We can only image what it feels like to walk into a homeless shelter for the first time.

Earlier this year, a guest arrived at our Women’s Shelter directly from prison. Upon entry into the shelter, she was, understandably, timid and displaying external signs of anxiety.

To help alleviate a small part of these fears, our case managers meet new guests at the front door and offer them a cup of coffee or a shower or a glass of water.

After the guest has settled in, the case managers will walk them through our intake process. They share what they can expect from us and in turn, what we expect from the guests.

Then, the guest meets with a case manager once a week to navigate their immediate needs, goals and barriers.

For this guest, her work with our case managers resulted in safe, secure housing. She was able to slowly save up enough money to secure a vehicle.

She successfully completed her required probation class as well as the 26-week Bridges Out of Poverty program!

This is what it looks like to grow something better with our guests.

Partnering with our guests as they move towards stability is root of what we do, and you are a part of that work. In your donations, volunteering, and advocacy you are helping us slowly weed out the root causes of homelessness in our community, and grow something better.

Would you consider making a gift this winter so that we can grow into the new year?