STOP the madness. There is an old saying “the first liar has no chance”. America please note. What was considered an out right lie is now known, by many euphemisms but, the fact remains that “Fact Check” is a necessary evil today and a lie is still a lie. (a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood. … something intended or serving to convey a false impression). So the lesson is don’t believe anything you hear until you verify it. That goes 10 fold for some charities. Charities are a good way to prey on people and it happens more today than maybe ever?? There are still snake oil sales folks.

On a positive note, it has been a tremendous 2017 for HPLA and the work we carry on to fulfill our mission is exhilarating. For the founder of Habitaciones Para Latinos Association, it was a calling from God. It continues to be a heart felt conviction to do good and follow the “Golden Rule”. It is the basic love of fellow man and a desire to help those who are hurting among all our volunteers.

The pain for those who are hurting is relative. A twisted ankle a sore back and you may need serious and long term help. But, lets face it, no one wants to pay someone to cut a patch of grass that you can do in 30 minutes or to put in a load of laundry. But if you can’t do it you have to call in a favor, ask outright for help or just pay. It appears however, that the folks who have the least amount of financial resources are the first to pay rather than to ask a favor.

To that point HPLA is connected to churches, charities and fraternal organizations who call on us to approach some people who are honest sincere and dedicated but will not ask for help. Sometimes lying about their status or their pain. However, a summons from the code enforcement office to fix an issue that goes un-fixed is a first alarm. No response to phone calls for action is another alarm. Many truly needy people will not speak out. At HPLA we insure the property is safe and some effort is being made to clear a summons. If we see the issue is a lack of resources we take over the project and fix what’s broken. There is no cost to the homeowner just a willingness to accept our charity. HPLA is only limited by our own availability of resources. That is where your donations come into play dear friends.

We continue to insure you, our readers & our donors, that all donations from individuals are used strictly to benefit the needy client. No donation is used for overhead or to perpetuate the association. (Aside: we are actively looking for corporate sponsors who would donate or grant money for a full time director). Operating a charity is a full time job and most volunteers work full time and do not have enough time to do all that is required to perpetuate the charity. A full time director can do that and also submit applications in a timely manner so as to qualify HPLA for corporate support and individual donations. Again individual donations go directly to support the needy.

These individuals & families have names and faces. We cannot show them tied to a tree with a log chain and no food and water but I can tell you no one should be allowed to live in some of the conditions we see.

One man recently told me, “you cannot help a homeless individual if that individual does not want to be helped”. Some folks live in horrible conditions and are happy. We try to be sure they are not creating an environment where they are a danger to themselves or the community and then we walk away. However, they are not forgotten.

As a volunteer agency HPLA is recognized by the Neighborhood Resource Center of Wyandotte County Kansas and the Shepard Centers of Wyandotte County. We are joined by hundreds of other organizations to provide services to these folks. A great electronic conduit for communication has been established and follow up for those folks is ongoing. City and County leaders are kept in the loop and attend a meeting once a month to compare notes. National Organizations like Habitat for Humanity & Christmas in October are represented and pick out certain homes to rebuild annually but offer little on a daily on-going bases like HPLA. We work at grassroots level and on a broad set of issues not offered by many organizations. We ask for your support. Please use the donate icon and be assured PayPal will not disappoint you in the handling of your gifts safely & securely.

Thank you for reading our messages and may God Bless You abundantly.

Sincerely,

Habitaciones Para Latinos Association