[Vision2020] Please read, and please help

Bev Bafus bevbafus at verizon.net
Sun Jun 6 16:28:50 PDT 2010


remember folks, in order to help this situation, please donate to Sojourners'.

Bev
  -----Original Message-----
  From: Donovan Arnold [mailto:donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com]
  Sent: Sunday, June 06, 2010 3:59 PM
  To: bevbafus at verizon.net; Ted Moffett
  Cc: vision2020 at moscow.com
  Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Please read, and please help


        How sad :( Breaks my heart there are people without a place to call home. 

        : D onovan

        --- On Sun, 6/6/10, Ted Moffett <starbliss at gmail.com> wrote:


          From: Ted Moffett <starbliss at gmail.com>
          Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Please read, and please help
          To: "bevbafus at verizon.net" <bevbafus at verizon.net>
          Cc: vision2020 at moscow.com
          Date: Sunday, June 6, 2010, 2:55 PM


          "We don't have people living in cardboard boxes 
          under overpasses,..."

          Recently there was someone "camping" under a bridge in Moscow by the creek where Hwy 95 and 8 meet, but not in a cardboard box.  Also, there was someone recently camping on private property near Styner Ave., in a somewhat hidden location.

          There are people who for whatever reason(s) camp outside in Moscow in whatever spot they can find.  This is far more common than some assume.

          I knew someone years ago who camped for a couple of weeks by the U of I observatory in the patch of trees down the hill just to the north, and another individual years ago who was sleeping under an old building near the U of I campus near the railway tracks.
          ------------------------------------------
          Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
           
          On 6/4/10, bevbafus at verizon.net <bevbafus at verizon.net> wrote: 
            The following is an article I wrote for Sojourners' Alliance's quarterly newsletter.  For those of you who don't know - Sojourners' is the local transitional homeless shelter.  In addition to the shelter, we have an emergency rental assistance program, and a Food Bank and Thrift Store in Troy, Idaho.  

            We are facing a critical end-of-fiscal year funding emergency.  (Too much year at the end of the grant money!)  

            If 500 people in the area each donated $20 - that would alleviate our crises, and give us a small cushion to face the next emergency.  Please donate today!  Your donations can be sent to:  

            Sojourners' Alliance
            627 N. Van Buren
            Moscow, ID  83843

            Thanks in advance!
            Bev Bafus


            ****************************
             
            It amazes me when I look at our donor list, and realize how many businesses and well-off individuals do not donate to Sojourners’.  When I’ve solicited for donations, the excuses run the gamut…  “We just really can’t help right now.”  (And you can, when?)  “Why would we help those people?”  (As opposed to which people?  We’re all people.)  “We already gave.”  (Thank you very much, but you could give again.)  “We have a homeless shelter in Moscow?”  (Yes, we do.  And the need is growing.)



          The idea that there isn’t a homeless population in Moscow is a fantasy.  We don’t have people living in cardboard boxes under overpasses, but we do have folks camping out at local campgrounds.  We have people who couch surf between friends.  We have families bunking with relatives, trying desperately to save up enough for first month’s rent and a damage deposit.  And we have people who have lost everything, due to various demons in their lives.



          I was oblivious to this problem as I raised my children.  We were chasing the American Dream.  The house, the three cars, the boat, the large lot.  Dreams of an acreage, and more toys.



          Then my husband had a stroke.  Thank goodness he had signed up years before for a disability policy – it meant we wouldn’t lose the house.  But when you have payments up the ying-yang, depending on a double income – and that income gets slashed in half – suffice to say we had to face reality in a hurry.  



          Now I am grateful every day that we have a roof over our head.  We have adequate food on the table.  This is more than many families in our area.  Job losses have hit certain sectors hard, and it may get worse.  



          There are families just weeks away from being evicted from their apartments – luckily our rental assistance program can help with that to some extent.  There are families that have to spend every extra penny for medical bills, and groceries are the last thing they can buy.  Luckily, our food bank can help with that.



          And there are those who have lost everything.  They need a hand up, not a hand out.  Luckily, our shelter is here, to help them transition back into a productive life.



          If Sojourners’ wasn’t here – what would these folks do?  



          If you have a roof over your head, and enough food on the table – please donate today.  Every dollar will help keep our organization stable, and keep a safety net in place for our area.



          Bev Bafus, Moscow

          Board Treasurer

           ***********************************


          =======================================================
           List services made available by First Step Internet,
           serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
                        http://www.fsr.net
                   mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
          =======================================================




        -----Inline Attachment Follows-----


        =======================================================
        List services made available by First Step Internet, 
        serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.   
                       http://www.fsr.net                       
                  mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
        ======================================================= 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20100606/3ff174aa/attachment.html 


More information about the Vision2020 mailing list