Word On The Street

Providing adequate and compassionate care for our homeless friends with mental health issues who reside in outdoor settings is a complex and multifaceted task. Our friends with mental health issues face many barriers to accessing appropriate services, such as stigma, discrimination, lack of trust, lack of identification, and lack of transportation. Moreover, living outdoors exposes them to harsh weather conditions, violence, infections, and substance abuse. These factors can exacerbate their mental health conditions and make them more vulnerable to physical and psychological distress. Therefore, it is essential to adopt a holistic and person-centered approach that addresses their needs and preferences in a respectful and dignified manner. Some of the strategies that can help in serving this population include:

– Building relationships and trust with the individuals through frequent and consistent outreach visits, listening to their stories, and respecting their autonomy and choices.
– Assessing their mental health status and needs using culturally sensitive and trauma-informed tools, and referring them to appropriate services as needed.
– Providing them with basic necessities such as food, water, clothing, hygiene items, and blankets, as well as harm reduction supplies such as needles, and naloxone kits.
– Educating them about their rights, entitlements, and available resources in the community, and assisting them with obtaining identification documents, benefits, housing applications, and legal aid.
– Collaborating with other service providers such as shelters, health clinics, mental health agencies, substance abuse programs, and police to coordinate care and ensure continuity of services.
– Advocating for systemic changes that address the root causes of homelessness and mental health issues, such as poverty, social exclusion, lack of affordable housing, and inadequate mental health care.

We know that serving our friends with mental health issues living outdoors is not a simple task. It requires patience, perseverance, and empathy. But we also know that it is rewarding and meaningful work. We see the positive impact we make on their lives every day. We see them smile, laugh, and express gratitude. We see them take steps towards recovery and stability. We see them as human beings, not as problems. Serving our friends with mental health issues while living outdoors can be a challenge. But it is also a privilege and an opportunity to make a difference in the world.

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At Imfk, we are passionate about serving our friends experiencing homelessness. Here is a photo of Alida, our IMFK Care-Manager, who was helping a Hire Ground crew participant with his foot problems. Alida washed his feet and helped him get in touch with Doctor Lehmann from Housecalls to the Homeless (H4H). Meanwhile, our outreach team was exploring a new campsite in the woods. It was an amazing sight, but also a sad reminder that no one should have to live like this. They deserve to be safe and warm and use their creativity for other purposes. IMFK is always thinking outside the box, so we can’t wait to meet our new friend and assist him into safe housing. Whether it’s supporting friends on a work van or finding new friends outdoors, IMFK will always be there for those who feel invisible, thanks to your support.

We are thrilled to share some amazing news with you as we enter the New Year of 2024. Six of our friends who are experiencing homelessness have been matched to Permanent Supportive Housing! JD and Eliesha (IMFK care managers) have been working hard to help our friends get to their appointments. Street Outreach is more than providing food and supplies to our friends, it’s about connecting them with service providers that can help them achieve a brighter future! The food and supplies are essential tools that enable us to build deep relationships with our friends outdoors. Just like you, our Sous Chefs, your partnership is a powerful tool that allows this mission to continue in our community! Once our friends move from the streets to housing, our care manager teams increase their efforts to coach our friends on how to live safely and comfortably in their own HOME. We provide them with groceries from our wonderful partners at Abundant Life Church, as well as microwaves, coffee makers, dishes, cups, shower rods, and curtains. These are some items that many of us may not appreciate enough, but to our friends, they are priceless gifts. Thank you for your incredible support in 2023 and we look forward to your continued generosity in 2024!

Together we are Building Hope and Changing Lives, We are YOUR Hands extended to those who Feel INVISIBLE!

A Story Of Hope

IMFK met Nakaa in September of 2022 living in an abandoned building, it was not until March of 2023 that I, Eliesha met her, and our connection was instant. Her birthday is one day after mine, which helped us make that initial connection. Like many friends we serve, Nakaa had braved times without a home and faced substance abuse, but her resilience made her eager to impact positive change and be an example to her community. When I asked her whether she would be willing to stay with one of her children she replied, “I am their mother, I should be taking care of them, not them taking care of me.” Her independence is crystal clear to everyone who knows her. From that point on, Nakaa and IMFK worked intensely with various organizations to better her life. She worked tirelessly no matter how tumultuous the journey often seemed. At the end of July, Nakaa was struck by a vehicle while walking along Old Liverpool Road. CPR was performed, 911 called and the damage to her body was extensive. I visited her often in the hospital to laugh and chat even when she was not able to communicate back. Nakaa is a fighter and day by day her condition improved against all odds, until she was healthy enough to be transferred out of the ICU, defying the very prognosis that was originally given by her team of physicians. Each week, I would visit her, and feel elated by the light I saw in her eyes. Her smile is big and beautiful. Nakaa’s loving family remained at her bedside and we worked conjointly to achieve the outcome we knew Nakaa desired: to be safe and secure. With the help of many thoughtful donations, IMFK was able to support her in her recovery journey by enabling the TV to be turned on for her long stay at the hospital and providing clothing, and shoes, along with some special sweet treats. Most of all we were a supportive presence and advocate when her family was not able to be there. Nakaa is now living with her son out of town advocating for herself and getting better daily. Even though she is no longer on my caseload, we still communicate, and I stay in touch with her family. Nakaa will continue to be an inspiration and example to myself and IMFK of how perseverance can bring about success and healing.

Eliesha (IMFK Care-Manager)

Thank you for your continued support, and for being the fuel that keeps our tanks full. In the New Year please consider becoming a recurring monthly partner or making a bold one-time year-end donation. Together we are Building Hope and Changing Lives

John and Leigh Ann Tumino
Co-Founder, Executive Director
In My Father’s Kitchen
315-529-3640

What a great feeling it is to assist our friends from the streets and into housing! C & H were living outdoors for some time and did everything they needed to get indoors. As Kevin says (IMFK Van Supervisor) “We can help you but you got to put in the footwork”. Well C& H did just the thing! The next step in assisting our friends is filling their fridge and cabinets with groceries provided by our partners at Abundant Life Church and providing the items they may need to make their house a home! It was a wonderful collaborative effort with the Housing and Homeless Coalition of CNY to make this placement possible. The journey from the streets is a process but our friends rose up to every challenge. T

Sous Chefs thank you for your continued support, please consider becoming reoccurring monthly partners or making a one-time year-end donation. Together we are Building Hope and Changing Lives 

John and Leigh Ann