Issue 3 2013
Laundry List
Don’t leave us hanging out
to dry...donate today!
Serving Our Nation’s Servers
by Robyn Smith
You’ve spent your whole adult life coming to the aid of others in times of disaster. You’ve
been the shoulder to cry on, the provider of food, clothing, protection and shelter. Now it’s
your turn – except this time there is no one to help. You’re on your own – homeless – and
you’re looked at as a nuisance and a bane to society.
This is the all-too-common scenario that Lafayette Transitional Housing Center is working
to prevent through their latest grant program. The funding is aimed at helping homeless/
almost-homeless military veterans with their unique needs. Is it worth it? You’d have to
ask Scott.
Needs:
• Volunteers
• Shower curtains and rods
• Dryers
• Vacuum cleaners
• Pillows, blankets, twin-sized
sheets, and towels
• Hats, gloves, and scarves
• DVD players
• Lamps
• Can openers
• Toilet paper
• Paper towels
Scott spent 17 years as serving as a National Guard. He expresses well the unique trials
of a veteran. “There are things I miss about being in the service – the camaraderie,
friends, the responsibilities, being in charge of things you can’t do as a civilian; it’s a
different world from civilian life. It also messed me up in a lot of ways like depression,
anxiety, panic, and high stress.”
As a Guard member, Scott would be suddenly called away for months at a time from
civilian life, home, family, and work to provide disaster relief around the country. He
remembers being gone for five months aiding the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
“It’s hard to just make that switch all of a sudden and then back again; you see a lot of
things [serving in disaster relief].”
Then, Scott found himself completely homeless. “I was angry and depressed. It took me a
long time before I was ready to get help. When I was finally ready, word on the street was
that Lafayette Transitional Housing would help.”
Scott went to the facility and found himself welcomed by kind, compassionate staff that
provided for his basic needs – food, clothing, showers – just as Scott has done for so
many others through his service in the National Guard. “It was a place I could go and not
worry about getting in trouble.” They also offer phone and computer use; a necessity for
those seeking employment.
(Continued on page 3.)
For updates on the happenings and needs of LTHC, stay connected!
Follow us on Twitter @LafTransHsg or Facebook!
Facebook likes total this month: 833
• Microwaves
• Frying and cooking pans
• Socks and underwear
• Alarm clocks
Easy to give online!
Log onto www.lthc.net and click
on donate! It’s simple.
Also, planned giving is another
thoughtful way to help us help
others. Please think of us with
your estate planning.
Contact Us:
(765) 423-4880 | www.lthc.net
LTHC
Howarth Center
615 North 18th St.
Suite 102
Lafayette, IN 47904
inside
STORY
This year, LTHC is celebrating
our 25th anniversary. Over
the years, we have had the
opportunity to assist and
support countless homeless
individuals and families.
Thousands of men, women,
and children have received our
Jennifer Layton
help through the years. When
Executive Director
the agency began, it provided
housing to four families with
children. Today we can house 13 families in the Family Program,
23 men and women at the Singles Program, and, 24 men and
women at the Lincoln Center. Additionally, thousands more receive
assistance each year through our Homeless Services Program.
One of the most important aspects of LTHC is our ability and
commitment to evolving. When there is a need in our community
or a gap in services, we look for a way to assist. Over the last few
months, there has been lots of discussion about those who are food
insecure in our own community. LTHC currently operates the largest
food pantry in the area, serving over 15,000 individuals last year
and provided over 700,000 pounds of food! This is almost a third of
the entire community’s annual distribution.
When the client choice food pantry began in 2007, we saw it as an
opportunity to support those who were at-risk of losing their housing.
The food pantry would provide supplemental assistance to reduce
food expenses and ensure that people would be able to remain
housed. It would also be used as a pipeline for people who found
themselves needing emergency housing assistance.
In 2013, LTHC experienced an 85% increase in the number of
people utilizing the food pantry. The need for food has exploded,
and thus our need for volunteers, our need for additional financial
resources to support the pantry, and our need for more space also grew!
There was a recent article in the Journal and Courier about looking
for a different type of solutions to helping those who are hungry, by
creating a Community Mega Pantry. LTHC staff and board believes
that this opportunity to collaborate and join together to create a new
way to engage with those who are hungry might be the best way to
eliminate food insecurity in Tippecanoe County. Stay tuned about
more information on this new effort and ways YOU can participate in
meeting this dire community need!
Endowment Campaign
Goal Exceeded!
We are thrilled to announce that LTHC has exceeded the
$35,000 goal that the board set in 2011 to establish an
endowment fund through the Community Foundation of
Greater Lafayette!
Through various fund raising efforts over a two year period,
friends of LTHC and Home for Keeps Club members generously
donated just over the $35,000. Due to the ongoing matching
fund initiatives contributed by the Community Foundation of
Greater Lafayette over this period, the LTHC endowment fund is
now over $57,000!
