May

Recording studio was delivered

Waiting to get electric out to it. 

Class of 2021 is over. Fundraising now to start the next class. We can't do it without financial support! Please help if you can! 

https://paypal.me/sunflowerharbor?locale.x=en_US

This month at Sunflower Harbor homeless outreach April 2021

Great month for JD! He got ID and a bank account!  Happy dance! We discussed his program and he's decided to stay with us a good while which makes us very happy! He's gotten another promotion to teacher and is on his way to program coordinator.

Toward the beginning off then month, Jan Turner, Michael Bolton and Nesy came down and brought us lots of goodies from home along with awesomely helpful donations from Marie Tedai. Awesome visit with everyone. 

Aaron's friend,  Max came out to see him and go to Los Angeles with him.  

Kikio had  Kittens. They were preemies.  3 survived birth and 1 is still alive. 

We squired 2 rabbits. One is a Bunny named kitten. Potty training the boy to do his business in a box to be easier to collect.  

Our good friend, Joe came out to visit. 

Presented Aaron with his graduation certificate

Aaron and Max headed to Los Angeles mid month.  They stayed a little over a week before returning. 

The guys got a stove and oven working! 

They set up a desk for everyone in the dining room and moved the dining table to the pantry room after cleaning it out. So we have a new dining area and a classroom. Very excited about this! 

Sunflower Harbor homeless outreach After the storm

Aaron has graduated our program! He'll be staying a while longer as a peer mentor, but it's making plans to achieve housing stability. 

We got through the historic winter storm relatively unscathed. Couple of burst pipes, but no significant damage. 

We updated our registry. It has a list of the needs for the next step of each project we're working on. www.myregistry.com/giftlist/sunflowerharbor

When we went to buy some things at the Oos, they sweetly donated 2 twin mattresses and a box spring! 

The guys installed a new sink in the front bathroom and made sure it worked. It's so rustic and pretty!

Even though the governor has lifted the covid restrictions, we are still going to be following them here at Sunflower Harbor for the time being for the safety of our guys. 

When the world overwhelms, I find it the best thing to do is to start by accomplishing just one little thing. -Ducky NCIS

Here at Sunflower Harbor homeless outreach, we try to end homelessness one person at a time. We have a little different approach to it than some. Most days, we're expirementing.  Most days, we're tailoring our care approach to the individuals we're serving. 

Ours is a work program. We also teach a lot of things as we go. Our workers begin filling out an independence plan by setting goals that will allow them to reach independence. These sometimes include getting an ID, job, phone, bank account, and housing. We also encourage them to add personal goals.  Once that is complete, we begin helping them reach those goals. 

We teach them skills that will help them get a job like resume building, interview practice, and job search tips and tricks. 

While they are searching for a job, we go over personal responsibility and begin the hard work of looking at why they became homeless and how they can lessen the chances of it happening again. We discuss work ethic and how to get ahead.

 They learn whatever skills are needed to keep the place running smoothly. Oil changes, plumbing, carpentry, cleaning, animal care, gardening, ECT. 

Once they have secured a job and gotten their first full paycheck, we learn budgeting, meal planning, and saving. They are now ready to begin graduation preparation. We help them gather what they'll need in a new home. We help them figure what they can afford to pay for rent and utilities. We help them set longer term goals and begin to work towards them while saving enough to secure a place to live. 

They graduate as soon as they complete all the steps, but can remain a while to be sure they can remain in stable housing when they leave. 

It's a long process.  Growth is sometimes painful, but it's so worth it when we get a tour of their new space! 

Want to be part of the solution? Donate through our website www.sunflowerharbor.org 

we take PayPal or cash app. 

Sunflower Harbor homeless outreach work program spotlight Jerrod

Sunflower Harbor homeless outreach 

Work program spotlight: Jerrod Moran

Jerrod had been amazing to have around! He organized most of the house room by room. He helped clean and organize the yard, including helping build a fence to contain our wayward rescue pups. He's helped with every project since he arrived. He's a self starter and assigns himself tasks as he sees things that need done. 

On his personal journey to independence since he got here, he has gotten ID, gotten a job, got his temporary CNA, and worked his bottom off. He's working on getting his CNA transferred from another state. 

From homeless and aimless to living with purpose in a few short months. We are so proud of him! He'll be graduating the program soon, but plans to stay around to help run Sunflower Harbor after graduation. We really look forward to it! 

He's personally responsible for taking guys off the streets to stable housing. He's excellent at all the networking that has to happen to coordinate care and housing for our homeless population. 

He goes with us on his rare days off from work to deliver food and supplies and check on our homeless folks. 

Our veterans love him. They only have positive things to say about him. "He's always ready to help and friendly. He's always dependable and a man of his word. He has a great sense of humor and is fun to hang out with." " Jerrod has a positive attitude and willingness to help. He's a really understanding person with a personality of caring." 

Jerrod working on the back bathroom

Jerrod works with our pups and helps with their care. They adore him! 

Want to help create great successes like this one? We're running several fundraisers right now! Go to our website at www.sunflowerharbor.org to donate! You can now donate through paypal, cashapp, ourregistry, or facebook! 

