Tip the Artist

Artist Bio

Hospitality House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community shelter for homeless residents of Nevada County, a small rural county in northern California. The story of the shelter’s success is remarkable for a rural county with limited resources, and its program stands as a model for the rest of the country. The shelter, which opened in 2005, provides three daily meals, overnight accommodation, shower and laundry facilities, and clothing for up to 54 men, women, and children a night. Its year-round program is funded by individual donations and grants. The shelter offers all its guests extensive case management and medical services through Western Sierra Medical Clinic. Through a program called Pathways to Housing, Hospitality House assists homeless community members to acquire permanent homes of their own. In the past 18 months we have housed over 150 people, a very significant number in this small county. The program provides intensive case management to help clients secure and manage income, locate low-income housing, and procure needed household items. It is supported by life skills and life enrichment classes, including an in-house culinary skills training class. Case management continues for up to two years after clients have moved in. In 2013, with support from the community and a federal grant, Hospitality House moved into its own permanent 6500-square-foot building, called Utah’s Place in honor of its co-founder, the legendary folk singer and storyteller Utah Phillips.