“Spirit of the Healing Heart”
An Overview Plan for an Effective, Self-supporting
Transitional Shelter for the Homeless
By Ann S. Petersen
Need: The “throw-away” people (the homeless) of our society have far greater potential to be active, contributing members of society than most people believe. Their lifestyle is harsh. The food that they have access to is often so far removed from anything God intended for humans to eat, that their bodies and minds are literally starving. Unbecoming behavior, apparent laziness and mental illness (subtle or obvious) are the inevitable results. Not only are these people surviving by a tenuous thread nutritionally, they are exposed to the elements of nature and worse, to the cruel and ignorant judgment of those who believe that these people deserve their circumstances.
A Solution: Spirit of the Healing Heart will be a non-judgmental, respectful, long-term temporary home for the homeless families and individuals. The staff of this facility will be dedicated to restoring their participants’ health, hope and visions for productive life within society.
Actualizing
Human
Potential: Not only will health-promoting foods be served, but each individual will get in-depth medical attention, especially those suffering from mental disorders and/or a history of substance abuse.
The approach to mental health care will involve safe, non-pharmaceutical treatment modalities involving nutritional supplements, individually designed diets, the restoration of digestive health, hormonal balance and cleansing the body of toxic metals, intestinal parasites, harmful bacteria and waste build-up. This list is not all inclusive. Treatment would be rendered by holistic doctors, naturopaths, acupuncturists, chiropractors, nutritionists and orthomolecular psychiatrists.
Alongside the physiological healing, there will be psychotherapy in several forms: computerized biofeedback to train areas of the brain that are not functioning optimally, EMDR therapy for those with post traumatic stress disorder, individual therapy sessions, art, music and dance therapy, physical fitness, and outdoor “environmental therapy” that involves challenges and communing with nature.
After the initial three months (this time is flexible depending on individual progress), when the participants are starting to feel dramatic improvements in their health and outlook, they will be expected to begin a planning stage for their re-entry into society. They will be offered aptitude testing and exercises to help them reconnect to (or discover for the first time) their talents and passions. They will have increasing responsibilities both in the upkeep of the facility and working towards gaining employable skills. They will be asked to adopt a cause—something about which they feel passionate and for which they can volunteer a few hours a week. They will have internet access and can research correspondence courses or colleges, universities and available scholarships if they desire to pursue an education. There will be exercises in goal-setting, keeping dream journals (pictures and thoughts about the life that one would love to live), and courses on nutrition, money management and general home economics.
Inspirational materials such as biographical documentaries and books, as well as art books, poetry and spiritually uplifting literature will be made available. There will be a chapel onsite. All residents and staff will be welcome to attend sermons, but in the spirit of our God-given free will, this will not be a requirement. Successful individuals from the community will be invited to give motivational talks. There will be discussions on current events and politics and they will be encouraged to register to vote.
Everything that Spirit of the Healing Heart proposes to do, will involve encouraging the idea that each and every one of us, regardless of (or perhaps because of) what we’ve been through, has a valuable purpose in God’s eyes and that pursuing that purpose will lead to a joyous, exciting and fulfilling life.
The Nuts
And Bolts: Spirit of the Healing Heart will be situated on a large, rural property close to recreational trails in nature. It will have an area dedicated to organic farming. The bounty from this farming will be used to feed the inhabitants and also be used to supply an organic and gluten-free health-food restaurant on the premises. There will be an area of individual cabins for shelter residents and also a dorm-like facility for the new-comers who need a little more supervision. In another area will be cabins that can be rented by the general public. There will be a gym with exercise equipment and a spa building that will house rooms with individual hot tubs and saunas. Each of these private rooms will have a Japanese-style rice paper wall that slides open to reveal a beautiful, enclosed garden. They will all face this garden but remain completely private. Shelter residents will have the use of these facilities at certain times as will low income members of the local community who can pay at a sliding scale. As of yet, there are no biofeedback therapy facilities in the Prescott area, so this treatment (that is very useful in treating anxiety, ADD, hypertension, incontinence and other health conditions) can be offered at the competitive hourly rate to those who can afford it. Again, certain times will be made available for those in need who cannot afford that rate. Massage and other healing therapies can be offered as well as beauty treatments.
All of these services will be used to raise money for the necessary medical testing, treatment and therapy for the shelter residents. They will also be employed (at low wages because of their free room and board and medical care) at the facility and at the same time, will be learning a trade, for instance how to cook well, the art of massage,
building maintenance, customer service, farming, gardening, guiding trail hikes or rides, exercise instruction, etc. And it should never be assumed that the shelter residents have no skills to begin with!
Outside members of the community can volunteer to develop circles of support around each shelter resident or family as they prepare to re-enter society towards the end of their stay. “Circles of Support”, is a program that is offered by the Interfaith Coalition for Compassion and Justice and was adapted from Scott Miller and Lois Smidt’s “Beyond Welfare” program. This organized support can offer things like childcare, networking in the business community for jobs, assistance in finding lodging, help with setting up a home, revolving loans, fixing up a used car, etc. The most important element of this circle of support is the personal commitment of all involved. The recipient(s) of this support must also offer something of themselves in return. It is crucial that the formerly homeless individual or family is invited into community and feels a reciprocal relationship with those who offer the support.
The Facility
At a Later
Stage: Eventually, there will be another fund raising venture in the form of a multi-media production facility. There will be a sound studio, an animation and film (or video) production studio and a fine arts studio with an adjoining gallery. There will be a stage and auditorium for theatrical productions and screenings. This facility can at times offer courses and at other times be rented out for periods of time to artists and celebrities who wish to create their music, animations or edit their films and/or videos in a beautiful retreat-like setting that is family friendly and secluded. It can also be used to create promotional material for Spirit of the Healing Heart. If there are shelter residents that show unusual talent and a strong yearning, they can be employed as apprentices first and then as they learn the skills, they can apply for grants to pursue their own artistic visions. The only unbending rule is that the art that is created at this facility may not involve pornography or gratuitous violence.
The
Buildings: The buildings will be made of “e-crete” (which is an environmentally safe, highly insulative, fire resistant, easy and quick-to-build-with construction material made with recycled products) and the exteriors will be covered in local rock for an aesthetically pleasing look. The roofs will be fire-resistant metal. All the windows will have metal shutters that can be closed in the event of a wildfire and for security when not occupied. The buildings will be designed to use passive solar energy and contain grey water systems that will be used for landscaping and some of the water will be filtered to be used for the farming. There will be solar energy cells and wind mills to assist in making the facility as energy independent as possible. The floors will contain radiant heating. There may be barns to house horses for horse-back riding and a large, natural looking pool for swimming. The hot tubs and pool will have a filtration system that will completely eliminate the chlorine from the water, so that chemically sensitive individuals can also enjoy the facilities. All the building materials will be as natural and environmentally safe as possible. Most of the landscaping will be drought-resistant and use native plants. Boulders and rocks will be used tastefully in the landscaping. All buildings will have sprinkler systems and there will be a large water tower to provide water at high pressure and volume for fire suppression if needed.
How this
Project
Can Benefit
Society: When we work to help these individuals discover their purpose in life and to offer them an opportunity to rebuild their health and hope, we give ourselves a worthy life and the peace of mind that comes with it. We also lessen the financial load on our government, create opportunities, lessen the crime rate and lessen the waste of human potential. Believe it or not, there are Einsteins and Michaelangelos and Mother Teresas among the homeless. They just need a real chance.
Contact Ann Petersen at: email: annspetersen@yahoo.com
Phone: (928) 778-7042
Mail: P.O. Box 3244
Prescott, AZ 86302-3244