After graduating from UVA with a Studio Art degree, Patrick Costello spent another year in Charlottesville doing a Fellowship with the art department. He then spent some time gallivanting about, during which he worked for a puppet theater and also learned to print textiles. Although gallivanting is certainly his most developed skill, Patrick returned to Charlottesville in 2010 to co-found C’ville Foodscapes, a worker-owned business that designs, installs, and maintains food-producing gardens in and around Charlottesville.

The purpose of the grant was twofold. Firstly, we at The Haven strive to provide our guests with a wide array of enriching activities to engage in while they are here. To that end, Patrick volunteered at the front desk to get to know our community and every Thursday, collaborated with Susan Patrick to work on art projects alongside our guests. Together, they drew portraits, made cards, and most importantly, built relationships through positive interactions full of support and encouragement. Just the act of making art is going outside of the comfort zones for a lot of our guests, but our hope is that taking this risk in a safe environment motivates them to take other challenging positive steps in their lives and reminds them of their personal value and of what they are capable.

The second objective of the grant comes from one of our founding goals here at The Haven, which is to provide a space for people in need in our area. Similar to our guests experiencing trying times in their lives, it is difficult for artists to acquire a place to hone their crafts and create. Providing Patrick with a studio allowed him to focus on making his art while surrounded by a supportive and inspiring community. Additionally, opening our space up to Patrick opens the door for many others who may not otherwise engage in volunteering at The Haven.

In Patrick Costello’s own words:

“Susan and I wanted to work with the folks at the Haven to make a collaborative art project. We thought it was important that it would remain in the space upon completion, and that it may be able to change over time. We settled on “Haven Faces” — this large-scale any-media “painting” — because we thought it would allow for people to approach it in many ways. You could write, draw, collage, or paint on the board.  Susan and I started by outlining a crowd of empty face shapes so that each participant could have a dedicated space to make their own contribution. The mural is about whatever the artists bring to it. There was an explicit lack of direction in terms of content.  Our main goal was to help make something that expressed individual notions of creativity or beauty in the context of a larger composition.”

A huge thank you to Patrick Costello, Susan Patrick, Maureen Lovett, and all the guests who participated to brighten the walls of The Haven.

Haven Inaugural Newsletter April 2012

Location:

112 West Market Street, Charlottesville, VA

Services:

Breakfast meal, short-term storage, showers, laundry facilities, computer access, living room, community garden and referrals to on-site service providers offering substance abuse assessment, mental health peer support, financial literacy and counseling, legal assistance, public housing applications, resume development and job search coaching, overnight shelter, health advocacy and navigation, social service such as food stamp screening, and others.

Hours:

Our current hours are as follows:

Monday 7:30 AM – 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM

Tuesday 7:30 AM – 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM

Wednesday 7:30 AM – 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM

Thursday 7:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Friday 7:30 AM – 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM

Saturday 7:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Sunday 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

History:      

The Haven is housed in a beautifully renovated church on the corner of First Street and Market Street, across from Lee Park, one block from the downtown site of the Jefferson Madison Regional Library and around the corner from the Downtown Mall. This building is a gift to the community by Tom Shadyac, who purchased and renovated the building to create a safe place for the homeless to get services. The Haven is grateful for Tom Shadyac’s ongoing support of this important work.

112 West Market Street

Charlottesville, VA 22902

434-973-1234

This week, 30 chronically homeless individuals will get the keys to their new apartments!! Many of these folks have been living on the street or in emergency shelters for more than 5 years, and at least one has been homeless for 15 years. In addition to their experience of homelessness, all have a documented disability. And many are also considered medically vulnerable, a condition that this community prioritized in its determination of eligibility. These 30 new guests are curious, excited and worried about this new experience, and they have questions – does the door lock, can I sleep on the floor, can I cook in my room, can I sleep in a sleeping bag, can I set up a tent in my room? And the answer is YES! This is your space.

We are grateful for Virginia Supportive Housing’s efforts in this community and look forward to watching how the stability of permanent supportive housing changes the day-to-day life and the future for our 30 friends. Thank you.

Permanent supportive housing is a housing first strategy that works. Find out more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supportive_housing
http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/08/permanent_supportive_housing_i.html
http://www.gladwell.com/2006/2006_02_13_a_murray.html

http://www.virginiasupportivehousing.org/about-us/who-we-are.php

 Summertime is easy…or so we’ve heard. But for Haven guests, the summer was all about ACTION! Amazing things happened for our guests this summer. Their determination and resilience made us humble and proud. We celebrate all those who took a step to change their lives. We are glad to share this community with you.

17 Guests found jobs:

• E.C. got a job as a flagman and is paid up current with his child support.
• T.J. got a job at Lacey.
• T.S. got a job at Waffle House.
• A. got a job at Expresso.
• R.A. got a job at a call center.
• S.S. got a job as a full-time assistant chef at Maya.
• G.W. got a job with a painting company & is in a supportive housing program.
• J.C. got a job as a substitute teacher and a place to stay at Oxford House.
• B.R., T.H. & M.P. got a jobs at John Paul Jones arena.
• C.R. got a job with food services at UVA.
• R.E. is doing some contracting work.
• E.M. got a full-time job as a cook in a daycare – using her Haven culinary arts certificate!
• W.L. got a job as a welder.
• W.G. got FT job.
• G.G. got a job at Dunkin Donuts.

