House Manager Report
November 13, 2022

1. Client Statistics

We served 421 families in October, 745 adults and 788 children. This is 72 families more than we served in September. In October we had 131 new clients. We averaged 20 families a day in October compared to 17 families a day in September.

2. Volunteers

We have 41 regular volunteers.
Because of our increase in clients and donations we continue to look for
volunteers who can come to the House on a regular day and time each week to receive, sort, tag, and hang up clothes, sort, and place household items on shelves for selection, and check clients in and out.

3. Donation Status

Our current needs are:
Pots and pans
Silverware
Tennis shoes, both men’s and women’s
Small household appliances; microwaves, toasters, coffee pots, blenders, fans
Can openers
Underwear preferably new, men and women, small and plus sizes
Pajamas; men’s, women’s, and children’s
Men’s jeans
King, queen, and twin sheets
King, queen, and twin blankets/comforters
Towels and washcloths
Vacuum cleaners

4. Business/Community Contacts

On Friday November 4, we received a donation from Wacker Chemical Corporation in Ann Arbor, who did a clothing and shoe drive for us. The nine boxes they brought were so large we had to take everything out of each box, take each box to the correct location in the House, and then refill them!
Ryan, the owner of Great Lakes Design LLC in Ypsilanti, welded wheels onto one of our laundry carts. The wheels had been falling off.

5. Community Outreach

We are very grateful for several groups who volunteered with us again; a local women’s book club and members of Alpha Phi Omega fraternity at the University of Michigan.

6. Facility Status

Four DTE gas lines, which enter the House next to the loading dock, were leaking. The lines were repaired by DTE.

Two garbage disposals were replaced, and plumbing was repaired in the kitchen area by our outstanding volunteer handyman, Jim.
The State of Michigan elevator certification for the House expired July 26, 2019. We reminded our landlord of this again October 3rd, 2022.

7. Safety Issues

None

8. Incidents

None

9. Areas that need attention

Some clients continue to fail to check out. We are working to increase the efficiency of check-in and check-out to reduce the length of the lines.

10. Client Stories

One of our clients currently lives in a camper with her family. They are hoping to move into an apartment soon. Although they can afford the rent, they can’t afford the security deposit and extra fees. They were grateful for the free clothing they got from the House.

11. Overall Appearance and Organization

The overall store area is looking well. Submitted by Gemaya Griffin, House Manager