This investment income will become an annual distribution to
the agency’s maintenance reserve for years to come. We are so
grateful to all who donated and helped create this new funding
opportunity. Donations to the endowment fund are always
accepted and allow us to continue to grow our future!
Bingo 2014 Save the Date!
Thursday, August 14th, 2014 at the Four Points Sheraton
Hotel, West Lafayette
New Board
Members Welcomed
Lafayette Transitional Housing Center is excited to announce
three new volunteers to the LTHC Board of Directors. These
new members are excited to be part of the leadership team
advancing the work of LTHC. The new board members include:
Jennifer Edwards, The National Group; Brian Russell, Cathy
Russell Team Real Estate; and Jeff Simpson, Wise and Wise
Farms. We appreciate your dedication of time and energy to
assist in the work that we do.
Through the Purdue University Board Fellows program at
the Krannert school of Management, we also welcomed two
students who are MBA candidates: Gopal Vaikuntam and
Adam Schmidler.
(Continued from front page.)
LTHC’s help did not stop there, however. As a resource
connection, they helped Scott find medical help for his
depression, anxiety, and panic. They helped him in receiving
some of his VA benefits, and they helped him find housing
- a place he could call home. That’s important to Scott as
he strives to put his life back together. It’s a place to find
shelter from the turmoil of the streets and it allows him the
independence of living which most of us so easily take for
granted.
Most importantly, as Scott knows from both sides of personal
aid, Lafayette Transitional Housing Center provides compassion
and kindness. They treat each person that comes in with
dignity and respect – something almost unheard of for those
living on the street. “They do everything they can with what
they’ve got. The people there are very professional, but they’re
people. Some may dress professionally, others just in everyday
clothes, but it doesn’t make a difference in how they treat you
when you come in. They don’t look at you funny for carrying a
backpack. They’re people, too. “
Special thanks to our Homes for Keeps Club
Members & Endowment Donors of $250 or more.
James Ahlrichs
Susan Lisack
Mark and Rhonda Arvin
Thomas and Susan McCully
Paul and Linda Austin
Byron and Jolene Meade
Cheryl Butcher
Marianne Melville
Mike and Patty Cassidy
Brad Muller
Carol Clark-Elliott
Jack Nichols
Rob and Amy Cochran
Kevin and Ann Nicoson
Doug and Barbara Conard
Nancy Patchen
Mark Van Fleet and
Carolyn Curiel
James and Beverly Peacock
Louis and Ann Pellegrino
The good people on the staff are some of the reasons Scott
is glad he came to LTHC, and he encourages others in his
situation to do the same. For those considering participation
through volunteering or donations Scott says this: “When
there was no other place I could go to get help, [Lafayette]
Transitional Housing helped me. The people there really care.
They do a lot of good.”
Bob and Michelle Dearing
If you know someone in need of help, or want to join us in
helping others, contact the Center today!
Charles Eads
Jim and Mary Jo Risk
Mary Finnegan
Kathy and Jay Seeger
Alan and Marti Galbreth
Paul and Phyllis Shireman
Jim Gick
Jeffrey Simpson
Mart and Rita Gick
Virginia Stalcup
Dick and Hilda Giromini
Alan and Sue Studzinski
Lee Gray
Phillip Subeck
Chuck and Donna Gullion
Larry and Cindy Svajgr
Allan and Katherine Hale
Joanne Troutner
Brad and Christan Henderson
Karen Weaver
Gary and Shelley Henriott
Randy and Carolyn Williams
Orval and Carol Jacobsen
James Wingard
Donald and Jennifer Layton
Janet Winters
Cover Them in Warmth
Blanket drive thru donation drive was held on January 12th. LTHC
Connie Deerman-Eckard
Jeff and Becky Deerr
Don and Debbie
Dillman-Crowell
Larry and Natalie Powell
Morris Propp
Judy Rechberger
Tedd Riehle
received over 450 blankets!
James Leslie
Homeward Bound - April 6th
Lafayette Transitional Housing Center is one of five agencies
participating in the annual Homeward Bound walk on Sunday, April
6th, 3pm, at Riehle Plaza. Get your friends, family coworkers, together
and walk for LTHC. Registration is free, but we encourage donations as
this is a fundraiser for LTHC and we hope to raise $10,000. Check out
our website at www.homewardboundindiana.org for more information
and to register your team. If you need any more information, please
call LTHC!
Immediately following the walk, please join us at the Lafayette
Brewing Company for Homeward Bound Rocks, where three bands will
be highlighted based on the money raised for the event. Check out the
Greater Lafayette Homeward Bound Facebook page for
more information!
Howarth Center
615 North 18th Street
Suite 102
Lafayette, IN 47904
Non-Profit Org.
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PAID
LAFAYETTE, IN
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