NUMBER OF BED NIGHTS AT CRITI IN 2018
PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS BECAME EMPLOYED IN 2019
NUMBER OF VOLUNTEER HOURS AT CRITI IN 2019
GRADUATES REMAINING IN PERMANENT HOUSING IN 2019
STORIES OF HOPE
Women with children are the fastest growing homeless group in our area. Chattanooga Room in the Inn provides housing and services at no charge, giving them the time they need to get back on their feet. Read the success stories of our amazing women.
CRITI showed me that I am not just a homeless person, but a human being, and how amazing I am! I know that I can get different results by making different choices. I'm happier than I have ever been.KATHRYN
CRITI Alum
After a few weeks at CRITI, my mom found a job. Being homeless was really motivating for me. It made me want to push harder, not only for me but for my mom. You know what CRITI does? It gives women hope!CHRISTINA
CRITI Alum
Without CRITI, I don't know where I would have ended up. CRITI gave me the chance to become a productive member of society. Most importantly, the staff believed in me so that I could believe in myself.TERESA
CRITI Alum
CRITI helped me establish a nest egg so that an emergency expense won't lead to homelessness again. For the people who support CRITI: You are giving us the will to keep going!CARLA
CRITI Alum
The scariest part about being homeless was wondering how it will affect my son. The other day he told me 'I don't give up because you never give up.' I never said that to him. He learned that by watching me.MONIQUE
CRITI Alum
My biggest blessing here was learning to love myself. I found home in me and I didn’t know that before. Sometimes you’ve got to leave everything you know to find out who you areCHRISTINE
CRITI Alum
NEWS & UPDATES AT CRITI
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, outbreaks can be stressful ---
The outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may be stressful for people. Fear and anxiety about a disease can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children and even those who are homeless.
It is recommended that you take care of yourself and those around you. By taking care of yourself, your friends, and your family it can help you cope with stress. Helping others cope with their stress can also make your community stronger.
The CDC website has listed ways to cope with stress:
• Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media. Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.
• Take care of your body by taking deep breaths and stretching. Eat healthy and well-balanced meals, exercise regularly and get plenty of sleep. Make time to unwind and do other activities you enjoy.
• Connect with others. Talk to people you trust.
For more information go to the CDC website.
Thank you Thursday is here!
We want to say how appreciative we are to Metro Lawn Care Landscape Management for the yard work they do for us at CRITI. They have been maintaining our lawn for 15 years. Thank you for all the hard work!
www.metrolawn.com/
According to Invisible People, a nonprofit dedicated to educating the public about homelessness. The following information was shared in their article, Homeless People Face Food and Water Shortages Due to COVID-19. These facts are becoming alarming to the homeless community.
While homeless people are more likely to be exposed to COVID-19, and therefore at greater risk, it isn’t the only threat they face. Access to food and water is scarce in this uncertain and scary time.
Individuals experiencing homelessness typically rely on the generosity of food banks to provide daily meals. As worried community members flood to the supermarket to stock up on non-perishable food, donations to food banks have dramatically decreased. Furthermore, because of the stay-at-home orders, the amount of staff and volunteers at organizations that provide food and water have also decreased. The result is less people receiving food that they need to survive.
Happy Thank You Thursday friends! Today we want to thank two agencies who desperately need help during this season. First, the Chattanooga Area Food Bank is in need of donations and volunteers. Check out their Facebook page. They are tirelessly working to make sure our community has a basic need. And don't forget about fur babies. The Humane Educational Society desperately needs food for the animals in their care. As you can imagine, adoptions are down during social distancing so now, more than ever, they have more pets to feed with more surrenders coming in. Please go to their wish list at Amazon and see what you can do to help.
Our thanks go out to these organizations for all of their dedication to assisting all God's creatures. Please share this post with your friends on Facebook!
We are so grateful to you for thinking of us when so many need help, especially those you serve. Thank you!
During this pandemic, CRITI is taking measures to reduce exposure to EVERYONE. We are working with participants and putting guidelines in place that will aid in this endeavor. All participants are being asked to maintain a safe distance from each other, wash hands and sanitize all areas they use. Those who enter the facility will have their temperature taken before moving throughout the building. Our priority is safety for our participants, volunteers and staff at CRITI and the staff is being pro-active and working to keep up-to-date on City, State and National guidelines during this time.
We also want to reach out to anyone who would like to assist with a need we have. We need items for the children at CRITI such as a car mat and Hot Wheels cars, playdough. Most of these items can be ordered through Amazon and shipped directly to CRITI. If you are interested in purchasing one or more of these items please call our office at 423-624-6144 and let us know which items you are interested in purchasing!
Reversible Road Map Farm Animal Cars Rug Play Mat 80cm x 150cm (2'7" x 4'11")
www.amazon.com
Reversible Road Map Farm Animal Cars Rug Play Mat 80cm x 150cm (2'7" x 4'11")