May 17, 2021

Dear Friends:

	Today is our 7th anniversary, and we are excited to report during this past year we surpassed 200,000 meals served, one million bottles of water distributed and 2,500 persons sent home!  

	During 2021, we are giving away our Going Home reunification program to three different cities.  We are already working with our Austin partner, and are now looking in the District of Columbia.  Before year’s end, our work should quadruple.  In 2022, we plan to enlist a nationwide funder to establish Going Home in every U.S. major city.

	With Going Home, a case manager works with a homeless person who has a loved one  willing to take them into their home.  We do all of the advanced planning work to make sure that the home will be stable; then, we purchase a bus or plane ticket and provide all the meals and drinks necessary for travel.  Grace follows up at arrival, one week, one month and three months.

	After three months, we can confirm that 72% of the persons we sent home are still living with the loved one or are in a home of their own.

	Here are two recent examples of our work:

	We met William and Rita shortly after they became homeless and were staying at a local emergency shelter. William had lost his job due to COVID-19, and they were illegally evicted from their apartment.  William and Rita let us know that they were hoping to go live with their daughter, as she was about to have a baby. Through our Going Home program, we were able to connect with their daughter and confirm that she was willing for her parents to come live with her until they could get jobs and a home.  We then purchased bus tickets and provided food for William and Rita to travel to Arizona, where their daughter lived. We are happy to say that William and Rita have now found jobs and their own apartment in Arizona.  They are happy to be stable and enjoying time with their grandchildren!  

	We also help persons locally.  Christina was recently referred to us after she reached out for help on a local Mutual Aid facebook group. Christina, originally from Lake Charles, Louisiana, became a victim of Hurricane Laura. She lost her home and was evacuated to a hotel in New 

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May 17, 2021
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Orleans. After a month in the hotel, she was kicked out because her step-brother was coming to the hotel to bring her food.  After she was kicked out of the hotel, she was left to fend for herself on the streets with no further assistance from local or state agencies. When we met Christina, she had been living on the streets in downtown for over 7 months.  Being a single female on the streets made her very vulnerable and she was just trying to find the strength to make it through each day.  Once we met Christina and learned about her vulnerable situation, we were able to work with our partner agencies and get her immediately placed into a women's shelter. She is now able to sleep in a bed, with a roof over her head, not worrying about being attacked or robbed each night. She has hopes of beginning to do food delivery on a bike very soon and has also begun the process of securing permanent supportive housing.  She will be able to get her own apartment in 3 more months. While Christina's journey isn't over yet, we are so thankful that she is now in a safe place where she can heal and grow.  

	Please help us celebrate our 7th anniversary with a gift to fulfill our mission of feeding daily, handing out water daily and funding our Going Home program.  Suggested gifts:    

	$7	-	a case of water
	$70	-	20 meals
	$700	-	3 people sent home
	$7000	-	our development expenses for obtaining a Going Home partner in another city

	All your contributions are greatly appreciated and are tax deductible as we are a 501(c)(3). 

	All the best to you and yours, we are with

Peace and Love,

						
		W. CHRISTOPHER BEARY		SARAH PARKS
		Board Chair					Executive Director

WCB/sa