Another Successful Run

Final delivery was made today. Grand total of scarves delivered was 233. Plus 300 pairs of thermal socks, an undetermined amount of knitted hats, mittens, headbands, etc., 200 personal care items (perfume, cologne, body wash, bars of soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner - varies depending on supplies), 100 items of jewelry, 200 christmas cards, at least 200 candy canes, 200 Words For Today, 24 gift packs for children which may or may not have included stuffed animals, coloring books, crayons, and lots of smiles and good wishes for a happy and joyous season.

There were 15 organizations on the final list. Freedom Foundation of NS and Alcare Place (transition houses for men in recovery from addictions to alcohol drugs or gambling), Marguerite Centre (an 11-bed facility for women in recovery from addictions and abuse), Direction 180 (mobile methadone outreach), three supervised apartment buildings, Herring Cove Apartments (sponsored by Shelter NS) and Stewart Place and Amethyst Apartments (Metro NonProfit Housing), Laing House and Among Friends (community centers for those living with mental illness), Souls Harbor Rescue Mission, Brunswick Street Mission, and Margaret's House (centers providing meals for the homeless and others), Stepping Stone (community outreach for sex trade workers), the Mik'maw Native Friendship Center and Club 24.

During our deliveries, members of our volunteer Board of Directors dressed in Santa suits to add a bit of holiday cheer to the event. As always, we avoided media coverage during the event, to safeguard the anonymity of our clients. Pictures are available at our facebook page, our twitter account, and our website.

The storeroom is empty. All items that were made by us or donated to us were used during the project. We have about half a dozen knitters, myself included, who are currently working on scarves for the project in 2016. It's a year-round project here at Last House on the Block Society. Addictions, abuse, homelessness, depression and anxiety don't take vacations and neither do we. The plan now is to re-organize and get ready for next year.

At this time, as co-Founder and President of Last House on the Block Society, I would like to thank all of our directors, past and present, all of our sponsors (Dartmouth Community Health Board, Abenaki Aquatic Club, and Doctors NS), all those who donated funds, items, or an extra hand wrapping, bagging, or driving the sled. And all the knitters. If you slipped us a few dollars, knitted a scarf, bought a ticket at one our draws, mentioned us to your friends, gave us a discount when we shopped, you all make the project a success. And, you should all know that you did a good thing this year.

The Warmth of The Season

During our Santa Under The Bridge project in 2014, our elves made a delivery to the Brunswick Street Mission. Many years ago, when I was homeless, I ate a few times at the mission and I remembered the warm welcome I received there. When we stopped by last year, that welcome was still there. Early this morning, some of our directors, dressed as elves, stopped in again to the Mission and were welcomed with open arms.

Next on our list was the Souls Harbor Rescue Mission on Cunard Street. We were there last year, and again the warmth and comfortable relaxed atmosphere of Souls Harbor was there to greet us. We gathered around the christmas tree, laughing and joking as if all the problems of the outside world were nonexistent. If we hadn't had other deliveries to make, we might have stayed for lunch. It sure smelled good.

Back in 2013, when we started our outreach, a friend of mine who was also on our board - Harold D. - suggested we donate some gift packs to Direction 180. Harold is no longer with us. He passed away last year, but his contribution to our cause lives on. This was our third year donating gifts to the clinic. The staff are always so pleasant and helpful. We certainly were glad we could be of assistance to them at Christmas.

It Warms Our Heart

Santa Under The Bridge 2015 is underway. So far, Last House on the Block Society elves have delivered gifts of our scarves to 7 organizations. Micmac Native Friendship Center, Freedom Foundation of NS, Margeurite Center, Herring Cove Apartments (part of Shelter NS), Laing House, Alcare Place, and Stepping Stone. There are 10 organizations left to deliver to, and we will be doing those over the next 2 weeks. 

The Santa Under The Bridge Project was created in 2013 by the Board of Directors of Last House on the Block Society and is carried out by volunteers of Last House on the Block Society. Sometimes people who are not part of our organization assist us with the deliveries and of course we try to credit those individuals whenever possible.

