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HOUSE OF YAHWEH |
TRANSITIONAL SHELTER Affordable housing remains one of societies most crucial areas. Over 90,000 people sleep in shelters or or on the streets each night in Southern California. Everyday we receive 4-5 phone calls requesting shelter from other social service agencies making referrals or from the clients themselves. So many times we have to say "Sorry but we have no openings right now." The House of Yahweh operates 9 units of transitional houseing, which are filled all the time. The maximum stay is 2 years but our goal is to get these clients into independent living much sooner. Several clients received their section 8 voucher and moved into stable living. That is the ultimate goal. WHO DO WE SERVE? The House of Yahweh serves high functioning clients: Single men and women, single parents with children, couples with children, couples and seniors. Before accepting a person or family into our program they have to be interviewed carefully and screened. Clients have to be free from drugs and alcohol for a minimum of a year and be attending AA meetings. They also cannot be a current victim of domestic abuse or mental patients. House of Yahweh does not have the trained staff to handle these above mentioned social problems. Reasons for homeless can include Abandonment - a spouse leaves (usually the bread winner) and the other is left with children and little possibility of paying te rent and bills. No family back up-- some parents "kick" their children out of their house once they reach 18 or graduate from high school and tell them to get out on their own. Sickness - Sometimes a person is abandoned because the spouse can't take the illness, or one of the parents experiences a long illness that eats up the finances. No health insurance - this is total disaster, especially if a member of the family is suffering from a fatal disease over a long period of time. Loss of a job or long term unemployment or long worker strikes can cause loss of homes, evictions, etc. Catastrophic disasters or accidents - touch all areas of society causing immediate reversals of fortune. Some people are covered by insurance or have a bank roll for backup; others are less fortunate. There are many other reasons why people end up on the streets and need assitance not mentioned here. To be homeless is tragic--not to have a safe place to "hang one's hat", a place of refuge, a place of privacy. In a small way, the House of Yahweh with its supporters is reaching out trying to help people by housing them in our units, by referring them to other shelters and sometimes just listening to a person's story knowing that there is nothing we can do for them except offering them words of hope and encouragement. Let us remember that it is a corporal work of mercy to "shelter the homeless". |