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What's Happening at NSO?
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It is during times like these that I am proud to be a part of NSO. Despite the ongoing obstacles and daily pressures presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, we have navigated its ups and downs and continue to rise to the challenge with a spirit of ingenuity, resilience, fortitude and integrity.
Our Board of Directors, executive leadership team and staff members have remained committed to providing us with the model we need to offer the exceptional client services that truly impact children, youth, adults, and seniors, while embodying compassion and professionalism.
We are in the important business of promoting equity and saving lives, so I am incredibly grateful for the support of our community partners, funders and donors who continue to step forward to ensure that we have the resources needed to continue this very important work.
Thank you for your time, efforts, and resources. We can not do this without you!
Looking ahead, we are focused on accelerating our growth, donor and communications strategies, while continuing to build on the strength of our brand.
We are excited about expansion plans for many of our current programs, as well as adding new concepts in programming that will increase the impact and scope of our services.
But above all, we are excited to approach the challenges that 2022 brings with the same focus, determination, and willingness to innovate that has served us well in the past.
Thank you for the critical role you play in our efforts to lift our most vulnerable neighbors. As we continue our journey to a stronger community, we are honored that you have chosen to join us as a partner, supporter and friend.
Happy New Year,
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Our Art Therapy clients wanted to wish everyone a happy,
healthy Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
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Clients wanted to brighten everyone's
holidays by sharing their art!
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For more information about our Art Therapy Program, please
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There is still time to support AND start 2022 strong by making an impact. Art therapy is a well-established treatment method that uses art materials and instructions from a licensed therapist to activate sensory responses and generate imagery that is directly connected to emotions. The use of artistic methods is known to improve the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of patients of all ages.
Your gift allows us to provide art therapy programming for clients to help them heal emotional and physical traumas. Your gift helps NSO send care packages to our clients filled with art mediums: colored pencils, markers, paint, paint brushes, pom-poms, textiles, feathers – everything needed to fully participate in the sessions. Your gift helps those who find it difficult to talk express their thoughts and feelings through art. Your monetary gift makes art therapy possible at NSO, because it is only sustained through generous gifts from donors like YOU!
All funds raised go directly to support NSO’s Art Therapy program.
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NSO Holiday Elf Program Recap & Thank You |
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The numbers are in, and the Holiday Elf Program was once again a smashing success! The objective was to bring a smile to 250 formerly homeless individuals by providing them each with $25 holiday gift cards).
The cards would come from various outlets such as Aldi, CVS, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Meijer. Monetary donations were received from charitable and benevolent “elves” that enabled us to meet and exceed that goal. In all, we received $6,320.00 in gift cards and cash donations combined, which resulted in our clients (who reside and receive services at the NSO Bell Building) being able to receive and utilize the $25 gift cards.
We are deeply thankful for your contribution to the program. It not only made for a very successful initiative, but it enabled our clients to have a merrier holiday because of you. We are truly humbled and blessed by your generosity.
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The holidays are traditionally a time to help others and give of your own time and talents. Anna McWherter certainly has Christmas in her heart and takes giving unselfishly very serious. Even as a little girl she enjoyed giving to others during the holidays through her church. Now, she’s able to give more with her charitable organization. Anna collects donations each winter for a large one-day give away which she calls Blessing Bags. NSO’s Bell Building residents were the lucky recipients of this year’s give away.
Anna collected over $4,500 after launching a successful social media campaign asking her followers to donate to Blessing Bags! Anna and her group of holiday helpers had a good time shopping at local stores for household items, laundry items, and cold weather accessories. This year she even picked up Christmas decorations for our residents to deck the halls of their apartments for the holiday season.
Anna and the holiday helpers arrived at Bell the Saturday before Christmas and filled eight banquet tables with personal care products, blankets, cleaning products, clothing, and so much more! There were so many products the Bell residents were given small laundry baskets to fill with the donations.
And what holiday gather would be complete without hot cocoa with marshmallows and Christmas cookies to make spirits bright!
We can’t thank Anna enough for partnering with NSO to bring joy and happiness during the holiday to our residents.
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Making a difference
through compassionate giving
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DMC reaffirms strong partnership ties through donation efforts |
NSO is thrilled to have the DMC Adult Central Campus hospitals as long-time community partners. They especially came together for us in 2021 through compassionate care and to provide for the health and well-being of the communities we both serve. Our clients have been the appreciative recipients of clothing, toiletries, art supplies, and food items - all collected by the staff of DMC.
From Karima Bentounsi, Chief Executive Officer of the DMC Adult Central Campus who brought donations to our shelter, to Chaplain Portia Lockett PhD who organizes the internal drives on our behalf, and everyone else who so kindly supports our clients, we say Thank You.
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Meal donors take a bite out of hunger |
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A Heartfelt THANK YOU from
NSO for feeding our neighbors
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Homelessness and food insecurity go hand in hand. NSO’s shelters and permanent supportive housing locations heavily rely upon donations of food to help keep our residents properly fed. The food these individuals and businesses donated in 2021 is extremely valuable to our residents and we are very grateful for their support in providing breakfast, lunch, and dinner to our most vulnerable citizens. Having nourishing food on the table means more to them than a just meal, it’s LOVE. |
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2 Fish and 5 Loaves Street Ministry
Bethel Apostolic Church
Marjorie Bowens
Create a Bright Life Detroit
Fraternity of Notre Dame
Greater Emmanuel Institutional COGIC
Laborers in Christ
JoAnn Lamar
Love Only, Inc.
Magnolia Minor
Dr. Ruth Mays
Sister Dollie Milford
Molina Health Care
Plymouth Dems / AM Rotary
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Prince Hall Masonry
Prayer Temple MBC
Chef Barry Reid
Restore You, Inc.
