Dear Friends,
I'm writing you today because WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT. Your contribution will make it possible for us to provide food, showers, hygiene and shelter to our most vulnerable population. Your gift will give our guests a chance to be seen and welcomed, recovering their human dignity in the face of much adversity.
"James" has been homeless for 2 yrs. due to an injury. He had all but given up on receiving services when he walked in Berkeley Community Resource Center~ a program of the Dorothy Day House. He was greeted by friendly staff who took the time to explain what they could do for him that day. He was able to have breakfast, take a shower, receive clean clothes and wash the clothes on his back. BCRC also provided him with a fee waiver for an I.D., put him in contact with shelter services and he obtained a shelter bed that day! He was so grateful that he began to sweep and asked what he could do to help us. Since our initial meeting, he has secured employment with the Berkeley Streets Team and continues to volunteer with the BCRC. He is smiling.
Dorothy Day House year-round shelter provides a safe haven for 57 guests every night. Our shelter guests are the most vulnerable individuals in Berkeley who come with mental health, physical impairment or both. Our shelter provides a calm and nurturing environment that has led our guests to care for each other and themselves with dignity. We are unique in our philosophy that genuine kindness and respect should be given to every person who walks through our doors.
Each of us has a name. We exchange them every time we introduce ourselves. Our friends, family and community members use our names to identify us to others. Yet there are countless members of the Berkeley community who have a name and are still essentially anonymous. We know them by other descriptions: that guy who sleeps in a particular doorway; the woman with the overstuffed shopping cart; the panhandler at the intersection.
Imagine living with that level of anonymity, knowing you have a name but seldom hearing it spoken out loud.
At Dorothy Day House we strive to know every person we serve because being greeted by name is to be truly acknowledged. We sincerely believe that being unhoused doesn’t mean being unknown.
