Hope Center Newsletter: August 2014

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Program Spotlight. . . . . . 2 Partner Schedule. . . . . . . 2 Hands Across Buffalo. . . 3 Staff Spotlight. . . . . . . . . 3 Tasha’s Recipe Corner. . .4 Ladies’ Night. . . . . . . . . . . 4 Thank You Corner. . . . . . . 4 In Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

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Upcoming Events HopeFest 2014

Saturday, August 9, 12:00 – 8:00 p.m.

This event will feature an interactive community fair during the afternoon, topped off with an outdoor concert in the evening! Please join us for a day full of fun, food, giveaways, and activities! The event will be held in the Hope Center’s parking lot, but will be moved indoors in the event of rain.

Back to School Celebration

Thursday, August 21, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Celebrate the end of summer and get ready for the new school year! Fun games, food, and giveaways for school-aged children and their parents!

Community Education Affordable Housing Workshops

Tuesday, August 19, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Are you looking for new housing? Belmont Housing Resources for WNY offers free Housing Search Workshops at the Hope Center! These workshops explain different types of subsidized housing that are available and how to apply, give tips on locating an apartment, and answer other housing related questions.

Credit Report Assistance

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our mission

The Matt Urban Hope Center responds to the needs of the community by hosting family-focused events, informative workshops, free tax preparation, benefits screening, housing and job assistance. We assist individuals who are homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless, families suffering from domestic violence, loss of income, no utilities, and eviction.

Additionally, we serve dinner five times per week which is open and free to the community.

info

Matt Urban Hope Center

385 Paderewski Drive Buffalo, NY 14212 (716) 893-7222 ext. 310

Thursday, August 21, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Buffalo will be available to help you print your credit report and review it with you. This is a valuable service for anyone who wants to monitor, build, or improve their credit.

Hope Center Hours

Fair Housing Trivia Nights

Dinner Hours: Monday – Friday 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Monday, July 28, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Monday, August 25, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Housing Opportunities Made Equal provides a fun trivia game during dinner in the Urban Diner! Learn more about your housing rights and responsibilities!

Community education programs are held at the Matt Urban Hope Center at 385 Paderewski Dr., Buffalo, NY 14212. Please call (716) 893-7222, ext. 310 to register.

MAT T URBAN HOPE CENTER FUNDERS & PARTNERS

Monday – Friday 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Urban Diner

by Friends of Night People

Food Pantry

1st, 2nd & 3rd Tuesdays 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Last Saturday of every month 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

program Spotlight

Hope House

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ope House, the shelter for homeless women and their children which the Hope Center opened in June, will help up to 50 people at a time. Its organizers are committed to ensuring that the facility inspires more than its residents.

“It’s going to change the game,” said Tanisha DaCosta, Hope House’s manager. “It’s going to set the precedent for how it should be, for how help and encouragement can be given to the people who need it. We’re giving inspiration to people who don’t know they need to be inspired, or that think they can’t be inspired.”

The women who stay at Hope House will be referred by the Erie County Department of Social Services or by Crisis Services. In their three weeks at the shelter, the residents will receive from the 10 female staff members help in everything from changing the circumstances that made them homeless to ensuring that their children succeed in school. An after-care specialist will work with residents after they leave the shelter, providing assistance for three to eight months.

Partner Agencies Schedule Ag e n cy N a m e

Buffalo Employment and Training Center Buffalo Prenatal-Perinatal Network Buffalo Public Schools Community Access Services Cornell University Cooperative Extension Fidelis Care Goodwill MOCHA Center Neighborhood Health Centers Planned Parenthood of WNY UB Educational Opportunity Center Wellcare

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The shelter’s program is flexible so that the staff can help first with whatever needs a resident identifies as the most pressing. For many that will be finding housing. A specialist will guide them through all the steps to accomplish that. Others might need first to obtain medical treatment, job training or education for themselves or their families. After they make progress on the primary goal, the staff and residents can move on to resolving the other issues.

“We treat everyone with integrity and respect so they can tell us what they need,” Tanisha said. “It’s about knowing where they’re coming from so we can meet them there.”

Hope House will employ a gentle approach because the staff recognize that the women they work with have been hurt by by their experiences.

Some will be survivors of domestic abuse but even those who have not will have been scarred by being homeless, which Tanisha said “is traumatizing in and of itself.”

“Everyone is there to wrap their arms around these people and do all we can to not fail them,” she said.

“We’re going to do everything to help them with their goals so they can provide for themselves and stand on their own. We’re creating a community that will support them even after they move on.” – Peter Warn

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hese agencies visit the Hope Center on a regular basis and provide free services. Take advantage of these programs while they are in your neighborhood!

