 244 men. We couldn’t have done it without help from our friends at Grace Baptist Church who grant us the use of their education building on nights like that one.
So, we help the homeless. It’s that simple, and, as you see, it’s that complex. We are always looking for ways to do more and ways to do things better. We look for ways to expand and ways to improve, but we never lose sight of our simple goal.
The Hope Center Volvo Raffle is on! Check out the link on this website or go to www.winthevolvo.com for all the information about your chance to win a 2007 Volvo S80. And thanks again to Quantrell Auto Group for their generosity and loyal support. Buy your ticket now!
11th
Annual Clover Classic 5K Walk/Run
March 17 is a special day this
year. It’s St. Patrick’s Day and the day of the Hope Center’s 11th
Annual Clover Classic 5K Walk/Run. What makes it even more special? It
is also Ryan Morgison’s birthday, in whose honor we hold the race. Ryan’s
life exemplified compassion for those less fortunate. It’s exciting that the
race that is held in his honor is also on his birthday.
The Hope Center and Johnny and Karen Morgison would like to invite you to participate in the Clover Classic. It’s a great reason to get out on a Saturday morning and take in the crisp air of early spring, and it’s a healthy reason too!
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!
There have been some exciting changes to the Clover Classic this year. We have added a Team Challenge to the competition. Gather some friends together and walk or run for the homeless!
What: The Hope Center’s 11th Annual Clover Classic 5K Race, in Loving Memory of Ryan Lee Morgison
When: Saturday, March 17,
2007, 9:00 a.m.
On-site registration begins at 7:30 a.m.
Where: *The
Kentucky Horse Park, Steeplechase Barn
4089 Ironworks Parkway
Lexington, KY 40511
Cost: $20 to pre-register $25 to register at the race
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.
Check out
the Hope Center web site!
When you go to www.hopectr.org you can find lots of information about
the Hope Center and its work. There are sections devoted to the history of
the organization, financial reports, past newsletters, detailed information
about all the Center’s programs, annual statistics, a power point
presentation, upcoming events, donation information and volunteer
opportunities. See for yourself. Click now!
Things we need:
Razors
White socks (no blacks)
Shaving cream
Small soaps
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Combs
Coats
Blankets
Sheets
Towels
Gloves
Long underwear
Hats
Lotions
Shampoo
Motrin
Pepto Bismol
Tylenol
Sudafed
Milk of Magnesia
Robitussin PM (Alcohol free)
ChlorTabs
Aleve
There passed this way …
“Julian” was a different sort of client. He was 76 when he arrived at the
Hope Center in November 2005. A native of Hungary, he has lived in Ontario
for the past 20 years on a modest pension. However, he prefers Florida
winters to Canadian ones, and so, having little in the way of means, he
rides his bicycle south every year. That year he met with a hit-and-run
accident while riding through Somerset. He suffered some serious injuries
and was taken to the University of Kentucky hospital. With no place to go
on discharge, he came to the Hope Center where he became a client of our
Social Services Program. The Health Clinic assigned Julian to a medical bed
so he could convalesce. He got what he needed from the Hope Center, a place
to stay and time to heal. By March, he had recovered and had also repaired
his bicycle. He returned to Ontario and, in August, sent Director of Plant
Operations Ken Newton a letter:
During
my time at the Hope Center I was fortunate enough to meet a number of people
who became friends.
However, I would like to thank you and your staff for the care,
consideration and warm felt welcome that
surrounded me every day. I frequently reflect on the time I spent at the
center, and the memories are always
cheerful. I will be forever grateful for your friendship, the memories and
your kindness.
"Thank you very much and Hello to all the staff!"
Postscript: This past November, Julian and his bicycle stopped by the Hope
Center on his way to Florida and
spent the night.
.
