All photos are from last week when Ms. B was in work mode getting things prepared to pack the Love Packages for individuals experiencing street-homelessness. Newer posts and photos will be coming as soon.




The message is clear:
Those experiencing Homelessness are loved and their lives matter!
What you see displayed above is only a portion of what I have for those experiencing homelessness and living on the streets and in the subways (others will benefit as well).
This blog post is not to be ostentatious but instead, is just to demonstrate where my heart is, and the heart of my company (#community), and also, to encourage everyone to be a solution today, in whatever way you can.
Please do not ever think that you do not have anything to share to brighten someone's day and to help out humanity. There are so many acts of kindness that you can spread throughout your community and throughout the world. It can just be a smile and some words of encouragement. You really never know the real impact that such has on a person.
After I finished packing the bags (the Love Packages), I stepped away from my desk and I went out to serve. The packages included bowls of delicious and healthy home-cooked meals, prepared by yours truly. I love to cook (and am a great cook) and so this is never a strain on me. In addition to the delicious meals, they received sandwiches, water, juice, fruits, a variety of healthy snacks, including my favorite, Blueberry Cheerios (I filled the nap sacks with said items). I promise you that I was eating some Blueberry Cheerios the other morning, and I got the idea to share them, so I immediately ordered 2 boxes from Amazon Fresh and went out and purchased some Ziplock bags, and the rest is history.
Those experiencing street-homelessness received the purple nap sacks, with the message that reads:
You are loved! Your life matters
I deliberately chose the color purple for the street homeless population because in the Bible, the color purple represents royalty. As God's children, we are all royalty! Those experiencing homelessness are too, and they need to know that they are indeed loved, and that their lives matter. And what better time to get this message to them than now, where recently there has been violence against homeless individuals living on the streets.
The Love Packages contained an envelope with a special message for them, from me, which encourages them to accept the help that is being offered to them by the Mental Health and Social Services professionals who are doing outreach in the subways (as a part of Mayor Eric Adams Subway Safety Plan). My goal is to persuade the individuals to accept shelter/the services that will put them on track to housing and provide a safer alternative to the streets, because right now, it is about safety and shelters are much safer than the streets. I even shared a personal testimony of overcoming a situation similar to theirs. I am always transparent because being this way helps others.
Here is a snippet:


I also included this:

As a former Director of Social Services, with many years working in various shelters, I know that shelters are not the solutions to end homelessness, as I also know that shelters are not the safest places. I also know from some of my experiences, that case management services need significant improvement, for paper-pushing with no real effort in moving the individuals towards housing is certainly not case management and it does those relying on shelter services a huge disservice.
The result of poor case management is individuals being in shelter for years and years (becoming long-term stayers) simply because their case managers (and the oversight) just do the bare minimum. Service Plans, and more service plans. Sign. Sign. See you in a week. See you in two weeks. And this is just no good, especially for the residents with chronic disorders like mental health and substance abuse, who rely on being connected to services to receive the necessary treatment so that they can do well, have good outcomes and receive supportive housing placements.
These individuals just slip through the cracks and are left to their own devices. Either they roam around the surrounding neighborhoods of their facility, ride the subways, or stay in shelter all day with limited engagement, and without having any mind-renewal programs or life-skills programs to attend. And yet people wonder why public safety has recently been more compromised? I am sure that everyone has heard the saying about idle minds.
Scripture says: Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. - Romans 12:2
Need I say more?
Meanwhile, back to the good stuff, which is, my goal and purpose while doing my outreach and ministering to individuals experiencing street-homelessness is to let them know that, if they accept shelter, they can become eligible for my great new Formula B Solutions program, NYC New Beginnings Hearts for Homelessness Rescue 7
i created this incentive-based program because after having conversations with so many individuals experiencing street-homelessn, I discovered that the majority refuse to go to a shelter simply because they do not want to abandon their property (the bags... the carts) because they are aware that they cannot enter shelter with it as shelters have property limits and property restrictions. Did you know that their property is connected to their identity? Couple that with change, which can be scary and difficult for most.
My program, which offers great benefits, was purposed to persuade them to enter shelter, which if given the proper case-management services, will put them on the track to permanent housing.
The details of my program are as follows: In order to qualify, the individuals must accept shelter, go through the intake process, and receive their bed assignment. Afterwards, they are to have their Case Manager or Social Worker contact me/send me an email stating that the intake process was successful, and shortly afterwards, I will make arrangements for them to receive brand new outfits, footwear included, a haircut/hairdo, a meal of their choice from the restaurant of their choice. I will also pair them with a mentor to support and encourage them on their new journey... to their new beginning, because everyone needs encouraging and everyone could certainly use some support.
If they do well in shelter, in terms of complying with attending all case management meetings and satisfying the goals of their service plans, which is very important for them to do in order to exit shelter successfully, they will receive other incentives through this unique program. It gets greater later!
If anyone would like to support this great program, you can do so at Cash App $4FormulaB
Additional information regarding support options is featured at the end of my website www.formulabsolutions.com




Blessings, love and peace to all,
Ms. Billingslea, Yolanda
Be a Solution Today
Comments