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Newsletter for February 2024

   


UPCOMING EVENTS:


Saturday February 24, 10AM-12PM: St Phillips in the Hills, at Campbell and River. A Volunteer Orientation Meeting, our monthly meeting to welcome new volunteers and share information about current and future projects, will be held in the Children’s Chapel.  All are welcome.


Saturday February 24 from 11AM to 4PM:  Armory Park, 222 S. 5th Avenue.

Tucson’s 40th Annual Peace Fair and Music Festival.

We will have a table with information about The Homing Project staffed by two pairs of volunteers in two 3-hr shifts during the event.  We hope to procure more volunteers and donations.  There will be images of the micro-shelters and an architectural rendering of our pilot village entry to view.  A wish list will be displayed on the table along with a jar to invite donations as well as a sign-up list for person’s interested in joining our cadre of volunteers.


Thursday February 28th at 4:30 at Reid Park Zoo

The 2024 Jim Click Millions for Tucson Raffle will have an official kick-off.

Attendance is limited to invited guests; The Homing Project will be represented by Mark & Jennifer Leinhos and Keith Gainer.


Friday March 1 at 10AM:  Habitat for Humanity Offices, 3501 N. Mountain Avenue

Arrival of the Pallet Micro Shelters.

This long-anticipated event will be covered by the Arizona Daily Star, KGUN-Ch. 9 and KUAZ-FM.  All Volunteers are invited and encouraged to attend this exciting event. Please wear you THP t-shirt or sweatshirt.  We have extras for volunteers who do not have one yet.  There will be photo shoots at this event.  As parking may be limited, to accommodate the delivery of the Pallet 64 micro-shelters, members are urged to carpool if possibl!

 

Saturday & Sunday March 9 & 10, from 9:30AM to 5:30PM

Tucson Festival of Books:  Up to 150,000 attendees are expected!

We will display our demo micro-shelter and have an information tent.  We need at least 6 to 8 volunteers to staff the micro-shelter and the tent during each of two shifts per day.  Please wear your THP t-shirt or sweatshirt and bring your water bottle.  Chairs will be provided.  Shelley and Yolanda, our volunteer coordinators, will send out sign-up sheets early March.  Watch for a “Volunteers E-mail.”  Please email questions to volunteers@thehomingproject.org.


 


The Murder Mystery Dinner Fundraiser

by Raj Garewal, Co-founder of The Homing Project

Thanks to everyone who came or helped out with the Murder Mystery Fundraiser downtown!  It was great to see so much support for The Homing Project and a really great time.  Huge thanks to Rita Grey, who coordinated all of the events and edibles for the evening.  Thanks to Maynards for being such a wonderful host.  And, of course, Thanks to Yolanda Sethi, Shelley Carton and their army of volunteers who were on hand to make sure the evening ran smoothly (aside from one of the actors who, by the night’s end had met an unfortunate fate).  Just as everyone was sitting down to a delicious dinner, Susie Rotkis gave a wonderful speech that both pulled our heartstrings as well as rallied us to do what we can to get over the last few hurdles and see our first village established here in Tucson.  Impressively, her speech was all off the cuff as she was unable to read the speech she’d prepared and brought with her!  If you’d like to read that speech (and I promise that you would), the text is in this edition of the newsletter as well.  As dinner was cleared and desserts were set out, the sweetness of the plates was offset by the chill of the murder mystery beautifully played out by the troupe.  Thanks for everyone’s participation!  And finally, the business aspect: yes it was a fun night, but how did The Homing Project make out?  We netted in $4600!  Thanks to everyone who bought tickets, donated, volunteered, and helped out in any way.  It is amazing to see this level of support and selflessness this deep into the project.  Keep an eye out for the next fundraiser!  Tickets will be limited!


Susy Rotkis addressed attendees at the Murder Mystery Dinner at Maynards on February 13, 2024.  Her prepared comments follow.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen.

