COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER - November 6
10 THINGS WORTH HIGHLIGHTING THIS WEEK . . .
1.
HUMANITY OF HOMELESSNESS : Remembering Miss Janet
Janet, a guest at our Village of Hope site, recently passed away at Salem Hospital. We shared part of Ms. Janet’s story earlier this year and she shared about her life at our Storytelling event just a few weeks ago.
Ms. Janet was a dear companion and advisor to many who called her a friend and was most known for her ever-present smile and calming demeanor. Originally from California, she moved to Oregon in 2000 and fell in love with the coast. Ms. Janet touched the lives of many in her community. In the wake of her passing, her life was celebrated with laughter, stories, and food. As all who loved her believed she wanted.
We are grateful that we got to know Ms. Janet. She is already missed.
2.
ROOM IN THE INN - CHRISTMAS at CHURCH@THEPARK
We are excited to share our new
The C@P team is available to provide a table, announcement, or small presentation to your Church or small group about participating in Room In The Inn.
Send us an email to get on the schedule.
ROOM IN THE INN 2022 Vision:
More Stories & More Relationship = More Transformation
3 ways for individuals, churches, and businesses to get involved—
SERVE! Meals - Cook & deliver one of the 6 boxed Christmas meals - a full Instruction Sheet will be provided. Activities for kids - individually packaged craft / activity bags that can be given to-go.
GIVE! Commit your Church / Business to serve as a donation site for the Christmas Gift items: (1) Blankets (2) Pillows (3) Sweatshirts, (4) Socks & Underwear, (5) Gloves (6) Boots/Shoes, (7) Children’s Gifts Purchase & drop off NEW items - sign up by visiting the link, and deliver item(s) to one of the donation sites.
DONATE! If you would like to contribute a monetary donation, C@P has a $48,000 year end goal to match our gifts to the Benevolence Fund for: Rent deposits, sleeping bags, appointment gas cards, phone chargers, and car repair. Use the donate button at the end of the newsletter to contribute.
3.
HALLOWEEN FUN AT CCS
Thanks to everyone from the community who donated candy and other items so that the 70 kids and their families staying at our CCS Micro-Shelter Site could have a fun Halloween. Here are some pictures that Cheyenne captured.
4.
MYTHS
C@P’s StoryTeller, Sterling, researched and wrote on this topic. Below is an excerpt from his article. Click the button at the end of the excerpt to read the full article.
According to journalist Kyle Iboshi, “It’s difficult to measure the increase in gun violence among the homeless because nobody’s tracking the data. Unlike sex or race, housing status is not something detectives log when recording a crime victim’s data.” Although Iboshi was writing about increased gun victimization of the homeless, the data is equally difficult to track in relation to possessing firearms since housing status isn’t a generally tracked status.
Surprisingly however, there is plenty of data showing that homeless people are more often victims of violent crime, rather than perpetrators. Additionally, according to Greg Townley, from the Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative at Portland State University, “It's also really important to know that there are many instances of housed people enacting violence against people who are homeless.”
In looking to establish how violent a threat the homeless are to homeowners, one quickly discovers that it’s actually the housed who victimize the houseless more often. A report by The National Coalition for the Homeless found “the number of undeclared hate crimes resulting in the death of a homeless person happened at double the rate of other hate crime deaths based on religion, race or disability. Between 1999 and 2017, hate crime deaths among the general population totaled 183. In this same time period, 483 homeless people were killed in attacks by housed people.”
In addition to our unsheltered neighbors facing increased harassment, assault and victimization, they experience additional harm when “they all got guns” thinking and other myths influence our public opinion and perception in ways making it more challenging to look beyond the stereo-types and towards implementing evidence-based solutions to our housing crisis such as affordability assistance, housing-first programs and wrap-around services.
5.
CITY OF SALEM EXPECTS NAVIGATION CENTER TO OPEN IN FEBRUARY
From the Salem Reporter:
Construction is underway for a navigation center in Salem that will help move homeless people into permanent housing. Supply chain issues are delaying the facility’s opening. The navigation center is intended to provide short-term shelter where 75 people at a time can receive treatment they need to transition directly into housing upon leaving the facility, located at 1185 22nd St. S.E. Those staying at the center can receive mental health, drug or alcohol treatment without having to worry about basic needs like eating, sleeping and showering, said Ashley Hamilton, program director for the ARCHES Project.
