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Newsletter for March 2024

   


Editor's Note: I beg forgiveness for the length of the newsletter this month!  You volunteers have been doing so much that there's much to report.  Tho it is long -- 'Tis well worth scanning.  And do note the event at the Maverick, inside.



Project Status by Kris Olsen-Garewal, CEO and Co-founder of The Homing Project

The Homing Project is building a village on a 0.8 acre site zoned R-2 near Glenn and Stone for which we have a long term free-lease with Southern Arizona Land Trust.  Our collaborator, Catalytic Health Partners, Inc., will provide an onsite Social Worker to schedule or refer residents for a full range of wrap-around services.  Led by Rick Engineering’s Corey Thompson and Steve Vasquez, The Homing Project has had two pre-submission meetings with the City’s Planning Department to see what problems can be identified and resolved before submitting our application to the Planning Department.  During these meetings we have found that for zoning reasons, there can only be 10 residents.  After the village is open, we can apply for an expansion to 15 individuals; making that request now would add months onto the permitting process.  Also, for zoning reasons, instead of THP providing “shelter care”, the village will be defined as “a Residential Care Service providing lodging, meals, treatment, counseling, and supervision to persons with behavioral disorders or developmental disabilities or to physically disabled individuals.”  These clients will of course be experiencing homelessness.  And if possible, they will also be domestic violence survivors.  They may also have other health and/or counseling needs that Susan Cordts, owner of Catalytic Health Partners, assures us can be met by her company.

 

So, for the next several months, we will be applying for site permits and for licensing as a residential care services provider.  We are hoping to have the site permits by end of May.  THEN we will need volunteers to do a multitude of jobs.  See Volunteer Coordinator Shelley Carton’s article in this newsletter on that topic.  Two assemblers from the manufacturer will arrive to lead the final step, the installation of the micro-shelters, and in the process they will train volunteers who want to learn how to set up and maintain the Pallet 64 micro-shelters.  Our Volunteer Event Planner, Rita Gray, is already working on the ribbon cutting and open house.  Exact date TBA.  You will all be invited!


Recent Events  


Peace and Music Festival: Saturday February 24, 2024 from 11AM to 4PM, by Monika Kriebel


The festival was loosely organized and there were no space assignments.  We placed a card table next to the non-profit “Humane Borders, Inc.” which assists migrants with water, snacks, blistered feet treatment, and hands out hats and bandanas while waiting in remote desert areas with migrants for border patrol to arrive to take them to border facilities for processing.  The festival is a good event to find information about the work of social justice organizations operating in the Tucson area; for example United Way of Tucson—shares information about access to social services, The Institute for Social Justice informs about obstacles poor Americans face accessing social services, Tucson Home Sharing is an organization bringing people together to share a home, cutting high rents for individuals and thus assuring more stable housing and living conditions for low-income seniors.  

The Homing Project card table was located near a tree which provided shade and a space to hang our posters of the village. The excellent rendering by our architect Greg Fahr of the entrance to the village and his plan of the community attracted many attendees.  A big Thank You to volunteers Randy Garmon, Liz Water, Monika, B.M., Mark Leinhos, CEO Kristine Olson-Garewal, as well as others not named here, all of whom patiently answered questions and handed out information to visitors.


The March 1st Delivery of Pallet 64 Micro-shelters!

By Raj Garewal, THP Co-founder

 

We continue to make bigger and bigger steps towards completing our first village, AND we’ve now passed two more huge, concrete milestones: 1) we’ve acquired a useable parcel of land (thanks to Southern Arizona Land Trust, SALT), and 2) on March 1st, Pallet delivered the rest of our first set of micro-shelters!  That morning, a group of volunteers, and Tina Giuliano from KGUN 9 News, were on hand to witness or take part in (whichever their role dictated!) unloading the Pallet 64s into their, for now, home in storage thanks to a generous helping hand.  Even Vice Mayor Kevin Dahl showed up, so you know it was big!  Hats off to Mahlon, who flexed his from-the-farm strength unloading pallet after precarious pallet from the truck into storage, with critical help from a forklift operated by Rigel Grigsby!  After so much conceptualizing and planning, it is amazing to see these tangible accomplishments realized.  We are currently in the process of getting the land properly permitted, etc., and then it will be time to build!  Thanks everyone!  

Above L to R: Volunteers who showed up for the delivery & celebration, and Rigel Grigsby maneuvering a forklift to unload a pallet of Pallet 64 micro-shelter components after it was manhandled into position by Mahlon Kriebel and Raj Garewal in the truck.  Below L to R: Jack Swiergol, Kris Olson-Garewal and Vice-Mayor Kevin Dahl, with Rigel Grigsby on the forklift behind them.


THP at the Tucson Festival of Books 3/9-10/24

Report, with comments by Kris Olson-Garewal, CEO

 

Congratulations everyone!  You deserve a pat on the back because you are the best!  For our first appearance at the TFOB, we did a great job, all thanks to you.  We had some of our most active volunteers out and we had some new volunteers; as a team we got it done together!  Monika Kriebel was Shift Manager for both morning shifts.  Shelley Carton was the Shift Manager for both afternoon shifts.  Our goal was to introduce THP to a bigger audience and you can't get much bigger in Tucson than the TFOB ... with around 150,000 attendees!  We don't have the final counts yet regarding the number of people we engaged with, donations collected, or the number of raffle tickets sold.  We'll get that to you soon. 

Thank You does not cover how appreciative we are that you want THP to succeed as much as we do.  We know how busy you are. We know that every time you volunteer, we take you away from your family & friends.  And yet every time we ask for volunteers, there you are, with a smile on your face.

