Hawaii Community Foundation’s Post

🔥Preparing for Hot Weather & Emergency Tips As temperatures rise, it's vital to prepare for the heatwaves that come our way. At Kelowna's Gospel Mission, we're dedicated to ensuring the safety of our unsheltered neighbours. How are we preparing for the next heatwave? 1. Provide Cool Zones: Establishing shaded areas with access to water and cooling stations in community centers, libraries, and public buildings equipped with air conditioning. 2. Distribute Hydration and Sun Protection: Deploying outreach teams to distribute water bottles, sunscreen, hats, and lightweight clothing to shield against the harsh sun. 3. Offer Cooling Centers: Setting up temporary refuges to offer a safe haven during the peak of the heatwave. 4. Fire Safety Education: Distributing educational materials about fire safety, including evacuation routes and emergency shelter information. 5. Transportation Assistance: Providing rides to those unable to reach cooling centers or shelters on their own. 6. Community Engagement: Collaborating with local homeless shelters, advocacy groups, and service providers to maximize resource distribution and support. How You Can Help: 🙋♂️Volunteering: You can contribute your time and skills to help those in need. 🎒Donate Supplies: Items such as water, hats, sunscreen, aloe vera, Gatorade, and freezies are greatly needed. 💰Monetary Donations: Contributions are crucial—they enable us to expand critical services, like extending staffing hours to respond promptly during emergencies. Please donate here to help us maintain safety during extreme weather. https://lnkd.in/g2UaVaPE Your support helps us not only respond to immediate needs but also prepare for future challenges. Together, we can ensure that our community is #HeatwaveReady and that care extends to everyone in need. #CommunityCare #KelownasGospelMission #HomelessSupport #Kelowna #EmergencyPreparedness #ExtremeWeatherPreparedness #SupportLocalCharities #DonateSupplies

Happy Christmas from West Mercia Search and Rescue! But it won’t be so happy if you’ve been involved with an incident in the river during the holiday season. The night-time economy of Shrewsbury is strung out along the river and the blend of alcohol, young people and partying leads to numerous incidents, both accidental and intentional, that involve people in the water. The dare-devil jump off the bridge, the drunken slip down the bank, the jokey push that leads to loss of balance and immersion. These may all seem fun in the summer but in December water temperatures are likely to mean you will last only a couple of minutes before you are unable to help yourself. At WMSAR we believe that a visible presence on the busiest nights can help to address the issues, we can share our advice for water safety and be on hand if there are any incidents. We work with a number of local organisations including the Police, the Council and the Street Pastors. We are also joined by Kirsty Walsh who has become an Ambassador for the team, and an active campaigner for improved safety measures by the river, since losing her husband, Shane, in the river a few years ago. This year we will be out on the riverside on Friday and Saturday 15th and 16th and 22nd and 23rd December. We are looking for sponsors who would like to be involved with this initiative, who would like their name identified with the campaign and who are prepared to contribute towards the cost of our team turning out with, vehicles, communications, water safety equipment, first aiders and other trained personnel. In previous years we have pulled people from the river, stopped people weaving their way towards danger, helped the police make sure an inebriated person was safely collected, and visited the pubs to spread the word of our “Home & Dry” project. WMSAR is a totally volunteer charity. We are hugely supported by the local pubs and clubs, who make sure we have hot drinks to keep us going and we are now hoping to defray some of the other costs of this important community action. We don’t ask for any money for our time and each member will also pay their own way to get there.  £200 will cover the costs of one of our special emergency vehicles being on site for one night. £100 will cover our other expenses, and contribute towards equipment maintenance. If you are a business: A donation of £500 means you can become a Silver Supporter and £1000 makes you a Gold Supporter, we’ll put your logo on our website and offer other social media and PR support depending on the level you choose. Can you help us this year, and help ensure local people have a Happy Christmas.

Of the growing number of Portland mayoral candidates, it seems only Keith Wilson has a detailed 1-year business plan for ending unsheltered homelessness. The others may verbalize everyone’s discontent with the tents, RVs, trash, graffiti and crime, but talking about the problems isn’t the same as writing down the steps to fixing them. And going above and beyond a written plan, Keith even created a working model to demonstrate its mechanism. And at $16/night/person under his program, versus $189/night under the current “Safe Rest Village” solution, we should all be wondering what’s causing the disparity. Every successful commercial real estate broker I know writes an annual business plan on what they will do for the year. The business of fixing unsheltered homelessness is no different from other businesses— you need an actual plan, or nothing will get accomplished. We need a results oriented mayor. OPB The Oregonian / OregonLive.com Willamette Week Portland Business Journal Portland Mercury CCIM Oregon/SW Washington Chapter Revitalize Portland Coalition Prosper Portland