In 2013, one of our founding directors - Nancy Schultz - came up with the idea of knitting scarves for residents of transition houses and giving them as Christmas gifts. The first year, we had about 40 scarves. In 2014, that number was 190, and now in 2015, we have over 200 scarves. 

We do a lot of promoting on social media, posting photos, etc. There is one site that has a habit if reminding people of what they posted a year ago and so this past week we have been seeing memories from our project last year. It warms our hearts to remember what we did and why we did it. We look forward to making more memories this year 

We would also like to acknowledge the support we received from the Abenaki Aquatic Club, the Dartmouth Community Health Board, and Doctors NS. 

Hoping everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Message From A Co-Founder

Hi. I'm Bernie. Co-founder of Last House on The Block Society. My formal title is President. I am also the webmaster and blog editor so most of the posts at this blog come from me. I have a bunch of other little jobs at the Society. That's how volunteering works. We do a bunch of things for the place we volunteer for and nobody really knows who does it.

I was just sitting here at home, knitting a scarf for our project. I just recently learned how to knit. I learned at the Knitting Group we have at the Take Action Society. Some of my male friends think it isn't very manly of me, but oh well, I'm not overly concerned with how other people view what I do. Besides, I think I could become very proficient at this. I have only been knitting for 2 weeks and already I have the makings of a scarf that is good enough for our project.

And what is our project exactly? We are a community outreach for persons in recovery from addictions, abuse, or homelessness. The key phrase there is "in recovery from". Way back then when we first started this project, it was suggested that we address the issue of homelessness because we were dealing with alcoholics and addicts and a lot of them suffer from homelessness. A lot of them have situations of abuse that they are dealing with. And mental illness is often a co-occurring disorder. So there is a lot of crossover involved.

If you're walking down a street in Halifax and you see someone panhandling for spare change, you don't really know how they arrived at this point in their life. You also do not know how sincere they are in their efforts to become a productive member of society. Some want to be helped, but would prefer not to be branded as homeless. So, knowing who to give our gifts to, became a dilemma.

We decided that the best way to help those who wanted help was to donate our gifts to organizations that deal one on one with these issues and let the organizations determine who receives the gifts. So that's what we do. In the first few weeks of December we donate our gifts to community groups and organizations in Halifax and Dartmouth. This year there are 18 organizations on our list. In this way, we can assist these individuals without drawing attention to the fact that they have problems of addiction, abuse, or homelessness. It preserves their anonymity and therefore their dignity. As a recovered alcoholic and former homeless person, I understand how important that is.

So, I have no idea who will receive this scarf I'm knitting today. It might be someone who lives in a transition house for addicts. It might be a sex trade worker who popped into the Stepping Stone community center. It might be someone dealing with a mental illness who attends Laing House. It might be someone who was homeless last month but is now living in a supervised building. Maybe someone who attends the Direction 180 mobile methadone clinic or someone who goes to Brunswick Street Mission for a hot meal. I won't know. But I will know that I helped someone by taking a little time out of my busy day to knit a few rows of yarn together.

We have 15-20 volunteer knitters involved in our Santa Under The Bridge project.

Santa Under The Bridge

This is what Last House on the Block Society did in 2014 as part of our Santa Under The Bridge project. 

Our volunteers knitted 190 diversity scarves. Those scarves were placed in gift bags along with other items. Those items were 2 pairs of thermal socks, personal care items, a winter hat, a Christmas card, some candy canes, and other items that varied due to supplies on hand. Each bag also contained a small card describing what the diversity scarf symbolizes and that it was hand knitted by a volunteer. 

These gift packs were then sorted into groups, usually 12 gift packs to a group. In some instances, they were all for men, in some cases they were all for women, in still other cases there was an equal number of men's and women's packs. Some groups also included children's gift packs. 

In some cases, we included non-perishable food items.

Each group of gift packs was then donated to a community group or organization to be presented to their clients as Xmas gifts. The deliveries were made by volunteers from the board of directors who dressed up in Santa hats or suits. We actually had a fantastic time doing it.

.

