Life Within the Joseph House and Shelter…

Patti Tullgren, Director of Development said, “The best thing anybody can do is making people aware of the homeless situation.”

The Joseph House Shelter on 74 Ferry St. was established in 1983, and along the way lives have been changed. There are rules and regulations in place to provide safe and warm winters. Since the weather gets very harsh in the winter, there is a rule called Code Blue. Code Blue is a Governor issued mandate that states anytime the temperature outside drops to 32 degrees and below the shelter has to take anyone inside to warm up…

 

 

 

The exterior of the shelter is seen above, notice the blue flag waving in the wind towards the top of the building. Every time the blue flag is outside, Code Blue is in session.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Within one of the two sitting areas, there are lockers for guests to store their belongings in. Across from these lockers are a few couches against the wall to relax on.

 

 

Two entrances to the family rooms in the shelter accessorized with Valentines Day decorations.

 

 

The kitchen and dining area within the family rooms is above. There are 5 families total and each of them have their own numbered cabinet so they can keep there own items separate.

 

 

One of the dining room eating areas is pictured. At night, when everyone is finished eating their meals, the tables and seating are removed and there are cots set up for guests to sleep at night.

 

 

The Exterior of the Hill Street Inn is featured below. All of the rooms are studio rooms and there are 4 different levels. It wasn’t easy getting this building to be accepted in this location at first due to certain disagreements, but it was in the clear to finally be built and here it stands today, enhancing peoples lives…

 

 

The interior dining room of the Hill Street Inn is featured below…

One view of the dining room located at the Hill Street Inn. With a closer look, artwork that guests have created are on display.

 

 

With a quick walk through French doors in the dining room, guests are welcome to hangout in a beautiful court yard located on the side of the Inn. During the cold, winter weather people were still enjoying themselves outside…

 

 

 

 

 

There are very talented artists within the Hill St. Inn. and in almost every room there is artwork hanging along the walls. It creates a very home-like environment…

Featured above, is a cask of the faces of the first people who lived at the shelter during the beginning of the St. Josephs House.

 

This piece of artwork was created by people living at the Hill St. Inn. It expresses hope, wisdom, words of encouragement and gratitude.

 

 

 

Mission Accomplished

Mission Accomplished has become one of our new sponsors! GivDapps is going to be partnering with Mission Accomplished and taking part in their C.A.R.E Initiative.

The C.A.R.E Initiative stands for College and Room Essentials and it was created by Mission Accomplished in order to supply students with a C.A.R.E package! Within the care package there are many housing accessories such as new bedding, school supplies, and other college needs. At GivDapps we will be raising money for this exciting opportunity, along with purchasing some of the items that will be included in the winning package.

According to http://matransitionservices.org/students/ to qualify and apply for the C.A.R.E Initiative you must follow these 4 guidelines…

• You must have an acceptance letter to begin college or a vocational program in Fall 2017. This letter must be submitted with the C.A.R.E. application or by May 13, 2017.
  -You must have an economic need. If you find the cost of tuition and books are creating a burden for you and your family, APPLY!
  -If selected, you must participate in a 2 day, 6 hour Higher Education Prep series focused on time and financial management, the power of networking and setting goals for the future.
  -You must complete the full application

To complete the application and learn more about this opportunity visit http://matransitionservices.org/students/

GivDapps

We are a Community Driven Donation Platform

Did you give any daps today? Maybe to a friend, loved one, or your peers? Why not give daps to the people in your community as well. With the creation of GivDapps you can do that very easily.

At GivDapps, we decided to take control and add more transparency into crowdfunding by creating GivDapps. Ceo and Founder of GivDapps, Adam Macdonald said “We found that there was a layer of friction and lack of transparency in the charitable market. These layers were blocking the true value of the donation space.” GivDapps is a technology based app that partners with other local non-profit sponsors to find individuals and families with specific and tangible needs.

The next step we take it to share their stories across our GivDapps network, where we allow users to contribute to the cause of their choice with our crowdfunding method. Not only can you donate, but you can also follow the progress of that family or individual as you see the campaign move forward.

Check out more information at our website www.givedapps.org, our twitter and instagram @GivDapps and download our App which is available in the app store!