Community Human Services

Do you know someone with a proven record of exceptional generosity? Someone who sets a leadership example, encouraging others to take humanitarian roles within their local community around housing or food insecurity?    Let's recognize their impact on our community- nominate them now for the Second Annual Phil Pappas Humanitarian Award!    Nominations close on 08.09    https://lnkd.in/eq7G7eHq   

Our volunteers from BNY made a significant impact at WSC yesterday! With a team of 6, we enhanced the efficiency of our food pantry operations and cleaned and organized our donation storage space! Their hour-long volunteer experience made all the difference, enabling us to better serve our participants! Stay tuned for our free store pop-up... Are you part of a team that wants to serve our community? Email us at info@chscorp.org!

We want your feedback! In collaboration with People’s Oakland and the Oakland Planning & Development Corporation, Community Human Services is excited to apply for support through the HOME-American Rescue Plan (ARP) program to expand mental health services and homelessness prevention. Join us for a community meeting and learn more about what’s planned on Monday, July 15, at 5:30 pm. Join us in person at either of these two locations: 294 Semple Street (OPDC) 2525 Liberty Ave (CHS) Or via Zoom at https://bit.ly/4bAHaY6. For more information visit: opdc.org/events.

Save the date for CHS' biggest fundraiser of the year, The Big Share! Join us on October 4th once again at the wonderful Tree Pittsburgh for drinks, live music, and delicious food from our friends at black radish kitchen! Tickets will go on sale in August! Want to be the first to know? Sign up for our eNewsletters at chscorp.org!

Today marks one month since we opened the doors to our Community & Social Center at Wood Street Commons! Welcoming an average of 18 residents daily, we have hosted a variety of activities, including coffee and conversation sessions, art and pet therapy, sound healing, and drumming exercises. This space is transforming the community within WSC by providing a safe environment for residents to connect and form lasting relationships. Thank you Blick Art Materials and Fine Art Miracles, Inc. for helping us launch our weekly activities!

These three ladies have been working tirelessly, having hired 18 individuals, internally and externally, within the last month!    We are gearing up to expand programming, and our HR department is working to set us up for success- thank you Nicole, Sarah, and Andie!    We still have a variety of open positions- check out our website to learn more!  https://www.chscorp.org/

Meet Adam (they/he), our versatile Team Lead at Wood Street Commons (WSC)! Known as the "jack-of-all-trades," Adam loves the dynamic nature of his role, where he provides invaluable support not only to participants but also to CHS staff and community partners. Adam is driven by the belief that "we cannot, and shouldn’t try to, control people." He strives to treat everyone with unconditional positivity while focusing on building trust and providing support in any way he can.   Outside of WSC, Adam enjoys reading and writing, acting, playing D&D, and sharing quality movies, shows, and games with friends. Let's celebrate Adam and the incredible contributions he has made to CHS over the past three years!

Discover exciting updates in our Spring Newsletter! We announced the opening of our Community and Social Center at Wood Street Commons, honored 35 program graduates- bringing the total to 56 graduates in 2024- and celebrated $123,500 in granted funds! Along with these great successes, we recognized an increase in the need for volunteers at both our Food Pantry and Community and Social Center. If you’re interested in making a difference, please visit our website at https://lnkd.in/e59dSBYn to learn more about volunteer opportunities. Check back in a few months for more updates from CHS!

Our food pantry will be closed next Thursday, July 4th, in observance of Independence Day. Last time we closed, we received nearly double our usual amount of goods—four truckloads! Operating mainly on volunteers, we are in need of extra hands on Wednesday, July 3rd! We need volunteers from as early as 8 AM to as late as 6 PM. Any amount of time helps!!

Meet Noah, a CHS participant for the past two years! Today, let’s look beyond this label and truly get to know who Noah is. Noah has been a street performer for a decade, sharing his original music with the community. He describes this as his "bread and butter." However, living with arthritis has made it challenging for him to perform as often as he used to. Despite experiencing both good days and bad, Noah still travels, "as far as The Hill and as high as The Strip", continuing to do what he loves. His dedication to his art is truly inspiring.