A Sense of Belonging, a Sense of Home

Who are we without a home? 

Every human being longs to have a space where they are safe, where they are loved, where their spirit feels at peace. For many, the best word to capture this sense of security and belonging is the word "home."

Home can be a specific person, your family or friends, a favorite piece of music, or a much loved book. But usually, home also means the physical space where you grew up or where you live now, the place that shelters you, keeps you safe from the elements, and allows you to live and grow in comfort with your loved ones.

This holiday season, we want to tell you about some Native American families who do not have a home.

86 Native American Families Are Homeless This Holiday Season

"When I don't have a place to stay, I feel like there is no hope and no reason to keep moving on." - Zane, a young Native American father.

We all need some basic things to help us feel hopeful and to help us feel like we have a place in the world. A home is one of those things.

Right now, there are 86 families on the Crow Creek Indian Reservation without a home.

On this same reservation are 16 homes contaminated by meth that now sit empty and boarded up, awaiting the funding and renovations to make the homes livable again. 

Our goal this holiday season is to renovate and decontaminate 3 more of these 16 condemned houses and offer some of these homeless families the comfort of a roof over their heads.

Native Americans Are Battling the Impact of the Meth Epidemic

Why do these homes sit useless year after year? The brutal impact of the meth epidemic on our homes and communities in South Dakota, both Native and non-Native.

Meth use hurts everyone, not just the user. In this case, meth contamination and disruption keeps families from having access to housing during the cold of the South Dakota winter. 

You Can Offer Someone a Home this Holiday

This holiday season, for the second year running, Native Hope is partnering with the Crow Creek Tribal Housing Authority to renovate homes and provide housing for homeless families. Last year, we successfully raised the funds to renovate three of these homes. Now, in 2018, we want to tackle at least three more homes.

Will you join us in our effort to provide safe, healthy, warm homes to children and families? The deadline to give is December 21st, and we still need help!

Every gift, big or small, helps us fix up a roof, replace a window, and slowly but surely transform lives. Your gift in any amount rebuilds homes, restores hope, and allows families to dream again.

Will you join us and help give a homeless Native American family a home for the holidays?