This year we plan to do things pretty much the same way.The organizations we deliver to this year will also be basically the same ones we delivered to last year, with a few minor changes. We're hoping to add a few names to the list.

The timeline is roughly this. Over the next few weeks, we will be purchasing thermal socks and personal care items that go into the gift bags, also christmas cards and candy canes,  as well as the bags themselves. We have grant money that we use for those purchases. Naturally, the more donated items, the more we can do. Our goal is 200 gift packs. Anything over and above that we can certainly find a place to donate it to.

About mid-November, we start preparing the gift packs. And then, during the first week or two of December, we deliver those gifts to the community groups or organizations on our list. Those organizations offer support and resources to persons in recovery from addictions, persons who may be homeless, who may suffer from abuse or mental illness, sex trade workers, youth, seniors, males, females. We try to be as inclusive as possible.

There is a misconception that our volunteers wander the streets passing out gifts to people sleeping under the bridge. Although we have, on occasion, offered assistance to individuals, as a rule we donate our gifts to organizations and allow them to get the gifts to the people who need them. 

So that's what we do.

.

Who Do We Knit For?

Someone commented to me that it is a great thing we are doing, knitting scarves for the homeless.   Our mission statement says that we act as a community outreach for persons in recovery from addictions, abuse, or homelessness. So, although some of the people we knit our scarves for may be homeless, not all of them are.

Our volunteers knit our diversity scarves. Once the scarves are knitted, they are placed in gift packs which may also include knitted mittens and knitted hats, thermal socks that we purchase, as well as personal care items (soap, body wash, toothpaste, perfume, etc). In some cases we may provide jewelry and in other cases non-perishable food items and in still other cases we may provide items for children.

These gift packs are then donated to community organizations in HRM so that those organizations may give them to their clients as Christmas gifts. Sometimes, Last House on the Block Society is credited with donating the items and sometimes we remain anonymous. We leave that up to the discretion of the organizations who receive our donations.

In 2014, we delivered gift packs to 15 community organizations for a combined total of 190 donations. The organizations who received our donations were:

Margeurite Center, a longterm facility in Halifax for women in recovery from addictions or abuse.

Freedom Foundation, a transition house in Dartmouth for men in recovery from addictions.

Alcare Place, a facility in Halifax for men in recovery from alcohol, drugs, or gambling,

Direction 180,  a community-based methadone program located in the North End of Halifax.

Brunswick Street Mission, a community based organization seeking to help those in need. Some of them may be homeless.

Souls Harbor Rescue Mission, a home for the homeless in Halifax.

Shelter NS, an organization that helps men and women to make the change from prison living to community living. Some of their clients are homeless and they provide them with a home.

Laing House, a peer support organization for youth living with mental illness.

Stepping Stones, an organization that offers outreach and support to female, male and trans-gendered sex workers in HRM.

Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Center, a community based center that provides structured, social-based programming for Urban Aboriginal People.

Stewart Place, a supervised apartment building in Dartmouth for men, part of Metro Non Profit Housing. It offers safe, affordable housing.

Amethyst Apartments, a supervised apartment building in Dartmouth for women, part of Metro Non Profit Housing. It offers safe, affordable housing.

Feeding Others of Dartmouth, Margaret's House, a soup kitchen in downtown Dartmouth.

Among Friends Social Club, a community environment for persons living with mental illness, based in Dartmouth and supervised by the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Club 24, a 12-step environment for people in recovery from alcoholism.

So, as you can see, we knit our scarves for people who may have been homeless, may currently be homeless, or may be facing the threat of homelessness. But we do a lot more than just that.

September Is A Great Time To Barbecue

September is a great month to barbecue. And one resident of HRM, Claude Garry, will be barbecuing on a Broil King Monarch BBQ that he won during our Labor Day Draw.

We would like to thank everyone who participated in this event. Last House On The Block Society was able to raise $315 during this draw. We also raised $87 from the dishcloth sale.

And last month, the Abenaki Aquatic Club raised $178 during their Fun Day barbecue.

We have a few other events in the works. We will keep you posted on those.