Sch e du le d Ti m e

S e rv i c e s Off e r e d

Last Thursday, 12:00-2:00

Employment and Job Training

3rd Monday, 2:30-4:30

Prenatal and Parent Support

Wednesdays, 3:00-5:00

GED Preparation Programs

3rd Thursday, 3:00-4:30

HIV Testing and Services

3rd & 4th Tuesdays, 3:00-5:00

Health & Nutrition

Mondays & 4th Thurs., 3:00-5:00

Health Insurance

Tuesdays, 1:30-2:30

Veteran Employment Services

Last Tuesday, 3:00-5:00

HIV Testing and Services

3rd Thursday, 3:00-4:30

Health Care

2nd Wednesdays, 3:00-5:00

Reproductive Health Services

1st Tuesday, 12:30-2:30

Adult Education & Training Programs

3rd Monday, 2:30-4:30

Health Insurance

he lp t he h ope c e n t e r: volu n t e e r or don at e today ! 893 -7222 e x t. 310

Hands Across Buffalo

staff Spotlight

Tanisha DaCosta

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and in hand, Pat Palmatier stood with the Tedeschi family – Jason and Joy and their children, Ava and Roman – for 15 minutes along East Ferry Street on the morning of Saturday, May 17.

They were not alone. They were joined at the corner of Kehr Street by about 40 other people from the Hope Center. Together they linked hands with about 5,000 people to form a 4.5 mile human chain along Ferry between Niagara Street and Bailey Avenue.

Hands Across Buffalo was organized by the Homeless Alliance of Western New York to celebrate the diversity of Buffalo’s population and to highlight the need for programs to help people lift themselves out of poverty.

“It felt real good,” Pat said. “I never saw anything like this, all these people coming out to do something important. It’s great.”

Organizers selected East and West Ferry streets because they run through a cross-section of the city, starting in the largely Latino West Side and running through neighborhoods of varying income levels into the predominantly African-American East Side.

Inspired by a Hands Across America event in 1986, Hands Across Buffalo grew out of discussions between Dale Zuchlewski and the late Beverly Gray when they served together on the Buffalo Common Council. Dale, executive director of the Homeless Alliance, recruited Theresa DeLuca, who coordinated the event and got support from public officials and from several dozen community organizations, including the Urban League, Hispanics United, Gay and Lesbian Youth Services, the Stop the Violence Coalition and the United Way. “The lasting legacy is still being built,” Dale said.

“That’s that we had 120 organizations working together, and we can make that cooperation continue.”

– Peter Warn

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aised by two loving parents and educated in Catholic schools, Tanisha DaCosta felt she’d “messed up” when she became pregnant at 16.

Her mother, who was young when she gave birth to Tanisha, did not see it that way.

“She said, ‘Okay, you’re going to be a teenage mother so this is how you be a teenage mother the right way,’” Tanisha said. “She made me know I could do it, and that I could do everything I wanted to do.”

What Tanisha has done is raise her first child, Alexis, who is 20. With her husband, Ras-Netfa, she is raising their three, 12-year-old Ras-Supreme, RasJustice, 10, and Zoe, 7. Tanisha earned her master’s degree in business administration. She owned and ran a day care center and a collection agency and has started a consulting agency for small businesses. She promoted family literacy at Read to Succeed Buffalo and health care through the Respond to Love Center and the Community Health Worker Network, where she is a member of the board of directors.

And Tanisha is managing Hope House, the Hope Center’s new shelter for homeless women and their children.

Her commitment is to help residents build the skills and confidence to get themselves out of homelessness.

“We’re going to be a part of developing these women as leaders because when they feel good about themselves, they’ll be able to stand up for themselves. If I’m modeling it right, they’ll develop that confidence.”

Tanisha was hired by Joy Tedeschi, director of the Hope Center.

“I’ve known the passion she has for the cause of fighting poverty and for improving the community,” Joy said.

“She has the fire in her to take charge and she has the necessary organizational abilities. Tanisha sees the big picture and she sees the details at the same time.”

In turn, Tanisha draws inspiration for her work at Hope House from Joy. “I’m grateful she trusts me so much because she’s such an inspirational leader that she makes me want to do better,” Tanisha said. “Joy gives 110 percent, so I can’t do less.”

Tanisha’s mother runs a community center in Virginia. Her grandmother earned her GED while she was in college and she became a foster mother to an abandoned baby. Tanisha credits the women in her life for what she is doing for women at Hope House.