10 Guests engaged in substance abuse treatment:

• W.L. graduated from residential substance abuse treatment.
• T.S., R.B., R.A., M.S., P.G., C.S., E.G., & C.P. went into substance abuse treatment.
• K. H. moved out of a place where people were using drugs and into a safe place.

10 Guests found housing:

• K.B., S.D., T.S., C.K., S.S., D.B., R.T., W.A., W.L. found housing.
• P.G. got into a supportive housing program.

4  Guests got into school:

• J.T. passed the GED with flying colors & had an interview at Pizza Hut for an assistant manager job yesterday.
• B.B. enrolled in Piedmont Virginia Community College & tested out of English class.
• P.A. got his ID and enrolled in school.
• K.H. graduated from truck-driving school.

23 Guests took steps to improve their lives:

• L.K. returned home to Michigan to reunite with her family.
• A.J. finally got his school transcripts, which he needs to get his ID.
• 8 people showed up for the first re-entry peer-to-peer support group in the sanctuary.
• H.K.  & D.K. got much-needed dental work thanks to the Charlottesville Free Clinic.
• A.S., R.W., J.T., N.B. & H.H.  got paired with a volunteer job coach from the Blue Ridge Mountain Rotary club.
• S.L. got a call from his daughter for the first time in 6 years.
• Two guests got eyeglasses and exams thanks to Lenscrafters.
• B.A. got approved for disability.
• M.H. & W.B. enrolled in the new Ready, Set, Cook culinary arts program.

This is exciting stuff, to be sure!

Our Sanctuary hosted several community events in the last quarter including Ash Lawn Opera Recitals, a series of classes held by City Market on canning, Portico Church Ice Cream Socials, As You Like It AA Home Group meetings, NA meetings, two Re-entry Support Groups, Peabody School Graduation, a community choir, yoga classes, a women’s support group, 2 art-making workshops, and the Charlottesville Community Drumming Choir, among others.

Haven staff are busy helping guests get qualified for the The Crossings SRO operated by Virginia Supportive Housing and prepare for the PACEM emergency shelter season. We are considering some changes in programming for this fall to include a low-barrier morning, open to all, based on behavior, and a more structured afternoon open to all who agree to a period of change in their lives, service at The Haven through cooking and cleaning, and engagement in readiness programming including MACAA’s financial literacy trainings, job coaching, resume development, conflict resolution classes and goal-setting workshops. These services have always been offered but we hope that this structured approach will improve engagement. We are still working out the details now but will share the final structure as it develops. We are pleased that this change was initiated by Haven guests, volunteers and community members!

What are our expectations of people experiencing homelessness? Some people expect gratitude and grace at even the smallest offering. Some expect peaceful connection all the time. Some suggest that homeless people should be out of sight.

What is reasonable? What is compassionate?

Here are some articles that have considered these questions:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/us/31keywest.html – an article about Key West in the NY Times

http://www.radioproject.org/2010/12/how-%E2%80%98quality-of-life%E2%80%99-turned-homeless-new-yorkers-into-criminals/ – a response to New York City’s ‘quality of life’ laws

http://www.streetnewsservice.org/news/2011/april/feed-274/homeless-arrests-rise,-solutions-slow-to-come.aspx – a piece on Nashville’s response to homelessness

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/crimreport/introduction.html – national report on the criminalization of homelessness

http://www.sandiego.gov/police/prevention/homeless.shtml - San Diego Police Department’s advice on how to deal with homeless people

http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/homeless-advocates-attempt-improve-uneasy-relationship-citys-criminal-justice-syst  – article on a task force created in Nashville to advise on police/homeless relations

http://www.civic-strategies.com/onlib/lessons/07.html – a straightforward editorial on what works

This is clearly not an easy issue but it is one that deserves our time and energy. Please start a conversation with your family, friends and neighbors. Find out what they think it is the right community response to homelessness and to those experiencing homelessness. Ask them what you can do and they can do to continue this conversation. Let’s figure this out together.

In January 2010, a local developer gave The Haven a wonderful gift – use of a two acre spot to make a community garden! We started scheming and planning, hoping and wishing, thinking and pondering…and then we got to work.We were lucky to have the help of our PATCH Community Garden volunteers, the good folks at Blue Ridge Backyard Harvest, the Building Goodness Foundation, J & E Berkley Foundation, and many Haven guests in the creation, maintenance and harvest of our happy and productive community garden. We managed obstacles (a hungry groundhog), built infrastructure (a shed), implemented ‘green’ strategies (a water catchment system), and reveled in the amazing process of growing our  own food from dry little seeds. Here is our story in pictures:

Dear Haven,

You do not know how much you mean to me! Without this place, I would be in the street with nothing or any place to place or receive calls.

I used the computers and within 4 weeks…I have gotten a job. This means so much.

My name is D. I wish and hope that you are here for everyone, always. Everyone needs a hand out no matter how proud we are. Pride can, and is very hard to swallow. If a person has a phone # or a message phone, it makes it a lot easier to not be on the street.

Without The Haven, I would not have been able to have clean clothes or a warm place to come to. I also would not have been able to call on my applications I put in. I thank The Haven from the bottom of my heart. It’s hard to swallow your pride but with The Haven, I have not had to for long.

Thank you.

D.