Labor Day BBQ Draw

Get your tickets now. Use interac transfer through our email: lasthouseontheblock@outlook.com

$5 each or 3 for $10

or show up at Alderney Market Saturday August 22 and look for us.

Christmas in June

Our Father's Day draws went very well. We were able to get a table at Giant Tiger in Dartmouth to sell some of our tickets at. The Gift Basket brought in $100 and the Cheesecake brought in $134. Winners were Charles Grady and Karen Clements. We received $130 in donations from other sources, we raised $94 from an online fundraising site located at http://gogetfunding.com/santa-under-the-bridge/ and today we received funding from the Dartmouth Community Health Board in the amount of $500 as part of their Community Development Fund. Naturally, we dressed in our Santa Suits to receive the check.

Last House on the Block Society recently partnered up with the Take Action Society to create a Knitting Group. Our knitters are teaching them to knit and they, in turn are teaching young people to knit. Pictured below is a scarf made by Anne, one of the volunteers learning to knit.

I think we need a bigger basket

We decided that since the Mother's Day Basket did so well, that we would do a Fathers Day basket as well. We already had a basket. I don't remember where it came from but we have it. It's filled with guy stuff. Barbecue tools, a travel mug, a pair of sandals, some tools, a baseball, a cap, some personal care items, a video game, a book. Looking at it last night I kept thinking we should get a bigger basket next time.

Tickets are on sale from our volunteers. You can connect with us on facebook

 https://www.facebook.com/LastHouseOnTheBlockSociety

or twitter @lasthouseonbloc

or by emailing us at lasthouseontheblock@outlook.com

We place your name and contact number on the ticket(s) and they go in the draw box. They are $1 each. The draw is held in the parking lot of the Tim Hortons at 255 Portland Street on Friday June 19, 2015 at approximately 7 pm. We'll post a video of the draw at our facebook page.

This draw is licensed under the Service Nova Scotia Alcohol and Gaming Division,
Permit #AGD-102850-15.

We also have a cheesecake raffle going on simultaneously. The draw for that is Saturday, June 20, 2015 at Shannex on Baker Drive. Ticket price is the same.


This draw is also licensed under the Service Nova Scotia Alcohol and Gaming Division,
Permit #AGD-102851-15.

The last two draws we did brought in a combined profit of $197 for our fundraising. What that means is that the money we raised buys wool to knit the scarves that we give away during our Santa Under The Bridge project.

We did a count last night of the scarves we have. One of our knitters lives out of town so she delivers the scarves to us in time for the project. We included her total with our total. The amount is 181 adult, 16 children, 7 hats, 6 head bands and 24 dish cloths. Last Christmas we had 191 scarves so we will at least equal that amount this year and quite possibly surpass it. We all feel good about that.

We do provide other items with our gift packages (socks, personal care items, christmas cards, tuques, gifts for the children) so we still have a lot to do in preparation for the Project.

So if you want to help make a difference, buy a ticket on one of the draws. :)

Father's Day Fundraising Events

Fathers Day Cheesecake Raffle

in support of

Last House on the Block Society

 Sample photo

Tickets are $1.00 each

Draw date: June 20, 2015

Tickets available from our volunteers

lasthouseontheblock@outlook.com

https://www.facebook.com/LastHouseOnTheBlockSociety

also.......

Fathers Day Gift Basket Raffle

in support of

Last House on the Block Society

Sorry No Photo Available at this time

Tickets are $1.00 each

Draw date: June 19, 2015

Tickets available from our volunteers

lasthouseontheblock@outlook.com

https://www.facebook.com/LastHouseOnTheBlockSociety

Cheesecake, Baskets & Other Things

 
We had two Mother's Day raffles this month, for a cheesecake and for a gift basket. Between the two raffles, we were able to raise $197.00 which will be used to provide scarves and other items for our Santa Under The Bridge Project.

Also this month, Nancy Schultz and Nancy Anderson met with volunteers of the Take Action Society. Nancy and Nancy will be teaching them to knit scarves for us, so that should be helpful to both our Society and theirs.

A Little Background Info

In the winter of 1997-1998 I was a homeless person. It was a result of alcoholism. I found myself living in a transition house for male alcoholics and addicts. It's called Freedom Foundation and it has helped hundreds of men on the road to recovery.

I worked there for about 12 years after I sobered up. We parted ways three years ago and a few months later I decided to open my own house. That's how Last House on the Block Society got started.

Opening a house is a big project, too big for us to handle so we decided not to go that route and altered our mission statement to become a community outreach.

During a board meeting, my wife Nancy, who is also a recovered alcoholic and also on the board, suggested knitting scarves for the girls in Marguerite Center. And so the scarf project came into being. We called it Santa Under The Bridge.

In Xmas 2013 we donated 40 scarves to 3 places. Xmas 2014 saw us at 190 scarves which we donated to 15 organizations. During that year we broadened the scope of our assistance to include persons in recovery from addictions, abuse, and homelessness. Many of the people who receive our gifts are also living with a mental illness.

In 2015, we donated well over 200 of our scarves to 15 community organizations.

2016 is just beginning and the project is just beginning. As far as we know, we have half a dozen scarves. I, myself, learned to knit last year and one of my scarves is in the pile. I don't knit very fast and the project may only see a dozen scarves from me. But, at least it's something. If I can put a smile on a dozen faces on Christmas morning then I've done a wonderful thing. If I can also help them stay warm, that's an added bonus.

Mothers Day Gift Basket Raffle

Mothers Day Gift Basket Raffle

in support of

Last House on the Block Society

Tickets are $1 each, 3 for a Toonie

Draw date: May 9, 2015

Tickets available from our volunteers

lasthouseontheblock@outlook.com

More More More

More scarves from Nancy Anderson. Pictured here are 12 adult scarves and 3 childrens scarves. Nancy Schultz has been keeping a total of those we have on hand and those that are scattered about, and we have just passed the 100 mark.

In other news, we will be re-applying for funding from the Dartmouth Community Health Board and although nothing can be confirmed until after they make their decisions, we are hopeful.

At the rate of production of the scarves, and other items that are donated to us, together with any funding we may receive and the generous donations from our supporters, we might very well be able to assist more organizations.

Spring Is Coming......Soon

Old Man Winter is hanging on, but we're sure spring will come....eventually. Due to limited parking at our usual board meeting location, we held it this month at a coffee shop in the area. It was great to see everyone. Seven out of eight directors were in attendance. We got a chance to swap shoveling stories and to conduct a bit of business.

We have a cheesecake draw coming up for Mother's Day, as well as a raffle on our gift basket. The basket itself isn't full yet, but it's starting to come together. We hope to have it jam packed with goodies in time for the draw.

As it stands right now, we have 75 adult scarves, 8 children's scarves, 5 headbands, 4 hats and 24 dish cloths for our 2015 Santa Under the Bridge Project. I know it's hard to think about next winter when we haven't even finished this one..........

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day from all of us at Last House on the Block Society. Our Valentine's Day Cheesecake raffle brought in $70. The winner was Hughie. Doesn't that cheesecake look awesome! As Trish would say who needs a box of chocolates when you could have had that?

In other news, Nancy Anderson has knitted us some dish cloths. We received a donation of yarn and in that donation was some cotton wool that couldn't be used for scarves, so Nancy made the cloths as something we could put in the gift basket we are planning to raffle off.

We had an empty basket donated to us so all we have to do now is fill it with goodies. We will keep you posted as to how much the tickets are, where you can buy them, etc.

That's your update for now. Have a safe and joyous Valentine's Day and we'll be in touch.

Progress For The Greater Good

Originally, Last House on the Block Society planned to open a transition house for men in recovery from addictions. In the fall of 2013, we altered our memorandum of association and became a community outreach for persons in recovery from addictions. It was felt that we could do more good as a community outreach and also we would not be limited to helping only one gender.

During the Santa Under The Bridge project in December of 2014, we began to realize that some persons in recovery also suffer from abuse, that some are homeless, or have been homeless or may yet be homeless, so we found ourselves compelled to offer assistance not only to persons in recovery from addictions but also to those living in shelters, eating in soup kitchens, etc. Also, many individuals who suffer from addictions may also have a co-occurring disorder such as schizophrenia, situational anxiety, depression or bi-polar disorder, so we also try to offer our services and support to those who fall within that spectrum.

Last month, we altered our memorandum a second time. Our Mission Statement now reads that we "act as a community outreach for persons in recovery from addictions, abuse, and homelessness." That change was made through a Special Resolution passed by no less than three-fourths of the Board of Directors on Jan 12, 2015 and  officially altered on January 23, 2015

Calling All Knitters

Here is a sample of the scarves and headbands knitted by one of our volunteer knitters. Last Xmas we were able to produce 190 scarves. We hope to match or exceed that goal this year. But in order to do that, we need more volunteer knitters. So drop us a line and we'll get you the pattern and some wool if you require any.

2015 Here We Come

Santa Under The Bridge 2014

From December 1, 2014 to December 30, 2014, donations were made to 15 community organizations in HRM (see list below). Donations consisted of an individual gift pack containing:

1 hand-made diversity scarf

1 tuque

2 pairs thermal socks

1 toiletry item (soap, shampoo, bath salts, toothpaste, toothbrush – items varied based on supplies)

1 non-addressed christmas card

1 diversity scarf card

1 set of god-box words for today

candy canes

Some gift bags contained stuffed animal toys, or coloring books and crayons.

Some gift bags contained children's fleece scarves hand-made by a volunteer knitter.

Some organizations also received donations of food (jars of peanut butter, mayonnaise, cans of cranberry sauce, pancake syrup).

Deliveries were made by volunteers from the Board of Directors who wore Santa suits. Pictures were taken and most of them have been posted at this blog on various occasions.

The organizations we were able to help are:

 

Freedom Foundation of Nova Scotia

Alcare Place

Margeurite Center

Direction 180

Souls Harbor Rescue Mission

Shelter NS

Mi'kmaw Native Friendship

Laing House

Brunswick Street Mission

Stepping Stone

Stewart Place

Amethyst Apartments

Among Friends Social Club

Club 24

Feeding Others of Dartmouth

In 2013, we delivered 45 gift packs. In 2014, the total number of gift packs delivered was 190 plus 4 large sacks to Feeding Others of Dartmouth.

Our Santa Under The Bridge Project was partially funded by a grant from the Dartmouth Community Health Board.

Additional funding came from fund-raising events held by 2-CAV (Canadian Army Veterans Motorcycle Units) and the Abenaki Aquatic Club on our behalf, as well as cheesecake raffles conducted by our volunteers, and donations.

2015

 

We look forward to the work we will be able to do in 2015. We have some events in the works. Once we have the particulars on those, we will definitely keep you posted. If you would like to be involved with Last House on the Block Society, there are different ways to help.

You can donate wool for our knitters. 

You can also donate non-perishable food items such as peanut butter or ketchup, etc. We donate those items to various food programs in HRM. 

These donations can be dropped off at our registered office: 38 Trentonian Lane in Dartmouth. It's best to call first (902-789-0848) although we will be arranging a drop-off box which will be located on our front deck close to the mailbox.

You can also donate money. All money or items donated to Last House on the Block Society are used for projects conducted by Last House on the Block Society. No amount is too small. Make checks payable to:

Last House on the Block Society

38 Trentonian Lane

Dartmouth, NS B2W 0C4

If you like to knit, you can be one of our volunteer knitters.

Contact Nancy : 902-293-4095

If you'd like to be involved in the decision-making process, we still have 3 seats left on our Board of Directors. It's a 2-year commitment and commitment is something we require. This can't be something we do when it's convenient. We hold monthly board meetings and your presence at those is required.

If you are a person in recovery from an addiction, we require a minimum of one year sober or clean.

We also require volunteers for our fund-raising events, selling tickets, preparing god-boxes, dressing up as an elf and delivering gifts, things like that.

You can check us out on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/LastHouseOnTheBlockSociety

we have a volunteer group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/lasthouseontheblocksociety/

we have a website:

http://lasthouseontheblocksociety.weebly.com/

and you can follow us on twitter

@lasthouseonbloc