Deja Lynn Alvarez’s days are punctuated by trips to Save-A-Lot.
First thing in the morning, before heading to work with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, she spends her own money to pick up cereal and milk. In the evenings, she stops by the grocery store again to buy several packages of meat for dinner.
“People think since we’re up and running, we have funding,” said Alvarez, director of the LGBTQ Home for Hope in North Philadelphia. “But we don’t. It was literally like that movie ‘Field of Dreams’: Build it and they will come.”
She said the average monthly budget is $8,000-$9,000, with the electric bill costing about $1,500 a month and gas about $1,000 a month. Donations cover the expenses.
Alvarez shared the information about the city’s first shelter for LGBT homeless people with two representatives from U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s staff: State Director Gwen Camp and Deputy State Director Jack Groarke. They were standing in the kitchen, near the stove that recently cost several hundred dollars to repair. Upstairs, Alvarez showed off the washers and dryers, explaining how she watched YouTube videos to figure out how to bypass the coin operation.
Camp and Groarke made the trip July 14, after a forum last month at which Casey said he would like to get more information about the shelter that opened in September. Casey’s staffers brainstormed ways to connect the Home for Hope with resources. They mentioned keeping an eye on school renovations that could yield furniture donations.
“We have a lot of homework to do,” Camp said after taking a half-hour tour of the 15-bedroom, nine-bathroom former convent on North Hutchinson Street.
Casey’s staff was the latest in a string of political visitors to the shelter. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, District Attorney Seth Williams and state Rep. Brian Sims, the state’s first elected openly gay legislator, have all seen the space that currently houses 34 residents between the ages of 19 and 63.
Alvarez shared the hopes that she and Sakina Dean, owner of the Home for Hope, have for the shelter. They would like to purchase the building from Northstar Manor, Inc. The owner has agreed to a price of $250,000, which is half of the place’s market value, according to Philadelphia property records.
“In the big picture, it’s not a lot of money,” Alvarez said. “But when you have no money, it’s a lot.”
Alvarez said she would like to reinstall security cameras around the building and fix the buzzer at the front door. She’s also interested in offering more groups for residents that focus on things like life coaching and personal finances.
The Home for Hope could especially use large-scale food donations, Alvarez added. She said the shelter has received lots of clothing and toiletries from the community.
For more information or to support the organization, visit http://ow.ly/Jnjs302onH1.