6 Month Summary

We are well into February and the shelter is very busy. We have been at or near capacity several times both this month and last. We currently have 6 residents with us and are still receiving calls looking for shelter almost every week. We recently had two families of three check out, another family of four will soon be transitioning into an apartment. One of our young men just checked out in the past few weeks (headed off to college!).

We would like to thank our supporters and our community for making Christmas possible for our residents. I am daily overwhelmed by your generosity. Through your kindness and giving hearts we have been blessed to not only provide for the basic needs of warmth, food, and shelter but also for some small luxuries during this holiday season. Through gifts of both funds and supplies we were able to share gifts this Christmas with 12 kids and 7 adults who would have otherwise received nothing. We were able to provide Christmas trees, ornaments, and a wonderful meal with good fellowship. This helped make being here at the shelter feel at least a little more like home. Your generosity has been humbling, overwhelming, and a wonderful example as we share the true meaning of Christmas. On behalf of our staff here at the shelter as well as its residents I want to say Thank You to all who made this possible!

In mid December the staff here at the shelter, in conjunction with many other volunteers, were blessed to be able to help the Mission distribute an entire semi load or 36 pallets worth of misc. bread and baked goods to our community! These items are donated through bakeries here in the state to help serve food pantries, shelters, and other non-profit organizations, helping fill a need in their respective communities.
Thanks to our local community as well as friends and supporters from across the country we are able to continue to help our residents find employment, housing, transportation, clothes, and food. We are very thankful for your prayers and support, without you we couldn’t help those in need in our community. We are also grateful for recent donations of other supplies including food, toiletries, hats, mittens, and blankets we’ve received these past months to serve and maintain the shelter.

If you have the opportunity, please stop by our website where we have pictures of the shelter posted and lots of shelter information. Also in the Directors Notes you will find some year-end numbers and a summary for 2010 and our first 6 months of operation. This letter will also be posted there with the detailed 6 month report for your viewing pleasure. I hope you’ll stop by and I’m always glad to respond to your comments. www.newhopeshelter.net

Here are some of the numbers from our first 6 months of operation, Aug-Jan. We have received 49 calls from people looking for shelter. We have had 32 residents. We have provided 927 nights of shelter. 31% of our residents have been single unaccompanied males, 16% unaccompanied females, and 53% of our residents have been families. 69% of our residents are from here in Forest County. We are averaging about 5 shelter nights per day. The average length of stay per resident is about 29 days. In the past six months we have helped 5 people with emergency short term stays as they were passing through our area. We have helped find stable employment or schooling for 6 people, stable housing for 19 people. 28 people or 87% of our residents have received case management services. In the months of Sept. and Dec. we were at max. capacity with 10-12 people here at one time. While we have beds to sleep 14, the empty beds were in the men’s side, which meant we had to turn away any women or families with children looking for shelter. We have logged over 3100 miles helping transport residents to doctor appointments, court dates, or even just to the grocery store in the last 6 months. We are very thankful for the many volunteers that help make this possible. We have also received two donated vehicles to help get people to where they need to go. God is good, everyday!

Through your help we are continuing to fight the fundraising battle. We’ve received many donations in December both to help out with Christmas and as year-end contributions. In November we applied for and were granted an award from the State Shelter Subsidy Grant program in the amount of $1,849.00, which comprises about 4% of our annual budget. We currently have funds to continue operations through approximately July/August. We have the ESG or Emergency Solutions Grant application due in March which could potentially fund a portion of this year’s budget. We are also hoping to apply for funding to implement a transitional housing program through the ESG grant as well. This program would provide an added step in the process of helping stabilize homeless families in our area by allowing them a longer term solution, up to 24 months, to help secure permanent housing. There are a couple other grants that we are preparing to apply for in the coming months that may help us meet a portion of our budget requirements for the rest of this year. Thank you to all who have donated this past year! No donation is too small. Many of our supporters are helping us do His work five or ten dollars at a time. Please join us in prayer and praise about our finances for the rest of this year.

Our email address has also recently changed. Please feel free to contact me at director@newhopeshelter.net

Thanks again for your support and prayers!

In His service,

Micah Dewing
Shelter Director