Greetings!
 

 
We now have an operating bicycle and furniture repair shop at the shelter!  We welcome you to bring your bicycles in need of a tune-up or repair, along with furniture that needs to be fixed, reupholstered (no large items yet), or refinished.  We are also making beautiful tile-top coffee and end tables that you might enjoy stopping by to see!

We also welcome your donations of old bicycles or bike parts, along with tables that can be rebuilt with tile tops.

Just as this venture was getting under way, DelTech offered us two (and later, three) slots in an intensive carpentry training program.  Three of our shelter guests are now attending classes for five hours on four evenings of each week through March.  We are grateful to DelTech for including DIMH and expect that the participants will develop marketable skills.  We are inviting them to practice what they are learning in the shop.

Christmas Plans:

Several shelter guests and board members along with our indomitable Cathi Kopera will participate in Dover's holiday parade on December 3.  "The guys" are getting excited about the holiday season and would like to decorate the shelter.  We have Christmas trees; but the outdoor lights we used last year have mysteriously disappeared.  We now have a locked storage facility for use for such items and would be delighted with any donations you might make of exterior lights. The "icicle" type works best along the shelter building.  Thanks in advance for anything you can do!

Current Needs:

We always need sweatshirts, boxer shorts and socks.  New shelter guests appreciate pajamas (or pajama bottoms) and slippers, as wearing slippers helps to keep our guests warm and our floors clean.

I'm putting in a special request to the community Santa for a new coffee pot as well:  We have one of those large urn-type pots and need a new one or--ideally--the Bunn type of coffee system with air pots for storing and serving hot coffee. 

We still need evening supervisor volunteers!

 Successes:

One guest was released from probation this past week and is working with another guest at a local juice plant.

Another man--rescued during the August hurricane--has been living without a leg.  We have been able to accommodate him and his wheelchair in the shelter.  Last Friday, he was fitted with a new prosthesis and is adjusting to his new capacity for independent movement!  I nearly cried when I saw him walking across the yard.

Another guest who was deaf and mute is acquiring some of his hearing and speech following treatment for an infection.  Board member Herb Konowitz has been tenacious in helping this most-appreciative guest to regain his capacity.

That's what we do--with the grace of God and your help:  we make it possible for men to regain the capacity they lost due to the often-difficult events of their lives.

Other new guests are working at the Walmart distribution center and at a local chicken plant. 

A former guest has renovated a house that will provide room for five men in transition beginning January 1 and will replace a smaller house in a less-positive neighborhood. 

This economy makes life difficult for many and we do see frustration among many who are searching for work; however, we are grateful for these successes and others.

We continue to be blessed by hard-working board members and our local college interns who provide employment counseling.  We are also appreciative of Cathi Kopera, whose hard work every day makes our guests feel that someone-like-Mom is looking out for them!

An Invitation:

We invite you to stop by to see the shelter, our kitchen, and the shop on Thursday, December 15 at 5:00PM.  Meet our board members, enjoy some refreshments, and be present for the drawing of the winning ticket for the raffle of the beautiful Golden Opportunity quilt.  Tickets are still available at $5 each from most board members!

Thanks to all who came out to the First Friday evening downtown!

Blessings to all,
Jeanine