Dear Friends:
“I am grateful to be alive,” Walter said to me when I saw him last December at a local church where I was speaking. “Do you remember me? 3 years ago I was desperate to enter the summer work program, you let me in, helped me find my home, and you gave me the hope I didn’t have”. I was in tears when he finished. I did remember him. I told him that I thought he looked fantastic and thanked him for speaking to me. He had heard that the shelter was moving to a new location and he said he wanted to help in any way so that everyone knows that the shelter “is a ray of hope for all people”.
I am always amazed when a guest offers to tell their story. Sometimes it heals them to speak about it. Other times it is to show others that a permanent home can happen or it’s a way to show gratitude to the people that helped & encouraged them along the way. For Walter, it was to thank everyone & to encourage others to keep financially supporting ESNKY so that the shelter can always be the place where you do not need to be sober, a place of compassionate patience and acceptance when you have nowhere else to sleep. Walter agreed to be recorded and you can hear him for yourself:
These days Walter told me he “is bubbling over with joy,” since he “can see a better future by not living on the streets for the rest of his life”. Your support makes his better future possible.
If there is ever a time to help, it is now. So many of our neighbors are in need of the basic necessities of life. A shower, clean clothes, laundry kits and just the overall feeling that ESNKY is a place that cares for them and about them. In just 35 days of our Shower & Laundry program this summer, we have handed out over 1,100 laundry kits that includes $3 in every kit to go to a laundromat for the dignity of washing your own clothes.
There are many ways you can help support adults like Walter who are now more than ever in need of life-sustaining services. Your donation is tax-deductible and financial contributions can be made securely online.
or call us at (859) 291-4555 for help with donations of stock, gifts from donor-advised funds or planned gifts. Together we can ensure ESNKY sustains now & in our new building that we hope to be in early 2021.
I leave you with a saying by Wonder Woman that my daughter Katie gave me.
Thanks for continuing to encourage, motivate, inspire and advocate alongside me in this most worthwhile fight for human dignity.
Peace,
Kim M. Webb
Executive Director
P.S. Here’s a slideshow of our new home! These pictures are before demolition, remodeling & construction. We are thrilled to be working with Emma Adkisson, PCA Architecture for design and with Furlong Builders as our Construction Manager.