Dear Neighbor,

I am overwhelmed with a renewed sense of optimism thanks to the decency of ordinary people — people like you — who have consistently joined us in our mission to end homelessness.

Make no mistake — the past month posed its share of challenges for our community. We saw a viral video garner national attention that showed an assault on one of our unhoused folks. We spoke to the press about our community's increased need for expanded Code Blue capacity as the demand for emergency housing resources continues to grow.

But time and again, you demonstrated to our tenants, our staff and the wider world that you believe in the dignity of our unhoused folks. When you heard that we needed bottled water for our Outreach services, you started sending us boxes of it. When you heard we needed volunteers, you showed up to staff our front desk, improve the efficiency of our donation room, and serve food to our tenants. And your financial and in-kind contributions are helping us provide the best possible non-judgemental care to meet the needs of our unhoused folks.

Indeed, your support helped us make sure that during the recent clearing of a "homeless encampment," our unhoused folks there had access to services and shelter thanks to the stellar work of our Outreach team. And we have been impressed with the outpouring of interest and support since then in helping us meet the needs of our unhoused folks.

So as I reflect upon the month of January, I am just so grateful for the support you've shown to our mission and our neighbors. Thank you!

One last thing — as we embark upon our 41st year serving our neighborhoods, we do so with many new faces among our staff. I invite you to come back in and meet our dynamic new team members, who are ready to make 2024 our most impactful year yet!

Thanks again for being a Good Neighbor through your continued support of Joseph's House & Shelter. Our work is only possible because of it!

Humbly yours,

Amy LaFountain

Executive Director

Joseph's House & Shelter, Inc.

Be the Positive Impact

As our community's needs evolve, your support makes this work possible.

Please consider a contribution of any size today.

"Homelessness is a crisis."

Executive Director Amy LaFountain spoke with News10 about Code Blue and the increased need for the non-judgmental emergency housing provided by Joseph's House & Shelter during punishingly cold winters.

She also spoke with News10 about the clearing of the "homeless encampment" in Prospect Park in early January, and with the Sanctuary for Independent Media's Hudson Mohawk Magazine about the work of Joseph's House & Shelter to provide support services to homeless and formerly homeless people.

What We're Looking For Right Now...

Members of the community often ask us what sorts of goods we're currently in need of.

Whether it's directly for our tenants or to aid in the administration of lifesaving services, here's what would be especially valuable for us to receive at the moment:

• bottled water;
• hand warmers;
• hats and gloves;
• shampoo
• conditioner
• body wash;
• shelving and/or storage containers for our Donation Center and Outreach headquarters;
• one round meeting table (~5' in diameter) for administrative use;
• diapers (sizes 4 & 6);
• cleaning supplies.

In-kind contributions to Joseph's House & Shelter are tax deductible, and we can provide a slip for your tax records at the time of your donation.

Donations may be dropped off or sent to our Hill Street Inn location, at 202 4th Street, Troy, NY 12180. You can reach us at (518) 874-1274 to learn more about our needs and make an appointment to drop off your donation.

Thank you for your continued consideration of Joseph's House & Shelter and the community we serve!

Keep an eye on this space in future newsletters as we continue to keep the community apprised of our needs.

Volunteer Spotlight: RPI's Alpha Phi Omega Epsilon Zeta Organizes the Hill Street Donation Center

Alpha Phi Omega Epsilon Zeta, a nationally-recognized, gender-inclusive community service fraternity at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, recently volunteered at our Hill Street Inn location.

The young leaders helped organize the donation center, where in-kind contributions are triaged for distribution to all of the Joseph's House & Shelter facilities based upon need.

Their Saturday morning of service will help us more efficiently serve the needs of our tenants for some time to come.

Thank you, Alpha Phi Omega Epsilon Zeta!

The Friendly Faces of Our Team

The last several years have posed unique financial pressures for families, and our family at Joseph's House & Shelter has been no exception.

As we work to continue providing high-quality, non-judgemental services to end homelessness, we will be spotlighting some of the many members of our team who have consistently delivered for our community's most vulnerable residents.

These are the people who, when we are under-staffed or under-resourced, continue to show up for our tenants, give their all, and keep our programs running as smoothly as possible.

We look forward to introducing you to them in the months ahead!

3,000 blankets, 45 Minutes and a Team of Amazing Volunteers

A huge THANK YOU to the many volunteers who helped us unload our wool blanket shipment this week!

Last year this same task took a whole day, with Joseph's House pulling staff from programs to take care of the shipment. This year, the truck was unloaded in 45 minutes — in fact, you finished before the pizza could get here!

The blankets came from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), and were secured with the help of Rep. Paul D. Tonko. Special thanks go to our neighbors and Facebook followers who saw our post and answered the call for help, and to our corporate partners who showed up to volunteer as a team: Trustco Bank, BBL Hospitality and Difenda.