Choose how your donation is spent! 

-bunkhouse to more than double capacity

-veterans fund to help with anything our vets need

-Job search fund to help with clothes, ID, and such needed to secure jobs

-legal fund to help file for nonprofit status

-general fund for anything we need to keep running

Cash App: $Sunflowerharbor

Registry has a list of our needs 

https://www.myregistry.com/giftlist/sunflowerharbor

Know someone who would benefit from one of our programs? Text Kristy 214.622.7222 or email kristy@sunflowerharbor.org our program is a lot of work for participants, but so worth it to grow and break the cycle of homelessness! 

SUNFLOWER HARBOR HOMELESS OUTREACH 

www.sunflowerharbor.org 

Sunflower Harbor homeless outreach mid February winter storm

Roads are icy so we're all staying in. Spent much of the 12th doing a cat rodeo. Rounded up all the barn cats and ferals to bring them inside. Temps went negative this weekend. Pipes in the back side of house froze even though they were dripping. We'll check them out closer after we thaw. 

Doing a few crafts. First step is photo transfer. Once it's fully dry, I'll add the wood burning part. We'll be selling these customized as a fundraiser soon! This one is one of our class of 2020. 

Board member Robert Kirkpatrick, II had been here all week with his girlfriend, Chelsea. It's been delightful having the extra hands around. 

shenanigans at Sunflower Harbor January 31, 2021

Getting into our life patterns. We are a family of 7 now. We're currently have 2 disabled vets and 2 workers plus our coordinators Tony, Kristy, and Anton. 

Sunflower Harbor has been busy busy this month! Everyone is working hard to make Sunflower Harbor better than ever!

Running at capacity all month. We are rearranging to be able to increase capacity and still follow social distancing guidelines, including building walls to divide our dorm into 2 rooms. Just in time, too because another vet arrived this week! We lucked out and got someone who knows horticulture and many handyman skills! He will be a great asset to Sunflower Harbor! We look forward to seeing the changes he makes to the ranch!

Guys are meeting their personal goals like crazy!

Aaron is back in college! He's been working really hard to complete the courses online and make good grades all while helping where he can around the ranch.

Jarrod is working on getting his CNA transferred to Texas. Meantime, he's working to keep Sunflower Harbor running smoothly and doing a LOT to make the place better! He's cleaned and reorganized the kitchen, sitting room, both bathrooms, and is currently working on the dining room. 

Everyone helped rebuild the fence to keep our pups in. Rogue and Longhorn had been finding new escape routes every time we fixed one. This time, I think we've got them beat! They have half the yard space as before, but its still a large area to play in. The part of the yard we blocked the dogs from will be part of our garden this year. 

In the back bathroom, we installed a tub and showerhead. Then, we put up curtains, tiled the floor, replaced the toilet seat, and added a heater. We did it all with found and donated things. Its a nice room to relax in now. In the front bathroom, the shower curtain was replaced and the whole room was reorganized. Small changes that made a huge difference!

We're running several fundraisers right now! Go to our website at www.sunflowerharbor.org to donate! You can now donate through paypal, cashapp, ourregistry, or facebook! 

1. bunkhouse to more than double capacity

2. veterans fund to help with anything our vets need

3. job search fund to help with clothes, ID, and such needed to secure jobs

4. legal fund to help file for nonprofit status

5. general fund for anything we need to keep running

We have  higher than normal case management hours per client. That's really where programs like ours make a difference. We can spend more time per person than some programs so we are able more to give the tools needed to stay stable once they are on their own two feet. We have time. There is no rush or time limits to get them gone so the next person can be served. Our only restriction is the lack of funds. 

Sunflower harbor work program spotlight

 My name is Aaron Feldkamp. I am a homeless non combative Vet currently enrolled in Sunflower Harbor work program. Today is Decemeber 17th 2020. I have lived with two of the most kindest people I've met since I came to Texas. I've been here since Novemeber 30th. I got a job last week at KFC. The things we do around the house is clean learn how to budget and adequately handle our finances. If a person comes here and doesn't have thier identification card or license the program director Mrs. Darlene will help them figure it out. She is very nice and gentle and extremely supportive and understanding for someone like me coming from a different lifestyle and background not many have. She is the nurturer of the Sunflower Harbor part of Mr. And Mrs. Anton Rogers ever evolving and developing management. Mr. Roger's brings an entirely different aspect to this program. Where as Darlene harbors us homless men and women Mr. Anton is all about giving a hand up not a hand out. If you dont know how to work or never hold down a job it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is your consistency in trying your best always. The rest is if you dont know something Anton or Darleene will teach you. I've learned many things from Mr. Anton such as to not be so hard on myself. Not to rely in others and to make everything happen and manifest in my life by my own hands and with faith and confidence in myself. Also, I've learned consideration for others is a kept component of working together in a household setting. Since I began my program at Sunflower Harbor I have got a job and also work for Anton and Darlene when im not working my 9 to 5 job. We do things like clean the property up and deliver fast food and grocery products to people who can't or dont have the immune system to go out shopping in this pandemic.

Visit our website www.sunflowerharbor.org