RC Steel
Sacred Heart Dearborn
Nancy Savat
Seva Food Truck
Mike Shelton
Souly 4 You Catering
Elizabeth & Steven Tengler
The Bread of Life
Mark Tifhof
Truck Ministries
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Covid Chronicles: Self-care strategies for your mental heath during Covid |
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Worries and anxiety about COVID-19 and its impact can be overwhelming. Social distancing makes it even more challenging. Here are some self-care strategies that will help you cope.
Be mindful about your physical health
Get enough sleep. Go to bed and get up at the same times each day. Stick close to your typical sleep-wake schedule, even if you're staying at home.
Participate in regular physical activity. Regular physical activity and exercise can help reduce anxiety and improve mood. Find an activity that includes movement, such as dance or exercise apps. Get outside, such as a nature trail or your own backyard.
Eat healthy. Choose a well-balanced diet. Avoid loading up on junk food and refined sugar. Limit caffeine as it can aggravate stress, anxiety and sleep problems.
Limit screen time. Turn off electronic devices for some time each day, including 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime. Make a conscious effort to spend less time in front of a screen — television, tablet, computer and phone.
Take care of your mind
Keep your regular routine. Maintaining a regular daily schedule is important to your mental health. In addition to sticking to a regular bedtime routine, keep consistent times for meals, bathing and getting dressed, work or study schedules, and exercise. Also, set aside time for activities you enjoy. This predictability can make you feel more in control.
Limit exposure to news media. Constant news about COVID-19 from all types of media can heighten fears about the virus. Limit social media that may expose you to rumors and false information.
Connect with others
Make connections. If you work remotely from home or you need to isolate yourself from others for a period of time due to COVID-19, avoid social isolation.
Find time each day to make virtual connections by email, texts, phone or video chat. If you're working remotely from home, ask your co-workers how they're doing and share coping tips. Enjoy virtual socializing and talking to those in your home.
Do something for others. Find purpose in helping the people around you. Helping others is an excellent way to help ourselves.
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Worries and anxiety about COVID-19 and its impact can be overwhelming. Social distancing makes it even more challenging. Here are some self-care strategies that will help you cope.
Be mindful about your physical health
Get enough sleep. Go to bed and get up at the same times each day. Stick close to your typical sleep-wake schedule, even if you're staying at home.
Participate in regular physical activity. Regular physical activity and exercise can help reduce anxiety and improve mood. Find an activity that includes movement, such as dance or exercise apps. Get outside, such as a nature trail or your own backyard.
Eat healthy. Choose a well-balanced diet. Avoid loading up on junk food and refined sugar. Limit caffeine as it can aggravate stress, anxiety and sleep problems.
Limit screen time. Turn off electronic devices for some time each day, including 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime. Make a conscious effort to spend less time in front of a screen — television, tablet, computer and phone.
Take care of your mind
Keep your regular routine. Maintaining a regular daily schedule is important to your mental health. In addition to sticking to a regular bedtime routine, keep consistent times for meals, bathing and getting dressed, work or study schedules, and exercise. Also, set aside time for activities you enjoy. This predictability can make you feel more in control.
Limit exposure to news media. Constant news about COVID-19 from all types of media can heighten fears about the virus. Limit social media that may expose you to rumors and false information.
Connect with others
Make connections. If you work remotely from home or you need to isolate yourself from others for a period of time due to COVID-19, avoid social isolation.
Find time each day to make virtual connections by email, texts, phone or video chat. If you're working remotely from home, ask your co-workers how they're doing and share coping tips. Enjoy virtual socializing and talking to those in your home.
Do something for others. Find purpose in helping the people around you. Helping others is an excellent way to help ourselves.
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Six Ways to keep yourself from Covid / Omricon variantt
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1) Get vaccinated + boosted
Getting vaccinated remains the best way to mitigate the worst effects of COVID-19. While it doesn’t stop you from contracting the virus, it still limits the potential harm if you do get COVID.
If it’s been at least 6 months since your last vaccine dose, schedule your booster shot immediately, as the booster shot dramatically increases virus-fighting antibodies in your immune system.
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2) Keep wearing your mask.
As this is an airborne virus, wearing your mask continues to be one of the most important tools to protect yourself from the virus. Anytime you are in public, wear your mask. Experts are now suggesting it’s time to upgrade from cloth masks to surgical or K/N95 masks to best stop the spread of the virus.
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3) Stay away from crowded ventilated spaces
Maintaining physical distance is still the best possible advice. If you choose to gather, choose spaces where there’s the most ventilation, outside if possible.
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4) Get tested
If you think you’ve been exposed, isolate if possible and get tested 3-5 days after exposure. The PCR test is best if you have the time for the results (24-72 hours depending on where you get it). But any test, and being sure, is better than no test, and potentially spreading the virus.
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5) Recognize symptoms
If you’re vaccinated/boosted, COVID-19 can present itself differently in the body. Common mild symptoms include runny nose, headache, fatigue, sneezing, and a sore throat. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Covid-19 symptoms that demand emergency medical care include trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, sudden confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, and pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds, depending on skin tone.
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6) Be kind to yourself & others.
This has been an extremely stressful time in everyone’s lives. Managing anxiety can feel like a full-time job, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Extend grace and kindness to yourself, those you love and strangers alike. While there is plenty we cannot control, we can control how we respond.
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NSO Mission
We facilitate dreams by promoting equity for all, using innovative
solutions to bridge gaps in housing, health, and well-being.
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Neighborhood Service Organization
313-961-4890
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