As 2010 comes upon us, I am pleased to share with you some wonderful news. This season, thanks to the ongoing efforts of our volunteers, and to a generous grant from The Jewish Fund, H.O.P.E. Hospitality & Warming Center was able to open the doors of its winter emergency shelter in Pontiac on November 27th--more than a month earlier than in years previous! Additionally, the shelter will remain open as late into the month of April as possible, amounting to a 60% expansion of our operating season.

What does this mean for our community? Each evening that HOPE operates, it is able to provide meals, showers, dry clothing, a warm place to sleep, nurse visits, rapid-rehousing assistance, service referrals, and more for up to sixty-five people struggling with homelessness. This winter alone, we have the capacity to provide up to 10,000 nights of accommodation.

While HOPE's program expansion is certainly worth celebrating, we must keep in mind that the need for emergency food and shelter services in our area is rapidly increasing. Since opening our doors just one month ago, HOPE has already served 115 individuals over 1,100 nights of service. HOPE is the only option for many in our community to find refuge from the cold, as it is the only emergency shelter in the area that does not limit the amount of time a person can access its services, and has a commitment to never turn away any person in need.

In these difficult times, I am reaching out to you with the hope that you will join me in contributing what you are able, in order to ensure that the critical emergency services HOPE provides will continue to be available to all who may need them. I also ask that you take a few minutes to share this message with your family, friends, and associates. It is up to us, the members of our community, to take care of one-another in our times of need.

To give you some idea, an annual contribution of $365--a dollar a day--allows HOPE to provide a person with food, shelter, and supportive services for an entire three weeks of winter. $150 provides the resources to assist someone for a whole week. Even $50 keeps someone warm and fed for a couple nights.

Please take a moment, and consider making a contribution through Network for Good, at a level that works for you. HOPE also accept checks mailed to HOPE Hospitality & Warming Center, P.O. Box 431548, Pontiac, MI 48343.

Whether or not you are able to make a donation, please pass this message along and reach out to others in our community. Join our Facebook Cause, and invite your friends to join you in supporting this important effort. Have a birthday coming up? Click here to make a wish that will help those in your community who need it most.

I sincerely thank you for your generosity. Every little bit you give of yourself really does help to create a better world for all of us.

I am pleased to share that Crain's Detroit Business has acknowledged our work at HOPE Hospitality and Warming Center, and they have included me in their 2009 list of "20 in their 20s" for the success of our ongoing resource development strategies. The list of profiles for all award recipients can be found here.

Last night, Henry, Kasey, and Shauna of biz[net] visited our center to learn about the issue of homelessness in our community. They volunteered their time to interview some of our volunteers, shelter guests, and myself about our emergency shelter program. This initial footage is a discussion we had before the rest of our volunteers arrived about new perspectives in volunteerism, as non-profits have such diverse and ever changing needs in meeting their unique missions.

HOPE Volunteers from Shauna Nicholson on Vimeo.

Stay tuned for more...

I recently got together at the Bean & Leaf with a couple folks I met through Motor City Connect, and we discussed various ways we can reach out to our community and let people know about the important work happening at the HOPE Hospitality and Warming Center. Henry Balanon used his flip camera to record a brief conversation between Shauna Nicholson of biz[net] and myself about our upcoming plans to utilize the web and various forms of social media to engage people in the conversation around homelessness in our community. There will be more to come...

HOPE Center for Hospitality & Warming from Shauna Nicholson on Vimeo.

I am writing this entry at the shelter, as our evening guests are arriving. It is 8:36pm, and we opened our doors at 8:30. At the moment, it is 18 degrees Fahrenheit outside.

This is the first time we have ever been open on New Years Eve, and I am very grateful for our volunteers and staff who are choosing to be here tonight. I would like to thank everybody who helped us achieve an earlier start (on Christmas!) this season, including our excellent staff, volunteers, board of directors, and generous donors. I am so appreciative of all your hard work.

As I am sure most are well aware, our national and global economies are struggling quite a bit at the moment. The National Bureau of Economic Research has recognized that the U.S. economy peaked in December 2007, and has been in recession since that time. I personally do not know very many folks who have not felt a personal financial impact related to this broader trend. Unfortunately, it is the already economically disadvantaged who are likely to suffer the greatest, in a very real and immediate sense.

Since beginning my work with HOPE Hospitality and Warming Center, I have become particularly sensitive to judgmental points of view regarding the difficult life circumstances some individuals face on a regular basis. I had not previously noticed how frequently people--including some whom I greatly respect--make comments implying that because certain conditions of suffering are at least partially the result of poor decision-making on the part of the sufferer, those experiencing these circumstances are generally deserving of their suffering.

Earlier today, I spent some time volunteering at the Project Homeless Connect event in Pontiac. The concept of this event was simply to gather representatives from a variety of agencies and service providers relevant to individuals experiencing homelessness, and invite folks to come and connect with the services they need and/or for which they qualify. There were many volunteers, of a wide range of ages and backgrounds, and I met some very inspiring people.

My name is Ryan Hertz, and I am the new Executive Director of the HOPE Hospitality and Warming Center--an emergency shelter serving Pontiac and surrounding areas of northern Oakland County, Michigan. I would like to welcome you to our website. As this new site comes together, I hope to see it evolve beyond a simple informational resource on our organization. It should serve as a tool for empowerment and an ongoing discussion on the issue and experience of homelessness in our community. I invite you to participate in this process, regardless of your relationship to the topic.