What We Do: Solutions for Basic Needs & Beyond

Not only do homeless people have the solutions to homelessness,
they are the solutions.  —Anonymous formerly homeless Vietnam veteran

Our Daytime Resource Center

• Our center is open from 7 a. m. to 4 p. m., Monday through Saturday and on several major holidays, when many other programs serving the poor and homeless are closed;
• We serve 70 to 150 homeless adults each day, averaging XX per day in 2018
• Our homeless constituents are not passive clients or guests —rather they are active Members of a community of homeless persons in transition to the mainstream;
• Homeless members develop a sense of ownership in the center, help ensure a positive environment, and have a voice in the self-determination of the Repairers of the Breach community;
• Our member-community not only created the community rules that govern their center, but they also enforce them;
• Self-determination, self-governance, individual responsibility and peer support are powerful motivators for our members—they are empowered to succeed.

Our Initiatives - Center Resources

• Our program services, all of them free to our members, address the obstacles homeless people face on their individual journeys to the mainstream of society;
• These free, sometimes one-of-a-kind initiatives are delivered in a "living room" context that emphasizes the ideals of “self-help” and "homeless helping homeless";
• Member-volunteers help monitor the member-community’s use of resources such as food, showers and telephones.

Our Successes

• In 2013 our center provided the basics of 15,000+ warm lunches (and at least that many continental breakfasts); 1,000+ private showers with toiletries and towels (some shelters have large group showers); many thousands of articles of new and gently used clothing and footwear; hundreds of sleeping bags for unsheltered persons, and as many as 3,000 walk-in "appointments" in our medical clinic;
  
• Every day, noticeable "triumphs of the will" are manifested by smiles, sobriety, sociability and purposefulness in many who were formerly antisocial, suicidal or overwhelmed with personal issues;
• Every week, at least 50 to 100 members are engaged in healing activities that build community awareness and pave the way for family reunification; these include individual counseling and support groups, violence reduction and anger management classes, substance abuse recovery, leadership and volunteerism, Brown Bag Lunches and other optional spiritual initiatives;
• Every week, at least 50 to 100 members participate in activities and processes leading to and the attainment of jobs/income and housing; these include leadership and volunteerism, employment counseling, literacy training (resuming in 2014), birth certificate acquisition and using our telephone and mail service "lifelines";
• Every month, 15 to 25 homeless members are making significant strides toward self-sufficiency in the areas of employment/income, housing, entering treatment programs or achieving new levels in education and family reunification;
• Every week, on average, 3 to 5 members achieve jobs, housing or both through our many free and sometimes one-of-a-kind program services, all delivered in a living room setting, where community equals empowerment;
• Formerly homeless program “alumni” stay connected by volunteering at our center, attending community meetings, singing in the choir and acting as spokespersons for our Speakers Bureau.