“My grandmother showed me how to be a woman woman,” Tanisha said. “My mother showed me how to be a businesswoman. The two of them together, I’m a product of them.” – Peter Warn

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Urban Diner by Tasha’s Recipe Corner Tuna Salad Ingredients: • • • • • • • •

1 lb. elbow noodles 4 cans tuna 1 C salad dressing (Miracle Whip) 6 eggs 1 small jar sweet pickle relish salt and pepper to taste diced onion to taste 1 T paprika

directions: Bring large pot of water to a boil and add a spoonful of oil so noodles don’t stick. Put noodles and eggs in the pot and boil for 7 minutes.

Drain, separate eggs and noodles, and let noodles cool completely. Peel and chop eggs, set aside. In a large bowl, combine noodles, salt, pepper, eggs, and onion. Add salad dressing and relish, stir well. If you’d like, top with sliced eggs and paprika before serving. Enjoy!

Ladies’ Night

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change comes over the Hope Center when it closes for the day at 5 p.m. on Thursdays. On weekdays, the Hope Center’s dinnertime diner and other services are available to all homeless and low-income people who need help, but Thursday nights are strictly for women only.

During Ladies’ Night, women who come to the Hope Center support each other and get help from Tasha Moore, manager of the Urban Diner and a community health worker, and two volunteers, Sue Lucas and Renee Carpenter. The women cook dinner

Thank You Corner

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special thank you to our newest volunteer, Renee Carpenter! She comes to the Hope Center every Thursday and does outreach with Tasha Moore. Tasha and Renee drive up and down Broadway, Sycamore, Fillmore, and Memorial searching for ladies so they can pass out toiletries and assist with benefits or take the ladies back to the Hope Center to enjoy a meal, clean up, or make phone calls. The Matt Urban Hope Center thanks you, Renee! Welcome to the team! – Tasha Moore

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together and talk about what they need help with, including applications for government programs and obtaining identification and other documents. Participants can wash themselves and their laundry, use phones and pick up their mail, if they use the Hope Center as their address.

Tasha started the program last summer because she knew from her own experience that there are women on the streets who need support.

“I was on drugs for 15 years and after I got myself clean for five years I asked, ‘What’s next?” I had friends who were still on the streets killing themselves like I used to and putting themselves in danger like I used to,” Tasha said. “When they come to the Center, I can put words in their ears, words no one else can say to them because no one knows like I do what they’re going through.”

Some of the women make it to the Center on their own. Tasha and Renee drive around much of downtown and the city’s East Side to pick up others. On each Ladies’ Night, at least eight women take advantage of the program.

“We used to watch out for each other and have each other’s backs when we were on the streets so now they want to hear I got myself right,” Tasha said. “It gives them hope and it gives me more confidence. I know it’s working because I see they’re not running themselves into the ground so hard.” – Peter Warn

he lp t he h ope c e n t e r: volu n t e e r or don at e today ! 893 -7222 e x t. 310

In Support

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he Hope Center is always in need of volunteers and donations to help us continue to support the families and individuals in need in the Broadway-Fillmore district. We are a 501(c) organization, so all of your donations and services are tax-deductible! Checks can be made payable to “The Matt Urban Hope Center.”

d o n at i o n s i g n - u p

Yes, I would like to donate to the Hope Center!

Most Wanted Items These items are common, but indispensable:

□ Socks □ Soap □ Blankets □ Toilet Paper □ Deodorant □ Underwear □ Dishes □ Sheets □ Blankets □ Small Appliances □ Gift Cards

Major Items □ Outreach Van

The homeless outreach team is in need of a van to transport clients to and from the shelter, or to help them move into their new homes.

Sponsorship Opportunities □ Formerly Homeless Hope Works Participant

Sponsor one homeless individual in a job activity for one year. The goal of the program is to prepare individuals for employment. a n n ua l c o s t pe r pe r s o n : $ 2 ,0 0 0

□ Housing First Bowling Team

This therapeutic activity allows Housing First participants to bowl on a monthly basis for one year. a n n ua l c o s t pe r t e a m (o f f i v e ) : $ 2 , 4 0 0

□ Funshop

Funshops allow us to educate clients in a fun, creative environment.

Prizes, materials, decorations, and refreshments. c o s t pe r e v e n t: $1 0 0

vo l u n t e e r s i g n - u p

Yes, I would like to volunteer for the Hope Center!

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e are in need of volunteers for the Urban Diner, at Funshops, to sort donations, to answer phones and to do clerical work, or to join a fundraising committee. If you would like to lend a hand, we can find a way for you to help!

Name Email

Phone

Address

Group/Organization

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PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID BUFFALO, NY PERMIT #1180

Help the Hope Center: volunteer or donate today!

Call 893-7222 ext. 310

Most Wanted:

Socks Soap Blankets Toilet Paper nt DeodoDrisa hes

Underwear

Sheets Blankets Small Appliances Gift Cards

de si gn & pre sen tat i o n d o n at ed by: