When There Was No Shelter…
Just 16 months ago, there was no shelter in Pine Ridge. The tribal council had voted to evict us from the gymnasium that we were using to shelter the homeless. One of the reasons they did this was because they felt the number of homeless people was getting out of hand, but when they closed the shelter, homeless didn’t disappear.
The homeless situation got far worse! Many of the homeless had to sleep in the streets. One of the politicians who closed the shelter started calling me regularly asking me what we were going to do about the homeless.
While the shelter was closed from late April to late June 2023, we saw a huge increase in violence both homeless-on-homeless violence and non-homeless individuals assaulting the homeless. There were sexual assaults against homeless women and homeless men. With no shelter, almost all of our homeless community had relapsed into drugs and alcohol.
The homeless are not dying like they were before we opened the shelter. We are seeing vast reductions in deaths due to cirrhosis, freezing deaths, medical neglect, murders, and overdoses. Much of this is due to the liquor stores in Whiteclay closing down and much of it is because of the shelter. When I tell our supporters that their donations save lives, it’s not just a fundraising line, it’s the stark reality.
We have helped save many lives, but our goal isn’t just to save lives. Our goal is to transform lives. Thank you for partnering with us in our lifesaving and lifechanging work!
Some homeless setting up their tents in April of 2023. They set up across from the tribal building because the tribal building had 24-7 security guards
No One Is Too Far Gone
We’ve been amazed at some of the transformations we have seen at the shelter. We are seeing transformation in the lives of individuals who used to steal from us, who used to get violent, and who got in constant trouble. These transformations remind us that we can’t write anyone off. We are seeing these individuals cross major recovery milestones, pursue educational goals, and find honest employment.
We can’t praise ourselves for these successes. It is God and the individual who make the change. We are just blessed to be a part of it!
Abram recently celebrated his 30th surrounded by Pine Ridge “family”! A huge thank you to those who donated in honor of his birthday!
Fundraising Update
We’re making great progress on fundraising and keeping the shelter’s doors open!
Over the past quarter, we’ve raised $22,979, with our expenses at $36,613. We still have a deficit of $13,613 or just over $4500 per month. We need to close that deficit over the next few months!
Consider making monthly donations so that we can count on the help every day. You can send checks to:
Iglutheca
P.O. Box 5005
Pine Ridge, SD 57770
You can also use the donation button below to set up automatic monthly donations.