Driving through the gates of ELIM NIGHT SHELTER in ELSIES RIVER, brought a peacefulness to my soul. A deep sigh of relief......"we are finally here". Patricia, one of the Managers, greeted us with the biggest brightest smile & we knew the introduction won't be a handshake, but a very tight hug ...... just the way we like it Elim has a special kind of way when dealing with their clients (the people seeking refuge & help & made the conscious decision that they want to turn their lives around for good). Their are two Managers, two Supervisors, two Social workers, Auxiliary assistant, Kitchen manager and a couple staying on the premises as the full-time guardians. Nicole, one of the socialworkers, handles the first phase of the walk-in clients. Assessing and identifying the reason why the client's life became what it is. Substance abuse & unemployment are most of the time the main reason. They get 6 months where Elim goes out of their way to start the process of healing. Councelling, budget planning, job searching & making sure they have all the important documents they need(ID, CV, etc). As Elim is a Christan based establishment, the Lighthouse Church and U-Turn are also involved in this process. After 6 months the clients get assessed by another socialworker, Magdalene who handles Phase 2. If they are rehabilitated, they move to Elim House where they can stay another 6 months. In Elim House they each have their own room where they can cook & learn certain lifeskills to become ready to reintegrate back into the community. They even started their own vegetable garden To the staff of Elim this is not just a job, but a calling. They treat their clients like family & show endless love, patience and understanding to them. The success stories are proof of it. Local shops & businesses give donations, but Elim also relies on Government Funding which is minimal. They have a Thrift shop to help cover some of their expenses as well. If you want to support them, you can contact Shafeek or Patricia at Tel: 021-591 2824 Angels were able to make a donation of winter clothes. 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜 ON A PERSONAL NOTE: When we put on our purple shirts, we become Angels in Action. We don't share about our private lives, even if we can identify with an Outreach. We believe every Outreach is not about us, but all the special people we meet. We're dedicating the Elim Nightshelter Outreach, to one of our own Angels, who's currently in hospital for longer than anticipated. Visiting Elim, was her 'heart speaking out loud' and she looked forward to the Outreach. We stalled as long as possible, but had no choice but to make the heartbreaking decision to do it without her. Our Angelwings are hanging half mast. We miss her around the boardroom table. We miss her calm wisdom, input, her presence and unconditional availibility. Please pray with us, that she will soon shine her bright light again, and share her soft smile to those who need it

The experience of homelessness is diverse and so is the support that StreetSmart Australia provides. The impact of the ongoing housing and cost of living crisis looks different for everyone. Many have been priced out of their homes, living rough with pets and facing an impossible housing market. Others simply cannot afford food due to the rising cost of other necessities like rent and bills. This year, StreetSmart is targeting three key areas: 1. Food - providing well needed and nourishing meals, groceries and food relief; 2. A Roof - helping to create a safe new home with all the essentials and provide shelter and emergency accomodation for those in crisis; and 3. Pets - companionship is essential to mental and physical wellbeing, so we're helping with the often-overlooked challenge of helping individuals experiencing homelessness care for their pets. Please consider donating to StreetSmart's End of Year Appeal to help lighten the load for someone this summer. Visit https://lnkd.in/dqZTMPq7 to contribute - everything helps. Geoff Hills Barry Moore Damien Farrell Siba Diqer Adam Robinson Anna Lyons

A recent news story quoted the Executive Director of another agency claiming “GRACE doesn’t report it’s [sic] true numbers to anyone.” That same individual also sent the City Commission an email stating that GRACE receives “over 100k in non-grant funds from the City for Cold Night Shelter.” We would like to address the inaccuracies in each of these statements. First, GRACE reports accurate data regularly to a wide range of funders, including the City of Gainesville, Alachua County, the U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development, the U.S. Dept. of Veteran Affairs, the Florida Dept. of Children and Families, and others. For our emergency shelter alone, we report monthly: -Number of people served -Our shelter utilization rate -The number of people housed (and the type of housing) -The number of meals and services provided -The number of people served by our campus partners, and -How long people spend, on average, in shelter. The data points we report are validated and matched to the numbers reported in the community’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), and the reports we send to both the City and the County each month include the reports pulled directly from the HMIS. To the second point: GRACE does not receive “over $100k in non-grant funds from the City” to operate Cold Night Shelter. To the contrary, Cold Night Shelter is one of the countless services we provide unhoused people in partnership with the City and private donors. There are no additional funds made available to GRACE to provide this necessary service. While we remain unclear as to the intention of these remarks, we felt it necessary to respond and make our supporters aware of the work we do and the ongoing data reporting associated with this critical work. We remain grateful to our community partners for the work they do every day as we all work together to end homelessness. Read the full statement here: https://lnkd.in/gSb6hBzR