 

Good evening and welcome to an evening of mystery, intrigue, and most importantly, compassion.  My name is Susy Rotkis, and I am here on behalf of my husband, Patrick DeConcini, and our family, to support the work of the Homing Project.  We’d like to thank Kris Olsen-Garawal, the Homing Project, and all the volunteers here tonight to make this evening special, and also for their vision and dedication to the well-being of the unsheltered inhabitants of our very special city.  This event seems uniquely Tucson in style; bringing together the obvious partnership of people who love mystery dinner theater and helping our unhoused brothers and sisters right here in our city.  Tonight, we gather not only to enjoy an immersive theatrical experience but also to make a tangible difference in the lives of unhoused Tucsonans.  Every ticket sold, every clue unraveled, and every laugh shared brings us one step closer to building shelter and inclusion to unhoused people.  As we embark on this evening's adventure, I want to express my gratitude to each and every one of you for joining us, and ask you to think about our mission – solving one piece of a housing crisis.  Homelessness is a deeply complex issue that affects millions of individuals worldwide.  It demands innovative solutions and collective action.  And that's where all of you come in.  It is an unfortunate fact that the first cases I ever worked on was as a student attorney in law school.  I worked in a legal clinic where we represented clients who were about to be evicted.  I started my legal career working on behalf of people who suffered from a lack of affordable housing, at a time when the unhoused population was sharply increasing in the District of Columbia and my clients were on the absolute edge between being housed and living on the streets.  And, in 30 years, it has not gotten better.  To the contrary, it has only gotten much worse.  But together this is a puzzle we can and should solve.  One way is to address the immediate need of clean, safe, and temporary shelter.  Tiny homes are all the rage on social media.  A fancy tiny home is not what we are about, we are about meaningful, safe, comfortable, but basic shelter.  Shelter that is in our community because our unhoused brothers and sisters deserve to live in a community with dignity among neighbors and friends.  The tiny home project is going to be built in Ward 3, and City Council member Kevin Dahl has been instrumental in making that happen.  Thank you, Councilman Dahl.  I would like to ask you to be as generous as you can be.  Thank you first for buying your ticket to this event.  That was generous of you.  But please be even more so.  The first, best, and most needed contribution is money to the homing project.  Please check out the reception desk where we have a QR code to access the Homing Project site where you can make a donation tonight.  We have contribution envelopes if you like to write a check the old-fashioned way.  Another way to contribute is to pick up the list of supplies that are needed, where contributions can start at just a few bucks.  But I know you’ll give more because that is what we need.  Unhoused people are our neighbors, our community, and our responsibility.  So often, I hear or see people express hatred toward our unhoused neighbors, blaming them for everything under the sun.  We must show our understanding and solidarity with our unhoused neighbors by pushing back on this narrative.  They have a right to shelter and to the dignity of every human being.  Tiny homes are small, affordable dwellings that offer shelter, stability, security, and hope to unsheltered people.  They are going to be, and should be, within and part of our community because they are more than just four walls and a roof; they are a vessel for human beings to live in dignity.  But our journey doesn't end here. It's only just beginning.  Tonight, as you enjoy a delicious meal and immerse yourself in the world of mystery, I invite you to consider the impact of your presence here.  Every ticket purchased, every donation made, contributes to a brighter future for our community and bringing unsheltered people the most basic of human rights.  Thank you again to Kris, to Councilman Dahl, to the Homing Project, the volunteers who have brought you this fun event, and especially to each one of you for coming out tonight in support of our community.



MEETINGS:

General/Volunteer Meetings are held the last Saturday of the month at 10AM at St. Phillips in the Hills in the Children’s Chapel Room.

Join us to plan new & discuss past events.

Board Meetings are held on the next to the last Saturday of the month at 1PM at Kris Olson’s home. Project volunteers are welcome to attend.



The Homing Project is a 501(c)3 non-profit founded by Dr. Kris Olson and Raj Garewal. For more information visit the home page.


The Homing Project Newsletter

Monika Kriebel and Joe Vaughan edited this month’s newsletter. 

Email suggestions of items for inclusion to: newsletter@thehomingproject.org

Our email address is: newsletter@thehomingproject.org

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