REACH NEWS

November 2020
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REACH has a threefold mission:
  • Caring for housing deprived people during winter and enabling them to find permanent housing.
  • Creating more affordable housing for very low income people.
  • Advocating for change in housing policy to ensure that there is justice.
Because we believe that Housing is a Human Right.
Shelter Committee
REACH SHELTER PLANS FOR THIS COMING WINTER
COVID-19 has created unique challenges for sheltering people in a safe and dignified manner. REACH has supported a unique collaboration between House of Mercy, Open Door Mission, and REACH to shelter people in hotels to reduce the risks associated with COVID-19, especially for homeless individuals with underlying health conditions. REACH Managers and Social Workers have not stopped working on this project since the beginning of the pandemic. REACH is very pleased to report that we have helped to shelter well over 200 at-risk individuals during this time and permanently housed roughly 40% of those people. Most importantly; there were no known cases of COVID-19 in the shelter/hotels since the beginning of the pandemic. Since the week of Thanksgiving 2019 REACH has helped with 22,170 bed nights (bed night= 1 person 1 night). 
            This truly amazing run is not over. Unfortunately, REACH along with two other winter shelters, St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality and Dimitri House, will not be able to safely open as stand-alone shelters for this winter, so REACH is working to continue a collaboration with other providers to safely shelter people in hotels. In hotels, people can socially distance and isolate, as needed. REACH will look to support the hotel shelter with staff, social work, meal assistance, and supplies. REACH came into existence to ensure people had a dignified place to stay and the work continues; we appreciate all of your support. Watch the newsletter and Facebook for opportunities to assist REACH’s Mission this winter. 
We are also pleased to announce that REACH is working with the Coptic Community and St. Peter’s Kitchen to create a clearinghouse for community services at 720 West Main St. This collaboration will allow community members in need to easily and safely be connected to a variety of services (basic needs, health care, mental health, addiction services, etc.). It will also be a place where homeless individuals can stop in during the day to find emergency shelter placements for the night and other needed supports. More to come…

Deb Peiffer and Andy Carey
News from 720 W. Main

John Curran continues to lead in the cleaning and restoring of rooms at 720 W, Main and recently had a wonderful group of students from Chesterton Academy, a Catholic High School in East Rochester. Here are some photos of them and their work. Thank you students for all that you accomplished.
Shelter Funding & Support

Each winter season we raise about $30,000 in donations and grants to supplement the reimbursement that we receive from the County. We could not operate with the care and support we offer without the generous support of the community. We will continue to provide this level of care and support to men and women seeking shelter this year in hotels. Please consider donating to REACH as we continue this vital work with our guests during this COVOD year. There are two ways to donate and /or support:

  • Donate money by sending a check to REACH Advocacy, P.O. Box 10845, Rochester, NY 14610 or by going to our Website.

  • Checking this Newsletter each month or going to our FaceBook page.
The Tiny Home Committee
  • We have received the permit from the City needed to complete the soil stability testing on the property. We are awaiting availability of the civil engineer to register the findings.

  • We are collaborating with the Father Tracy Wellness Center to better communicate with the neighborhood. Rudy Rivera, Executive Director of the Center is on the REACH Board.
  • Are you a person who knows how to juggle the social media? We continue to look for someone who has skills working with various media modalities. We would like some help in using these modalities to share our vision of the Tiny Home Village. This is a volunteer opportunity that would take a couple of hours a month. If you can help us with this please contact me:  susan_mxwll@yahoo.com
Exciting News for our Tiny Home Team!!

Our hard working Tiny Home Team is a finalist in the Community Design Center's 2020 Award for Activism. Award winners will be revealed at the 10th Annual Awards Ceremony on Thursday, November 19th from 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. on ZOOM. To register click here.
Can you help us raise $250,000 for the first stage of our
Tiny Home Village?

A letter has been sent to some of our more generous donors inviting them to be even more generous and become a Founding Member of REACH in support of the creation of more truly affordable supportive housing for the housing deprived members of our community. By contributing $250 or more you can be one the Founding Members of our organization. Send checks to REACH Advocacy, P. O. Box 10845 Rochester, NY 14610. Once we have the $250,000 in the bank we believe that the City will allow us to begin to build on the site. We have almost $100,000 to date. Help us to fulfill this vision of housing the housing deprived men and women of our community.
Advocacy Committee

Advocacy has taken two prongs this past month
  • Working with the Housing Services Network’s Advocacy Committee we are gathering data to help understand why there is such a backlog in moving housing deprived persons (homeless) into Permanently Supportive Housing.  We are trying to clarify if this is a problem of supply: Is it a lack of units and/or of landlords unwilling to rent to people eligible for PSH housing?  
  • As a member of the Rochester Housing Justice Alliance we joined an action organized by the City-Wide Tenants’ Union in support of tenants living at a poorly maintained apartment building on Webster Avenue.  Several drove to the landlord’s home in Pittsford to protest the conditions of these apartments and his failure to provide timely maintenance as needed.  Currently the building has several citations from the City. This landlord is charging $650 and $750 a month in this dilapidated building!! The little girl in the middle is standing with her mother and grandmother and they live in one of these apartments.

  • If you would like to join in actions with the Rochester Housing Justice Alliance please click here. You will be asked to fill in your name and contact information and which committee of RHJA you are interested in. The Alliance has a single purpose, to promote housing justice because housing is a human right. If you are interested in housing justice please join us!

Thank you for your interest and support of REACH.
For more information please check out our Website
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