6.
STAFF HIGHLIGHT : Cheyenne
Cheyenne has worn many, many different hats in her time at C@P. She is our longest-tenured staff person! Currently, she is our Assistant Shelter Operations Manager.
Many of our community partners, volunteers, and donors get to meet and interact with Cheyenne on a regular basis, as she works to coordinate our supporters.
Here is what Josh, our Chief Operations Officer, had to say about Cheyenne:
Cheyenne is fantastic! She is taking on new things and helping out in so many places. She does amazing work with our volunteers and donations. I am so grateful for how she has stepped in to help others along the way. From cleaning porta-potties and covering managers vacations, to helping interview and hire our new staff, she has been a great leader for C@P.
We are grateful for Cheyenne and the way she trains, leads, and cares for volunteers, staff, and guests!
7.
SPECIAL VOLUNTEER EVENT
We are doing a one day cleaning event of our micro-shelters at the old Village of Hope site (the old DMV at 2640 Portland Rd NE).
We will be cleaning out some of the micro-shelters so they can be prepared for new residents on Tuesday, November 8 from 10:00AM to 2:00PM. Lunch is provided.
No registration or background check needed for this event. If you are interested in joining us, please let Cheyenne know by sending her an email.
8.
INVITATIONS
WE NEED BLANKETS AND COATS. Fall seems to have come late, but now that it’s here, it is cold and wet outside. We are in need of warm, new or gently used blankets and coats. Donations can be dropped off at our CCS site (3749 Portland Rd NE)
TAKE A TOUR OF OUR CCS SITE - Taking a tour of our CCS family site is a great way to see what C@P is all about, to connect with some of our leaders, and to meet some other staff and guests. Tours happen every Thursday at 1:30PM. Email Krystal if you or your group is interested in taking a tour.
SHUTTLE TOUR FOR ALL SITES - Interested in taking a tour of all of our sites while having a conversation with DJ, C@P founder? The next available tour is on Thursday, December 1st from Noon to 2:00PM. We have a bus with comfy seats for 12. Bring your own lunch. If you or your group are interested, send Krystal an email.
9.
”INSIDE OUT” — ARTICLE FROM A COMMUNITY PARTNER
Author, teacher, and activist Tim Buckley shared this article and invitation with us:
It’s not widely known that some of our unsheltered people have also been in prison. More well known is that those returning to our communities after prison find it very difficult to find a place to live.
One of C@P’s foundational practices is to “make a place at the table” for everyone. In fact, some of our employees, some of our family, have spent time in jail or prison.
So, it was welcomed news last month when we received word from the wife of a “lifer” at Oregon State Penitentiary that he is donating 10 percent of the sale of his handcrafted leather goods to C@P.
Donna Walker Cohron, whose husband Jimmie has made this generous offer, said that Jimmie’s belief in
Jesus Christ’s teachings helped him become a different person than he was in 1986, when he was sent to prison. “Over the 18 years we’ve been married, Jimmie has volunteered in the prison mental ward and in the hospice unit. Giving back to those whose life is more difficult than his, those struggling to hang onto life or their sanity, is partly how Jimmie remembers that generosity helps to atone for the violent actions and the people he has harmed.”
The photo features one of Jimmie’s recent creations. Please let us know if you would like to have one for yourself or give one as a gift. Each sale means a donation from Jimmie which will feed an unsheltered family for a day!
10.
LECTIONARY READING
This week’s reading is a story about Jesus being questioned by some religious leaders about resurrection (Luke 20: 27-38). The religious leaders seem to be intent on tripping Jesus up with their question, but Jesus lovingly meets them head on.
According to Jesus, the story of God speaking to Moses out of the burning bush points towards the reality of resurrection. God does not say, “I was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” He says, “I am the God of Abraham.” Verse 38 reads, “[God is] God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”
God transcends the either-or dualism that pervades our thinking. More importantly, God’s love reaches the last, the least, the lost, the little, and even the dead.
One author and teacher had this to say about resurrection: “Every religious tradition is rooted in mysteries I don't pretend to understand, including claims about what happens after we die. But this I know for sure: as long as we're alive, choosing resurrection is always worth the risk.”
Amen. May we always be a people who always choose resurrection.