Mission Statement

"Joseph's House is a Troy community based not-for-profit corporation whose purpose is to prevent and alleviate homelessness. Our programs offer emergency shelter, permanent housing, support services, hospitality and guidance to homeless individuals, youth and families. We offer non-judgmental services where each guest's dignity and worth are recognized and respected. We guide guests in getting help from community agencies and act as an advocate for the homeless to address immediate and long term needs. We provide an opportunity for people from our community to volunteer in service to the homeless."

[Joseph's House Troy, NY]

http://josephshousetroy.org/

Perceptions

Homeless. Quick! What is the first thing that came to your mind? A dirty man with a brown paper bag, reeking of booze and urine, probably yelling at passerbys for money? Don't worry, we thought the same thing... until we visited Joseph's House in Troy, NY. Listed below are our class' perceptions of homeless people before and after our visit to Joseph's House.

Before

Drugs...Bums...Abuse...Nomadic...Addicts...Drunkards...Criminals...Lazy...Hopeless

After

Families...Lack of choice...Laid off...Misunderstood...Hard working...Minimum wage

Experiences

WLD 420 Student Experiences at Joseph's House

"Our visit was not eventful or groundbreaking. In fact, it was just regular people having dinner. The types of people and the types of stories were all different. Some people were on their way out and some were late coming backfrom work. A grandmother was discussing affordable housing, a gentleman was discussing his job in Saratoga and children were discussing school. The environment was warm, clean and inviting. What is moving however, is just how much we had in common."

"Something that shocked me during my time talking to the residents was the struggle associated with finding adequate, affordable housing. Since I have never have struggled to obtain housing, I never imagined it could be so hard for people. One woman we talked to was a grandmother of a school-aged child. She worked hard to provide an adequate lifestyle for her and her grandson. She used to live in an apartment building where there was a big drug problem. She felt that this was an unsafe living situation, so she reported the activity to the police hoping that it would improve the safety of her apartment. Instead of trying to rid the building of unsafe activity, the building was closed down, leaving her with no place to live. She talked to us about the struggle of finding a safe affordable place to live. I cant imagine the hardships of having to choose between an unsafe but affordable apartment, or a safe apartment where youre likely to be evicted for not being able to pay higher rent each month.

I feel that a greater availability of safe, affordable housing could not only help those individuals directly affected, but also the tax-payers since preventing homelessness is much more cost effective."

"Going to Josephs house completely changed my view of homeless people. People who work for a living should not be homeless, nobody should be homeless. Places like Josephs House help save peoples lives and I am happy that there are shelters available to help keep people off the streets. I am also happy to have experienced Josephs House and would love to go back."

...Public housing...Community...People like you and me