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Overlooked in plain sight -
Creative Surroundings -
Personalities -
Humiliation -
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Basic Needs -
Safe Socialization -
Overtaken -
Scarred -
Transitional Program -
Homeland: Impassioned for the homeless.
Changing homelessness to self-sufficiency.
Homelessness is exhausting, its humiliating, its humbling,
and it is debilitating
The possibility of being homeless is actually very real. Think about it: One bad decision, one economic bubble burst, one incapacitating illness or a major disability. The potential of becoming homelessness should humble us all.
Eye Care
We began caring for the eye sight of the homeless in November 2013 and to date we have helped approximately 420 people obtain excellent eye exams and prescription eye glasses.
Also, we have been able to help five individuals obtain the surgical services necessary to correct extreme cataracts and glaucoma and have now expanded into opening a small eye clinic serving the homeless.
Bible Studies
Since 2014, we have been facilitating bi-weekly Bible studies at several Virginia Supportive Housing facilities, local to Hampton Roads. These times have provided fellowship, meals and God's Word to those formally homeless.
Transitional Housing
Our Transitional Housing Program is a longer term undertaking than any of the other outreach efforts that we have or are currently engage in.
Our program has given us the opportunity to move homeless individuals off the streets or from a homeless shelters into housing that satisfies their basic need to have “a safe place” to begin to rebuild their lives
The products and services we provide aree solely for homeless individuals who have demonstrated a real desire to escape the downward spiral of homelessness and who are full time or part time employed.
They can be seen and are in plain Sight
The tendency is to look past the homeless.
But when you notice them, you then become Responsible
So, what say you?
Their fault? Bad choices? Addictions? Laziness? Mental issues? Or do you say, "Not my problem"? Probably we've all categorized the homeless this way at one time or another. But...........most of them are really, really good people who for whatever reason just lost their way. It is God's desire and our mission to help all we can; good or bad. We'll let Him lead us and transform them.Transitional Housing
The pictures you see here are three of the transitional RV units that HLD has purchased for our Transitional Housing Program.
Since the beginning of 2016 Homeland has been fundraising to actually purchase transitional housing for the homeless as soon as we had enough funds to make an "all cash" purchases. Silly? Maybe by some thoughts, yes. But in all actuality, not silly at all. You see, the residents we select to enter the program are required to be employed, even if for as little as 30 hours per week. So, they will be getting a paycheck. We impose a 30% rent fee for each resident to help cover house operating costs, applicable taxes, insurances, utilities and maintenance items. In the event we have a monthly surplus, those funds will be saved for any unforeseen repairs.
To date we have had two local businesses to come and stand beside us in our fundraising efforts; Coastal Vision making very generous monthly donations to our cause and Langley for Families Foundation making a generous and greatly appreciated yearly donations. With their help and with the help of many individuals we have accumulated funds needed to make an "all cash" purchases of two RV units and RV monthly lot fees. We were blessed to already have an RV that was being used for our Conversation Station Program which has been repurposed and is being used as one of our three Transitional Housing RV units.
We currently have three adult residents in our Transitional Housing Program; one female and two male. One person has been placed in Chesapeake, and two have been placed in Virginia Beach. Each of our adult residents have totally different needs in life to successfully transition back to one of self-sufficiency of which we provide for personally or obtain outside assistance.
Fundraising for our Transitional Housing Program is definitely not limited to business. You can help as well and your donations and support are very important.
Bible Study
As a Christian based ministry, we facilitate regular Bible studies for the homeless.
Sharing and teaching God's Word with the homeless and indigent that we encounter daily is the biggest benefit we gain from the work we do. We believe that the absolute greatest question a person can ask is: "If I die, where will I go?" Our goal is to be there for that person and tell them what God says about our inevitable eternity.
And for those who have resolved the question of Salvation for themselves, between them and God, and have chosen to follow the LORD Jesus their Savior, we have the privilege leading them into a deeper relationship with Christ by studying His Word.
We experience the great joy that comes in helping other people discover truths from God’s word, the Bible and seeing how God uses that Word in their Spiritual growth.
Eye Care
The miracles that God performs comes to us in varying ways and at varying times; sometimes not as quickly as we'd like.