Comments by Kris Olson-Garewal, CEO:  

Let me do some back-patting!! 

The amount of work that went into making The Tucson Festival of Books our biggest successful event to date was considerable: The volunteers who had to talk constantly, repeatedly giving the same answers to the same questions with so much attention and enthusiasm were impressive.  In addition there were a number of behind the scenes actors without whom this would not have happened: Brian Noriega, Mahlon Kriebel, and Jack Swiergol who brought the house in and took it away; that wasn’t easy.  The coloring book creator, Mary Whitehead, who retired to Tucson and took up painting, did the drawings to match Yolonda Sethi’s story.  We have only ten coloring books left, though we printed 100 extra.  Mark Leinhos keeps the website updated on what our events are and Joe Vaughan does the same with respect to The Homing Project’s newsletter. 

Also, in the production department: our architect Greg Fahr did site plans and images that made the Estrella Village 'real'.  Randy Garman helped weed through the photos and other images to choose the ones that best told our story.  I'm down to the last three shout outs:

3. Patrick DeConcini picked up the $600 tab we were charged for bringing the shelter.
2. The logo’d shirts we wear and all the materials we hand out at events are printed by the Gloo Factory, and printed in time for our events, no matter how short the lead time. 
1. And, of course, Shelley who organizes so well!

We’ll let you know what the final benefits are that come of this amazing event. 


New Event -- at The Maverick 

April 28, 2024 : High Noon to 4:00 PM :  Live Band : 50/50 : Raffle : Silent Auction  ;Free Line Dance Lessons 12:30-1:30.     Click below.

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The Arizona Daily Star carried this article on March 18, 2024, on the front page below the fold:  "Tiny home project moves forward"

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Upcoming Volunteer Needs by Shelley Carton 


More volunteer opportunities are coming soon, and they require a variety of skills we haven’t needed yet.  As we get closer to starting on our first village, probably in May, we’ll create a project roadmap to get these tasks done.  So get your tool belts, safety glasses and gardening gloves ready!! 

 

If you have any expertise or tools needed for the following tasks, please email volunteers@thehomingproject.org to let us know.

  • Site cleanup - need I say more!!
  • Do we have any masons among our volunteers who can put in sidewalks?
  • Have you ever dug post holes for fence posts or post for overhead shades?
  • We have about 1000 square feet of pavers that need to be laid down to create our outdoor dining area plaza (framed, but not cemented).
  • We have hundreds of linear feet of decomposed granite that need to be laid down for walking paths.
  • Have you ever built raised garden beds?
  • Have you ever planted sizable trees?
  • Do you want to help assemble our micro-homes? This task will be supervised by two assemblers from the factory.

If you see yourself doing other type of work, do you want to:

  • Deliver supplies as needed probably using a wheelbarrow?
  • Mix small batches of cement for the posts?
  • Deliver water to every worker every 1-2 hours?

The above is just a small sampling of the tasks required to get our first village up and running.  We have a lot to do and enough work to keep all our volunteers busy.  As soon as we have a schedule, we’ll let you know.  Thanks in advance for all your hard work.



Our media presentation, and welcome Instagram & Sabrina!

Our project's media formats for donations, volunteer opportunities, project news, and other business include: 

  • Website:  thehomingproject.org 
  • Newsletter (email news@thehomingproject.org to get it.)
  • Facebook page

Joining these now is an Instagram channel, as presented below by Sabrina Ferrari.


With social media being one of the best ways to reach the masses in today’s society, I felt that we needed to expand the platforms we are on.  Our Instagram page @_thehomingproject_  is officially up and running!  We are now at 27 followers and continuing to grow. We will use this account to share updates, volunteer events, and any information to become better versed on the causes and solutions for homelessness.

 

For those who have never used Instagram, it is not much different than creating a Facebook or Twitter account. Below are some steps to signing up on a mobile device.  You can also use the same process on a computer.

 

1. Get the Instagram App:  For a smart phone, download the Instagram App: Go to the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android) and download the Instagram app.  1.a.  For a PC, Google the Instagram app for Windows PCs and download that.  1.c.  For a Mac, Google the Instagram Web version and use that.

2.  Install and Open the App: Once the app is installed, open it by tapping the icon.

3.  Sign Up: Tap on "Sign Up" to create a new account.

4.  Choose Your Signup Method: You can sign up using your email address or phone number. Enter the required information.

5.  Create a Username and Password: Choose a unique username that represents you or your brand. Your username is what others will use to find and mention you. Create a strong and secure password.

6.  Complete Your Profile: Add a profile picture that represents you or your brand. Fill out your bio with a brief description. You can also include a link to your website or other social media profiles.

7.  Connect with Friends: You can connect with people you know by allowing Instagram to access your contacts. This will help you find friends who are already on Instagram.

8.  Follow Accounts: Start following accounts that interest you. Instagram will also suggest accounts based on your interests.

9.  Explore and Interact: Explore the app, discover content, and interact with posts by liking, commenting, and sharing.

10.  Customize Your Privacy Settings: Go to your profile, click on the three lines in the top right corner, and navigate to "Settings." Adjust your privacy settings according to your preferences.

11.  Post Your First Photo or Video: Share your first post by tapping on the '+' icon at the bottom center of the screen. Choose a photo or video from your gallery, apply filters if desired, add a caption, and share it.

12.  Use Instagram Stories and Features: Explore features like Instagram Stories, IGTV, Reels, and more. These tools allow you to share different types of content with your followers.



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.



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 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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