House Manager Report 
May 14, 2024

1. Client Statistics
We served 406 households in April, 718 adults and 665 children. This is 84 households more than we served in March. In April we had 88 new clients. We averaged 18 households a day in April and 16 households a day in March.

2. Volunteers
We have 52 regular volunteers.

3. Donation Status
Our most pressing current needs are:
Small household appliances; microwaves, toasters, coffee pots, blenders, and fans Blankets/comforters (all sizes)
Bed sheets (all sizes)
Towels and washcloths
Athletic shoes, both men’s and women’s
Can openers
Children’s clothes sizes 12 months and up, especially boy’s sizes 6 to 8
Pajamas for men, women, and children
Men’s jeans and athletic pants
Underwear
Vacuum cleaners


​On May 2nd we stopped accepting donations of women's clothes until May 27th. We were overwhelmed by the amount of women’s clothes we received and were short staff due to travel and illnesses.


4. Business/Community Contacts
In April we joined Prison Fellowship for Second Chance Month, supporting the national effort to unlock brighter futures for over 70 million Americans, persons who seek to rebuild their lives after paying their debt to society. There were several posts about it on our Facebook page.


5. Community Outreach
On April 20 the Saline United Methodist Church had their annual rummage sale. Volunteers from the House went at the end of their sale to pick out items for us.

On Saturday April 27th we picked items leftover from the rummage sale at the Huron River Methodist Church in Dexter.

A2-Advance dropped off three carloads of donations from their Spring Drive at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and Michigan Medicine. This is the second year they organized a Spring Drive for our benefit. We are very grateful.


6. Facility Status
On Monday April 22nd CMR Mechanical performed the semi-annual HVAC maintenance on units in our building.

The State of Michigan’s inspector came for what is supposed to be an annual elevator inspection on March 19th. Our elevator is out of compliance because it does not have an operational phone. The Kone service people assured us the elevator is in good shape otherwise.

7. Safety Issues
None

8. Incidents
On Wednesday May 1st at about 8:30 in the morning, two police officers came to the House and asked our volunteers if they had seen a man in brown pants and T-shirt with a Spartan logo. They had not but suggested the police check our first and second floor in case he had come in without our volunteers noticing. Police left after checking the premises. About 10 minutes later two other police officers arrived asking the same questions and showing volunteers a picture of the man and providing his name. Police had heard from a homeless person the man planned to come to the House to shop for blankets. Police advised our volunteers the man was armed and not to confront him. They told our volunteers to call 911 if he came to the House. Our check-in volunteer looked up his name and found he’s one of our registered clients. He came in about 11 that morning. Our check-in volunteer notified the other volunteers he was here and had started shopping. Our check-in volunteer said the man was extremely polite and non- threatening. Another volunteer called 911. The police arrived within 10 minutes. They approached him, handcuffing him without incident. The gun was a fake. He carries it to protect his personal belongings. Police uncuffed him and let him finish shopping. There were no subsequent issues.

9. Areas that need attention
None

10. Client Stories
A grandmother was given temporary custody of six of her grandchildren because the children had to be placed in protective care. She called us to ask if she could get items for her grandchildren since the children came with almost nothing.

11. Overall Appearance and Organization
The store, sorting, and tagging areas are looking well.


Submitted by Gemaya Griffin, House Manager