Supporting Homeless Existence Leading To Enabled Recovery
    (or, as we call it, S.H.E.L.T.E.R.)'s goal is to provide refuge to all who need it.

    An estimated 78,600 people are homeless in Los Angeles County, California, on any given night. The City of Santa Monica, in the westmost part of Los Angeles County, continues to depend on its 5-year-old 1999 census count of 1,037 homeless as the basis for its programs and policies. However, unofficial estimates indicate that the number of homeless in Santa Monica has nearly doubled in the past 5 years to approximately 2000.

    The recent passage of ordinances restricting food and sleeping in downtown Santa Monica has caused no mass exodus of the city’s homeless. Even though they criminalize two most basic human needs -- food and sleep -- the ordinances have done nothing to reduce the homeless population’s use of city streets and benches; there simply is no other place for them to go!

    Santa Monica has only 365 beds available to meet the needs of its 2000 homeless. Nearly all of these beds are used for formal treatment or transitional programs; thus, 1635 of Santa Monica’s homeless -- 82% -- remain stranded in its streets and alleys every night.

    Given the astronomically high costs of real estate and construction in Southern California plus the ‘Not In MY Back Yard’ attitude of local communities, only a limited number of new shelters will ever be built. When those few shelters are filled, the rest of the homeless --
    AS MANY AS 80% -- will still be forced to sleep In the streets.

    S.H.E.L.T.E.R.’s programs are designed as interim projects and do not to compete with, but complement, existing formal treatment and transitional shelter programs. As dozens -- even hundreds --of homeless men and women wait for weeks -- even months -- to enter these few shelter programs, S.H.E.L.T.E.R. will offer them comfortable, weather-tight, secure refuge at night, and, eventually, at centrally-located drop-in centers during the day. For those unable to qualify for formal programs, S.H.E.L.T.E.R. will continue to offer them refuge for as long as they need it.

    S.H.E.L.T.E.R. has developed two UNIQUE, INTEGRATED projects designed to provide economical, efficient alternatives to the streets: PROJECT DAY and PROJECT NIGHT.

    PROJECT DAY

      PROJECT DAY will create daytime facilities where homeless people can relax, eat, shower, do their laundry, sign up for PROJECT NIGHT and for programs offered by local or county social agencies.

      S.H.E.L.T.E.R. has prepared detailed plans and budgeting for PROJECT DAY and is ready to launch it immediately upon the success of PROJECT NIGHT.


    PROJECT NIGHT

      S.H.E.L.T.E.R. is currently in the process of obtaining funding for PROJECT NIGHT’s first step -- the construction and evaluation of a ‘neighborhood’ of 12 ‘Sleep-Ins’ -- Overnight Sleeping Compartments.

      During the 90-day evaluation period, volunteers from the homeless community will use and rate the practicality of Sleep-Ins. Surveys conducted daily by independent interviewers will provide accurate, unbiased Assessments.

      Once proven effective, PROJECT NIGHT will begin to provide shelter to all those who need it. After it is established locally, the program can be replicated regionally and nationally.


    Sleep-Ins -- Secure Low-maintenance Economical Ergonomic Private Individual Nighttime Sleeping compartments -- provide their users -- 'guests' -- with clean, comfortable, quiet, secure overnight refuge from the streets.

    Each Sleep-In features 4 adjustable air vents, a reading light, a utility shelf for small items, a comfortable sleeping pad, and a unique latching system which assures the privacy and security of its guest.

    Economically rotomolded of rugged plastic, Sleep-Ins will provide years of overnight service before requiring replacement.

    Sleep-Ins are water-tight both inside and out, allowing easy cleaning between uses and offering secure,sanitary comfort to each guest each night.

    Fire-retardant acoustic foam, pressure-sprayed between the inner and outer walls of the Sleep-In, promotes privacy and safety.

    Guests can carry small items such as radios with headphones, food and books into their Sleep-Ins for overnight use. they can keep other property such as clothing and toiletry articles in a personal locker near their Sleep-In and store larger items inside a nearby secure container available both day and night.

    On-site sanitary facilities will include restrooms, dressing rooms, showers, and sinks with mirrors.

    Sleep-ins require no on-site assembly and easily lock together to create flexibly-designed ‘neighborhoods’ of 12 to 24 units. A neighborhood of 12 Sleep-Ins, sanitary facilities, and storage container takes as little as 10 x 50 feet. This allows neighborhoods to be discretely placed on Government property, industrial parking lots, or other locations unused at night but near regular transit stops for daytime mobility. Property owners may be eligible for charitable tax deductions.

    Each neighborhood will be maintained by a Site Manager whose duties will include admitting guests to Sleep-Ins, checking property in and out of storage, cleaning and securing the neighborhood during the day when it is not in use. Qualified members of the homeless community will be trained as Site Managers.

    Every Site Manager will be in contact with a central location and other nearby neighborhoods by cell phone or internet so newcomers can be routed to unused Sleep-Ins. Site managers will phone 911 for assistance in case of emergency.

    This short look at S.H.E.L.T.E,R.’s PROJECT DAY and PROJECT NIGHT has only scratched the surface.

    IF YOU WANT MORE INFORMATION ON Sleep-Ins OR ANY OTHER S.H.E.L.T.E,R. PROJECT, OR WISH TO MAKE A DONATION, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK:

    www.s-h-e-l-t-e-r.org



    S.H.E.L.T.E.R.
    is about to embark on its first step toward providing overnight refuge to all in need!
    PLEASE JOIN WITH US TO REACH THIS GOAL!



    Supporting Homeless Existence Leading To Enabled Recovery (S.H.E.L.T.E.R.) is a california non-profit charitable corporation. we will gladly cooperate with all federal, state, county, and private organizations in their efforts to solve the national epidemic of homelessness infecting our nation.

    The compound word ‘Sleep-In’ and related terms are [TM]trademarks of Supporting Homeless Existence Leading To Enabled Recovery.



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