Earlier this year we began a journey with a super nice man to have a cataract removed from his right eye. As you can see ,the cataract has been successfully removed and has resulted in perfect vision for the patient.
Thank you Coastal Vision and Virginia Eye Consultants for being the hands and feet of a God miracle.
Be different. Normal is full.
Different makes a difference.
Our Mission: To be an encouragement and consistent inspiration to the homeless and indigent helping to mend their brokenness from life’s difficult situations and returning them to constructive, independent and self-sustaining neighbors within our community.
Our Vision: Working towards a community where no one is living on the streets and their transformation in life has become self-sufficient and productive.
If you have taken the time to look over all the other stuff we do, you hopefully will ask yourself “what else is there?” Well, our mantra so to speak is to help people. And when there is a natural disaster close enough to drive to, we normally try and carve out meaningful time to go and help. So far, we have been to help with: 1) Atlantic City to help hurricane victims, 2) Moore OK, to help with tornado victims, 3) Baxter Springs, KS, to help tornado victims, and 4) Lumberton, NC to help flood victims.
Since March 2016 we have been able to obtain large quantities of diapers and pull-ups which we provide to homeless and indigent mothers. Since being able to distribute diapers and children’s pull-ups, we have provided approximately 12,600 diapers to mothers not having the adequate resource to properly care for their infant and toddler children.
In late 2016, we began receiving calls from several home health nurses asking if there was any way that we could obtain and supply pull-ups to some of the elderly in our community, citing that their lack of resource was alarming. Although adult pull-ups are hard for us to obtain, we have been successful in obtaining a sufficient quantity of adult pull-ups to help several elderly women.
First let us state that not all homeless live in a camp site in the woods. Some homeless people live on the streets or in the woods. Some homeless people are fortunate enough to find a cheap hotel that they can rent for several nights a month. Some homeless people sleep in cars. And some homeless people find friends that will let them crash and "couch surf". Some homeless people sleep on benches in the park. And some homeless people make a place like a park their home (so to speak).
Regardless of the location where they bed down or hang out during the day, the daily existence of a homeless person is extremely hard and debilitating.
They deal with the heat, cold, rain, wind, snow, winds, hurricanes, flooding, mosquitoes, ants, ticks, chiggers, critters and the po-po every day.
Ever thought of this? "I need to pee, where can I go?" We have no problem pulling in to a Micky D's and jumping out. But a homeless person soon wears out his access to the fast food restrooms or the grocery stores. In the camp site setting, most homeless residents use one of those orange buckets we are familiar with, keeping it covered and dumping it when needed.
Over the last several years we have distributed approximately 150,000 lbs. of non-perishable food to the homeless and indigent in our tri-city area. Although the bulk of our distribution takes place two days per month, throughout the month we delivered food to those who could not get out or to those who do not have a way to obtain food otherwise.
Our food supply is typically stored in a multiple unit storage facilities where it is properly sorted and inventoried for distribution.
2018 July 1st
Sunday: Unusual but not unexpected
On Sunday July 1st, we engaged a 20 something couple that we found living in their car in Virginia Beach with 3 small children; ages 7 months to 5 years. The temperature here was 93. They came here from NC, in an effort to separate themselves from an abusing and drug addicted family with whom they had been living.
Dad is a laid-off screen printer with 7 years of experience and mom was a server at a local country club. Neither dad or mom appear to be users of any substance and both provide good 1st impressions. They were great with their kids for the time we were with them.
We contacted a local agency that we have been working with that helps displaced families and hope that housing/ shelter can be provided sometime this morning. Although the housing will not be permanent, it should allow them some reasonable time to get their feet on the ground and obtain a place of there own.
All that said, yes we did our part but you……you made our part easy. With your prayerful support we were able to put the family up in a hotel and provide them relief from the heat and the confines of their car. Homeland also was able to provide them some hygiene products and diapers for their children. On Monday we’ll probably have another decision to make, but for now God has provided a way that Homeland could help.
You are helping make things like this happen.
You are wonderful.
