For over half a decade, Humanity Heroes has been on a mission to improve the lives of the homeless population in Los Angeles, CA. Starting in late 2020, we made the decision to expand these outreach efforts and fundraising ideas out of state.
VANCOUVER, WASHINGTON
The first out of state donation was in Vancouver, Washington. Humanity Heroes donated 100 backpacks and blankets to Share Housing for #GivingTuesday on 12/22/20 with volunteers from Advanced Nutrients.
Share Housing has been serving the Clark County homeless community for over 40 years.
EUREKA, CALIFORNIA
In January of 2021, Humanity Heroes partnered with Green Ox and the City of Eureka Uplift program to help give back to the Eureka residents experiencing homelessness.
Uplift provided a voucher program for the homeless residents to sign up to receive a backpack and a warm blanket. Green Ox volunteers helped donate backpacks and do a community drop-off to a shelter nearby to the Eureka Rescue Mission.
One of the volunteers from Green Ox was Kyle Preciado. Kyle was a formerly unhoused resident in Humboldt County and was able to seek employment at Green Ox.
His enthusiasm and dedication to the Humanity Heroes mission was nothing short of inspiring.
In February 2021, Humanity Heroes distributed its first out of state backpack donations in the following states and cities: Detroit, MI, Denver, CO, and Las Vegas, NV. We were able to donate 100 backpacks and warm blankets in every state in collaboration with local organizations that focus on helping people in need.
DETROIT MICHIGAN
In Detroit, Humanity Heroes partnered with the following organizations: Volunteers of America Michigan Veterans Center and the Detroit Rescue Mission.
A local restaurant Oak & Reel partnered with Humanity Heroes to donate 34 warm meals for the homeless veterans. This was the first donation event Oak & Reel had participated in to help people in need in their local Detroit community.
Chef Jared of Oak & Reel prepared a delicious lunch meal to donate to veterans, including a sumptuous menu of spicy roasted cauliflower sandwich with sauerkraut and aged cheddar plus a hearty butternut squash soup.
Volunteers of America have been aiding American Veterans since World War I. They provide case management, employment assistance and physical and mental health services, comprehensive employment and training program services designed to address employment barriers with coordinated case management, and help for very low-income veterans and their families to prevent homelessness.
After serving warm meals to the Veterans, Humanity Heroes volunteers took to the streets and directly donated to the unsheltered living in the cold Detroit streets.
In Michigan, it was the first time the team was doing direct street outreach in a cold state. One of our key learnings? The unsheltered homeless in colder climates are less visible due to the harsh weather conditions… But that there are people in need of help suffering behind the scenes.
Humanity Heroes found an encampment near the outskirts of 8 mile. The residents were living in tents in order to maintain their body heat.
You can view the Michigan recap video here.
DENVER COLORADO
In Colorado, Humanity Heroes partnered with Marisol Homes, Colorado State Veterans Center, to directly give back to those unsheltered living in the encampments in downtown Denver. A 50-year-old local Colorado restaurant Romano’s donated 70 warm spaghetti and meatball meals with warm bread to Humanity Heroes.
Marisol Homes helps women and children escaping domestic abuse and violence and offers childcare for the children so they can continue schooling while the women find employment and stable housing.
The Colorado State Veterans center will be placing the Humanity Heroes backpacks as a welcome gift for Veterans that get discharged from the hospital with no belongings and are sent straight to the center.
In downtown Denver Humanity Heroes was able to help an encampment that was being swept by police officers and Denver public city officials. This was our first encounter experiencing a street sweep.
Recap of the volunteers experiencing and witnessing the street sweep can be found here.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
In Southern Nevada, Humanity Heroes partnered with three organizations: The Shade Tree, Share Veterans Village, and NPHY-Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth.
7th and Carson was our food sponsor and donor and donated 20 delicious vegetable pasta dishes and bottled waters.
The Shade Tree helps single and pregnant mothers and children that are experiencing a homeless economic crisis and escaping domestic abuse. In addition to the backpacks and warm blankets Humanity Heroes donated we also donated 500 diapers to help support single mothers.
Humanity Heroes donated 40 blankets and backpacks along with 200 bottles of CBD water. The mission of Share Veterans Village is to transform lives and neighborhoods through affordable housing and supportive services and programs helping both female and male veterans.
They have four locations/ villages that provide permanent housing. Dr. Stalk’s used the following model of providing support to end homelessness and provide self-sufficiency:
1. Emergency Housing
2. Transitional Housing
3. Scattered Site Rental Housing
4. Home Ownership
The last donation drop off in Nevada was the Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY), which provides Southern Nevada’s homeless youth with help, hope, and the support needed to rebuild their lives. The organization also provides the most comprehensive wrap-around services to help homeless youth in Nevada.
Humanity Heroes was able to donate 20 blankets and backpacks to help support NPHY mission. Humanity Heroes met with one of their associates, Booker Reid, who is a Youth Engagement Specialist.
Booker provided very valuable insights about barriers that homeless youth face and noted that change starts by taking the first step – procuring birth certificates in order to get a valid ID. From that point, these youth are in a better position to start setting up job opportunities so they can become self-sufficient.
For our direct outreach donation Humanity Heroes collaborated with Sidewalk Project and Food Not Bombs. Through this mutual aid partnership we met off of Owens Street across the street from a Salvation Army shelter and provided harm reduction services, food, water, and feminine products.
