This month HOPE lost a very dear friend, Lee Brown. He was one of the first HOPE members and was well known on the street as a tough guy with a heart of gold, and someone you could count on to have your back. Lee served his country as a U.S. Marine, and in his later life, became a staple of the Binghampton community, where he could often be found conversing and making wisecracks at Caritas Village. Many of the health conditions that contributed too Lee’s deteriorated health were directly linked to the lack of care he was able to access due to his circumstances of poverty and lack of housing. “He was a kind hearted man,“ said Michael Krause, member of HOPE. The HOPE family would like to express our sincere condolences to Lee’s all of friends, family, and loved ones. Rest In Power, Lee. You will not be forgotten.
With the ever present reminders of a harsh summer still upon us, it’s difficult to think ahead to December, when advocates and members of the homeless community will commemorate the lives of those lost on the street, during the annual homeless memorial day. We have lost too many friends and allies, even HOPE members, in the recent past, and unfortunately, many of those deaths could have been prevented by the stability and security provided by housing. We are deeply saddened at the rapid number of deaths amongst our people, particularly because, we know that are solutions to this madness dying on the streets. We have got to stand together to make sure that our most vulnerable can receive affordable housing especially during times of rough weather.
Since this is an election season, we are encouraging our members & supporters to attend candidate forums and ask those who want your vote what they plan to do about people dying on the street, as well as how they will address homelessness in general. Will they support local funding for direct homeless services and new affordable housing? Will they support the development of a Free, accessible shelter that meets the needs and respects the dignity of those experiencing homelessness in our community? Call the Shelby County Commission at (901) 222-1000 and flood them with questions on which candidates have homelessness on their platform. Call City Council at 901) 636-6786 and demand that they finally allocate funding for direct homeless services, and invest in affordable housing.
Summer Survival Continues, YOU can help!
Our Summer Survival campaign is still underway! Throughout this summer, H.O.P.E. members are feeding vulnerable and hungry folks, and their children at Morris Park. We are providing sandwiches, bottled water, and chips, as well as hygiene kits. We’re always in need of more volunteers to help distribute items, which is a great opportunity for anyone who may need community service hours. Youth volunteers are welcome, but must be accompanied by an adult if under 18. We need your help to make this summer great for those in need!
During our first Summer Survival day, we gave away 50 snack bags! Folks were so happy and excited to see us because some of them literally did not know where their next meal was coming from. The next Summer Survival date was this past Thursday July 12th,. With the help some volunteer youth from Creekwood Church from Dallas Texas, we were able to give out 50 bags this time as well at Manna House. Thanks so much for spending your servIce time with HOPE!
For more information about how you can help donate or support HOPE or those who do the work to combat homelessness,or would like to put on a HOPE shirt and volunteer, contact Tamara Hendrix, (901)725.4990 or tamara@midsouthpeace.org.
Feed the Movement!
H.O.P.E. would like to thank Marcos Pizza for providing pizzas for the H.O.P.E meetings on the 1st Wednesday of the month. H.O.P.E is a supportive advocacy group for people with the experiences of homelessness. One of the ways in which we learn about the aforementioned needs and strategize how we can best support one another through this work is through our weekly Wednesday meetings in which we invite people experiencing homelessness to fellowship, share, and brainstorm. It is very important that H.O.P.E. continues to hear from the homeless community about the differing levels of oppression that many of us may face when attempting to navigate through the impending hardships of scarce services available in Memphis. For many groups and organizations offering free food at meetings is a plus for their attendees, but for H.O.P.E. it is a necessity, due to the fact that most often the meal offered at H.O.P.E. meetings may be the only meal they will have that day.
As H.O.P.E. grows in numbers our expenses grow as well. How can you help? You can help by donating prepared foods on Wednesdays to our meeting that afternoon. Don’t have time to cook or buy prepared foods and bring them to our meeting space? We also accept monetary donations towards this cause. Neither of those options seem feasible for you presently? We are also looking for restaurants willing to donate food to our meetings. As always, all forms of donations are completely tax deductible.
If you would like to discuss how you can offer support to HOPE please call Tamara @ 901-254-5964 or email tamara@midsouthpeace.org.
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