Chaplain Dave Goodall
November, 2007
Chaplain Dave Goodall |
About a year ago, the Chaplaincy was approached with an opportunity to fill a developing need that no one else was addressing, the plight of homeless senior citizens. Part of the decision to undertake this monumental task was having the right man to run it, and we do in Rev. Scott Ritchey. Another was a written commitment from the Maui Giving Foundation that promised to fund the work with $10,000.00 per month for five years, a period of time, which would enable the development of broader diversified funding. We were all concerned when the expected check didn't show up and then Scott's phone calls were not returned. Eventually he got a message that there were some management changes being made and he would hear from them soon. The final explanation was that the management had changed completely, "and now we're going to help children instead of old people." That is a loss of $10,000.00 funding per month for over four years. The ECH Board of Directors has graciously agreed to fund the Justa Center deficit for a short while, as we desperately try to find immediate short-term and eventual long-term solutions.
I could spend paragraphs describing the work that Justa Center and it's dedicated staff and volunteers do, but we already have that information available in a flyer on our web site. I would ask each of you to go to our site, www.azhomeless.org, and click on "ECH Justa Center" in the top left corner. Read about the lives being transformed every day, and homelessness ending for members of the fastest growing segment of the homeless population. I know this doesn't have the same attraction as helping children so horribly in need, but I have sat in my office with an 86 year-old homeless woman, the same age as my mother, while she cried because she had outlived all of her family and there was no one to help her. My mother was blessed to be able to die in her own home surrounded by her children and friends, something that woman will never know.
If you can find it in your heart to help in any way, large or small, don't delay. Please send a check payable to ECH-Justa Center to us at 1125 West Jackson, Phoenix, AZ 86007. If you like, you can donate online at our "Make a Cash Contribution" page using your Master Card or Visa. If you prefer to use your credit card over the phone, please call me at 602-417-9853.
Whether or not you are able to help, please forward this to friends who might be able or interested. If the Chaplaincy cannot find a funding solution for this dilemma, Justa will be forced to close, and the 110-120 people it helps each day will be left with no assistance for housing, showers, safety, and protection from the elements and predators. Please don't let Maui Giving Foundation's unfortunate management decision be the last word on what happens to the most vulnerable of the homeless.
Thank you and God bless you all,
Chaplain Dave Goodall
Ecumenical Chaplaincy for the Homeless
1125 W. Jackson St.
Phoenix AZ 85007
Phone: 602-417-9853 - Fax: 602-258-2675
Website: www.azhomeless.org
E-mail: chaplaindave@azhomeless.org