Reach Out! Rise Up! Receive! Heart Rising Update November 2021

How could a year have gone by so quickly? We are a brave crew, Heart Rising teams and their families. We have faced down the pandemic, rehousing disappointments, endless smoke-filled days, joblessness, food and shelter problems, schooling. and transportation issues, and still, we soldier on. Thank you to every volunteer who spent hours acquiring necessities for our fire survivor families over the last year. Thank you to our teams for donating, hundreds, even thousands of dollars to our families, so they could acquire the things they needed to become housed, secure, and stable again.

As a new year unfolds before us, there are still many families in the valley, who are waiting in motels, hotels and in FEMA trailers, for more permanent housing and trying to acquire other services. And although many of the mobile home parks are reopening, and new apartments and developments are in the works, there is still a long way to go. Heart Rising is committed to reaching more of those families with more teams in the coming year, so that more residents have a fair chance to start over.

We also continue to partner with the Jackson County Community Long-Term Recovery group, which is now operational and offering a number of services for fire survivors. For more information go to JCCLTRG.org. ACCESS has also opened the Center for Community Resilience in downtown Medford, to help fire survivors and other community members with rent, mortgage advice, utilities and other challenges.

We would especially like to thank the Oregon Community Foundation (OCF), who deemed us eligible for a grant to keep our services going. The OCF has been a tremendous gift to the southern Oregon community. Since 1973, OCF has poured millions into our communities. Funding programs that support parents and families and providing opportunities for low-income children to learn and thrive. OCF is the ninth largest community foundation in the United States, serving the entire state of Oregon, but we are blessed to have them working with and funding so many agencies and community projects, right here in southern Oregon.

The holidays are upon us and we are once again asking for donations to help our families through the holidays. To make a donation, simply go to our website: HeartRising.org, and click on the Donate Money button.  If you need help click on the Request Help button.  And if you want to volunteer click on the Offer Help button. Donations for Heart Rising can also be sent to: The Thalden Foundation, 550 Ashland Loop Road, Ashland, OR 97520.