On May 23rd, we had the very unique opportunity to receive 200 pair of women’s eye glass frames and 200 pair of men’s eye glass frames which were being donated to Homeland by Europa Eye Wear, a major eye wear and sun wear manufacturer located in the United States. In addition to being a major supplier of eyeglass frames in the US, Europa Eye Wear distributes eyeglass frames to more that 20 countries internationally.
This unprecedented and very generous donation by Europa will be used solely to provide those we serve a greater choice in very up-to-date and very stylish eyewear.
At the onset of the ministry in late 2013, Homeland Disciples had already seen the need to be able to provide food to the homeless community, especially for lunch. Not having the financial resources or the facility to provide a cooked meal for the noon hour, Homeland undertook an alternative path to make and distribute bag lunches to those in need.
We began this program in downtown Norfolk providing 110 bag lunches per week on a Sunday afternoon. Over time we were able to add other much needed items to our distributions; non-perishable food, pillow, blankets, clothes, back-packs, and shoes. Over 1 ½ years we distributed nearly 2000 bag lunches plus tons of other needed items to the community.
Since March of 2015 our bag lunch distributions have been center in South Norfolk where we have been able to provide approximately 12000 bag lunches to the homeless and indigent in the surrounding community.
On Feb 15th we had an opportunity to visit Portsmouth Christian School to meet a group of high school students that spent several weeks collecting clothing, hygiene items, food and hand/foot warmers for the homeless and indigent residing in our local area. As part of an assigned project, the Student Council and National Honor Society students spent endless hours purchasing, soliciting, collecting, sorting everything from bars of soap, socks, crackers, gloves, jackets and then counting and bagging all the items by type. The sight of such organization to count/sort/bag, was pure excitement. And did we say that almost every item was new; not gently used but brand spanking new. Pictured, left to right are: Alanna, Rylan, Chase, Payten, Cierra and Sam
For the last 12 months or so, a group of wonderful and kindhearted women that attend one of our local churches, have been gracious enough to spend their time to crochet these plastic mats which are made of 1000's of plastic grocery bags. So far the group of ladies have provided about 36 plastic mats that we distribute to the homeless that live on the streets and in tents in the woods. The mats provide an extra layer of protection form moisture and an extra layer of cushion.
No one believes that homelessness can happen to them; No one. Neither did the guy that stays here.
Since 2016, Chick-fil-A on Battlefield Blvd. and the Chesapeake Police Department have been the prime sponsors of the “Blessings in a Bag” event in which Homeland has been the recipient. Through public donations this event has supported our efforts to provide "slightly used" or new winter outerwear and non-perishable food items to the homeless community in our area.
The participation and the generosity of the community supporting Blessings in a Bag was and has been continually overwhelming. Thank you Chesapeake, thank you Chick-fil-A and thank you Chesapeake PD.
For the last 3 years, Coastal Vision has supported our efforts to provide warm winter clothing to the homeless community in our area by campaigning and collecting "slightly used" or new winter outerwear. Each of their 4 office locations run this campaign offering discounts to their clients for donated articles of clothing.
Over the years, Coastal Vision has been able to provide upwards of 450 winter coats, hats, pairs of gloved, scarfs, socks and sweatshirts to Homeland for distribution in the homeless community.
Arsilas, her husband and their children live in a not so great area of town. Surrounded by “the drug man” and everything that goes with that presence, the family basically stays indoors trying to work on the brokenness in their life.
In talking with her and her husband, we found that they didn’t have a working car and looking at it sitting in their parking space you knew it was obviously dead. But the lack of transportation didn’t slow her down. She did what she had to do for the family. She would have to walk 4 hours pushing a stroller, just to get her children to a doctor’s appointment and walk for miles to the grocery store. Additionally, we found that she would have to “jury rig” her frig every 4 hours just to keep food frozen and cold. She not only has energy and determination but she has skills as well.
No car, a non-working frig, and a family hurting from tragedy. Heartbreaking. Too much to handle and too much to witness. After Homeland shared her story to some of our supporters, we had someone purchase and donate a new refrigerator to her and her family. And another extremely generous person donated a wonderful automobile.
Now several years later, they still have struggles but their quality of life has greatly improved and they are all still together.
Give Us a call
757-560-6339
Drop us & a line
PO Box 15103,
Chesapeake, Va 23328