CODE BLUE WARNING ISSUED BY HRDC’S SHELTER IN RESPONSE TO ARCTIC COLD Severe cold weather is forecast to hit the region beginning on Friday putting community members who are unhoused at high risk for exposure-related injuries. Brian Guyer, HRDC’s Housing Director, issued the Code Blue designation which will begin at 7:00 am Friday and continue through 7:00 pm Monday depending on conditions saying: “This is always a very necessary, but costly action to take. While our Bozeman and Livingston emergency overnight shelters are not currently funded to be open during daytime hours, we are extremely concerned about our guests’ safety. We can use all the support our community can provide to help keep our doors open around the clock for anyone seeking a warm, safe place to stay. Getting people out of the elements is our top concern.” HRDC shelters up to 120 individuals each night and provides non-congregate shelter for families and individuals needing medical respite at a second Bozeman location. Regrettably, even with these facilities, seven people passed away while unhoused last year. Donations to HRDC’s Warming Centers can be made online by visiting https://lnkd.in/gGgY64Nq or can be submitted by mail to HRDC, c/o The Warming Center, 32 S. Tracy Avenue, Bozeman, MT 59715. PC: KBZK #ArcticCold #Montana #Bozeman #Livingston

Getting a motel voucher in Los Angeles involves reaching out to local assistance programs, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations that provide emergency support. You can start by contacting 2-1-1, a free service that connects you to community resources. Detailed article: https://bit.ly/44wPi8r 1. Research Local Resources: Look for local government programs, nonprofit organizations, and shelters that offer motel voucher assistance. 2. Call 2-1-1: Dial 2-1-1 to connect with a helpline that provides information about available resources and programs. 3. Visit Shelter Facilities: Homeless shelters and outreach centers often have information about motel voucher programs. 4. Check Online Directories: Search online for directories listing emergency shelter services in Los Angeles. 5. Contact Nonprofits: Reach out to nonprofit organizations, churches, and community centers that provide support to those in need. 6. Utilize Social Services: Explore resources from government agencies like the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA). 7. Consult Public Libraries: Public libraries may have information on community resources and assistance programs. 8. Engage with Healthcare Facilities: Hospitals and health clinics might offer guidance through social workers or case managers. 9. Follow Application Procedures: Contact relevant organizations and inquire about their specific eligibility criteria and application process. 10. Seek Guidance: If you're already in contact with shelters or social workers, ask them for assistance and recommendations. Additionally, explore online directories, visit homeless shelters or outreach centers, and check with nonprofits that aid those in need. Public libraries, community centers, and hospitals can also provide information. Keep in mind that eligibility criteria and application processes may vary, so it's essential to inquire directly with the relevant organizations to secure a motel voucher and temporary shelter assistance. #motelvouchers #LosangelesMotelVoucher #LosangelesAid #losangelesAssistance #EmergencyHousing #losangeles #211LA

The rates of post-traumatic stress and depression in firefighters are found to be as much as five times higher than the general public. Moreover, studies have found that the rate of suicide in firefighters is double that of the rest of the population. Fortunately, many charities offer important emotional, financial, and mental support, as well as educational resources to firefighters and their families. So we had to ask: What are the best charities that support firefighters? 👇 https://lnkd.in/giRYiSTh #charitysupport #firefighters #firefightersupport #ptsdawareness #publicsafety Firehouse Subs, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), All Clear Foundation - Supporting Emergency Responders, California Fire Foundation, Leary Firefighters Foundation, First Responders Children's Foundation, National Volunteer Fire Council, WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER FOUNDATION, Friends of Firefighters

We couldn't be more excited by the incredible response from supporters through our recent Winter Appeal. The collaborative and collective generosity of corporate partners, philanthropists, and our community of donors has enabled $180,000 to be distributed across 36 grants. This funding is making a real difference for thousands of people struggling to keep a roof over their head, feed their families, or get set up in a new home after experiencing homelessness and trauma. We focused our support into regional and metro areas identified as having high levels of homelessness and need, in the recent ABS Census, for example Devonport in Tasmania, Northern Rivers in NSW and Toowoomba in QLD. We have also prioritised filling the gaps and supporting smaller community organisations. For example, 74% of recipient organisations this round had an annual turnover of less than $5 million and 42% were volunteer run or had less than 10 staff. Have a read through below to find out about the housing and food projects we have been able to support. Dignity Homeless Services Australia Larrakia Nation Aboriginal Corporation, Indigo Junction Sisters Inside The Shelter Collective Warrina Women's Resource And Information Centre Wayss: Homelessness & Family Violence in Melbourne, Victoria You Matter St Mary's House of Welcome and Bridge Darebin to name a few. #homelessness #endhomelessness #philanthropy #foodrelief #housingfirst #housingcrisis https://lnkd.in/ewhgSuR3