Uniting people facing homelessness with loving, supportive communities they can call home. |
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FRIENDSHIP HOUSE NEWSLETTER
FALL 2022
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Robert (pictured right with Executive Director, Kim) came to Friendship House’s (FH) case managers through the New Castle County Hope Center after returning to the US from Vietnam. Robert lived in Vietnam for 20 years, teaching English and raising his two sons whom he adopted in Vietnam. When a stroke and expired visa left him with no options, he returned home to the US for the medical attention he desperately needed. Upon arriving in Delaware, Robert stayed at The Sunday Breakfast Mission in Wilmington before temporarily moving into the Hope Center. At the Hope Center Robert was immediately connected with FH case manager, Kelly. She helped Robert get medicaid so he could receive the medical attention he desperately needed. Kelly was able to assist Robert with obtaining his birth certificate, social security card, and other documents he needed to get further assistance such as housing. “My life is full of angels and Kelly is one of them,” Robert said.
To read the rest of Robert's story, click here.
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Friendship House has provided case management services to people in Delaware for over 35 years. While our case management services include helping people obtain their birth certificates and IDs, providing financial assistance for outstanding utility bills, or walking with someone searching for an apartment, we offer so much more. Throughout all of our programs, case management is sprinkled into everything we do. We take a holistic approach by providing loving support for people experiencing homelessness and houselessness in Delaware working towards a goal. We value assisting folks on their own journey, helping them navigate to where they want to be, while not dictating or setting expectations on where they should be heading. We often describe our case managers as sitting in the passenger seat while those utilizing our services drive the car. The driver has chosen the destination and is in control of getting themselves there. We will help identify obstacles in their way of reaching this destination, make suggestions for overcoming them and help move barriers in the way or coach them through navigating these barriers. It is important to us people have the opportunity to remain in control of their lives while we provide unconditional, loving support.
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Bill started volunteering with Friendship House as a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church’s Stephen Ministry group. We connected him with Robert in the summer of 2021 and to this day, they meet regularly as they have become great friends. We’re so grateful for the support, resources, and community Bill has provided Robert. Thank you for all you do!!
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I first met Robert (featured in this Newsletter) when he arrived at the New Castle County Hope Center. Robert is a very kind, loving man. He made many friends while at the Hope Center – from staff to other residents there. It was easy to see this, even underneath the immense fear and anxiety he was feeling as he experienced homelessness. It is overwhelming to be in a position where you need to rely on a shelter system. And, unfortunately, wrought with judgment. At FH, we prioritize seeing the person underneath the fear and pain, and leave judgment aside. Our goal with all of our programming is to help someone feel grace, acceptance, respect, compassion and love any time they are in our presence. The most important thing to us is every person knows they matter. Every person deserves to love, be loved and feel loved.
This makes FH unique in how we approach working with people in our community. We truly believe loving someone also means believing the person coming to us for services deserves every opportunity to choose their own path forward, name their own goals, and be an active part of the journey forward. Our staff often share what a relief it is to work for an organization that so frequently says “yes, we can help.”
We said yes a lot this year. We said yes to 14 households who lost their housing overnight due to a neglectful landlord in Wilmington by providing necessary funding to fill a severe gap. We said yes when we purchased a new house for women who work at our Clothing Bank exiting incarceration and do not have a safe place to live. We said yes when we partnered with the Delaware State Service Centers to support over 400 households losing their emergency housing pandemic funding, which officially made us a statewide agency. We said yes by giving more than 10,000 clothing items to schools for students who needed additional help to meet the schools’ dress code. We worked with 150 people to break down legal issues preventing them from accessing housing and employment – saying yes, we can help while saying no to the injustices of fees placed on people who cannot afford to pay them. We said yes to assisting 2,000 people stay housed by helping them fill their income gap by paying necessary rent or utility bills.
Now, we need you to say yes. This kind of work does not happen without your support. 100% of our funding comes from you – individual donors, business owners, faith communities, foundations: loving, supportive people who care about their community. Please consider an end of year donation to Friendship House so we can continue helping people find their way home. Through your donation you are lovingly saying yes to someone in your community.
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YOUR INVESTMENT MAKES A DIFFERENCE |
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Want to make an online donation?
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Want to mail a check?
Checks can be made payable to Friendship House and mailed to P.O. Box 1517 Wilmington, DE 19899
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Want to donate through Venmo?
@friendshiphousede
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FRIENDSHIP HOUSE ANAGRAM
Unscramble the anagrams to reveal Friendship House's 5 programs!
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THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING OUR 2022 ANNUAL PARTY!
Because of you, we were able to raise over $100,000!
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We are so excited to share that our Advisory Committee member, chair of our Annual Party, and beloved volunteer Jane Schindewolf-Romano is the recipient of the 2022 Association of Fundraising Professionals - Brandywine Chapter Volunteer Award for her generous work, dedication to our mission, and making the Annual Party the successful fundraiser that it is! We’re so grateful for Jane! |
GIVINGTUESDAY
Whether it’s Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, or Cyber Monday make sure to reserve a gift for Friendship House on GivingTuesday. It has become a global day of giving! This year, GivingTuesday falls on November 29, 2022.
Please consider hosting a Facebook fundraiser or donating to our Facebook campaign on November 29. Meta will be matching donations.
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CHRIST CHURCH CHRISTIANA HUNDRED
GREEN SHOW
Saturday, December 3, 2022
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NEW CASTLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS
Saturday, December 10, 2022
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BIG ANNOUNCEMENT TO COME
Monday, January 9, 2023
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MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY
Monday, January 16, 2023
Volunteer with us!
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- THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVING SUPPORT! - |
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