Rebecca’s Report for Promise Pointe     

Developments since January 9th  2020 through February 13th  2020

Promise Pointe Residents:

  • All the residents are doing well.  Some are involved in working outside of PP 6 days a week, 1 is pursuing her job search, 1 is involved in her art projects.
  • On January 22nd all but 1 of the PP community in residents took part in the Just Faith group’s immersion experience here at Promise Pointe. This multi-faith group meets monthly to learn about justice issues and how they can best address these issues to make change. The month of January they were studying homelessness and wanted to speak with those who had directly experienced it. They came bearing food over which honest and sincere discussions took place.
  • J***** accompanied Rebecca to a Be Well Victoria meditation session for better health on Jan 25th.
  • On Feb 10th we had a birthday party for M*****.
  • Richard continues to come once a week to offer his chaplain services to the residents and set up his promotional and sales booth at 2 of the neighboring market days each month.

Volunteers, Donated items & services received:

  • Eddie Huse and Eddie Longoria came 4 times to do volunteer work on the PP property. They have continued to remove the undergrowth in the front and back parts of the property.
  • Mike Gonzales serviced our zero-turn lawn mower, replacing blades and belts and giving a tutorial on how best to maintain it.
  • Pam & Tom Laundrie shared fresh vegetables from their garden with us.
  • 3 UHV professors spent an afternoon with Sherri, Buddy and Rebecca addressing best accounting practices via QuickBooks
  • Warren Udd, a financial adviser, spent an evening at PP with Jewel and Mike giving advice on fundraising opportunities.  
  • A group of 9 students and teachers from St. Joseph High School spent a morning doing volunteer work at PP. They weeded the garden & flower beds by the fire pit.
  • A park bench made of re-cycled plastic was donated by friends of Rebecca. This has been placed near the front of the property to assist those residents waiting for the bus.
  • A Superbowl Sunday meal was given to us by Eddie Huse – this was a home cooked meal of Sr. Ann’s special chili, jalapeno cornbread, and all the trimmings. 

Visitors:

  • Outside of those doing volunteer work at PP, there were an additional 15 visitors who stopped by to either see Promise Pointe or visited with the residents.  
  • Promise Pointe hosted the Communities of Faith group of area of churches, synagogue, and mosque. There were 14 members present.

Other Activities/jobs done at PP:

  • Work on the Bath & Remodel has pretty much been completed. Only small items need attention.  
  • Victoria Precision carried out sampling of the water in the B&B Aqua Air septic system on behalf of the Victoria County Health Department. They sent a report to say the system has been deemed operational and working well.
  • Accurate Water has continued to do monthly service on the PP water system.
  • The Gutter King company was asked to make estimates for putting guttering on the back of the main residence/office to address the problem of downpour by the wall of the garage, back door and the sidewalk along the side of the house that occurs when it rains. The price to trim the roof and install gutters with a leaf guard for this one section is $775. Looking for board approval of this project.
  • The chicken house has been pressure-washed and is ready for painting. Seeking permission from board to paint. Colors are Sherwin Williams ‘Butter Up’ for the body & ‘Link Gray’ for the upper part.  Probably need 7 gallons of paint costing a little over $500.  Any volunteers to paint?
  • Electricity has been put in to TH 6 so we are now ready to look for a resident for this home. Still waiting for ac/heat installation to be completed.
  • Perez Electric has been slowly working on wiring of  THs 7-9. Only  TH 8 needs cabinets installed. Some of the furnishings for all 3 of these houses are already in place, i.e. dining table + chairs, accessory chairs, smoke alarms, fire extinguishers.
  • I am recommending that the resident selection committee line up potential residents for the next 4 houses for approval at the March meeting so that once the electricity is installed we can finish quickly and assist more of the homeless.
  • Rebecca, Jim, Nelda and Jamie participated in the Resource Fair that took place on January 16th at Christ’s Kitchen.
  • Mallory, Jewel, Randy and Rebecca took place in the annual Point in Time Count of the Homeless that took place on January 23rd.
  • Mallory, Jim, Randy, Bill and Rebecca participated in the 1st Annual Walk With the Homeless that took place on Feb 8th with the purpose of creating an awareness of the homeless population and give them support.
  • Rebecca did a presentation on PP on the evening of January 29th in Edna at the annual Life Celebrations event that is about being mindful and caring for all life at all stages and circumstances of life. She gave another presentation to the Victoria Women’s Decora Study Club on February 11th.
  • Rebecca spent the week of Feb 3rd in Austin at the Mobile Loaves and Fishes attending the symposium at the Leadership Academy. A big part of the content was understanding the personal leadership style assessment that I had done prior to attending the course. This assessment is available to the board if you wish. I have shared it with Jim and Sherri. All in attendance were encouraged to emulate Community First Village, but create our own facilities and space based on our population’s needs and what works best for us.
  • Sister Maria is leaving Promise Pointe on February 15th, the same day Sister Laura Toman will be coming to stay as my companion and helper.  We will see where her many talents will best serve our needs.