Author Archives: Soul Foundation

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 April 15 2010 

JBJSF CELEBRATES THE DEDICATION OF PHOENIX PASS

More than 130 people attended the ceremony, with speakers including Jeff Beech, chairman of Light House Village; Mimi Box, executive director of the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation; former Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin, co-chair of the Regional Commission on Homelessness; Dr. Jeff Meyers, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Conyers; Dan O’Dwyer, president of HomeAid Atlanta; Georgia State Senator Ronald Ramsey, Sr.; and Ron Simpson, president of Phoenix Pass, as well as many of the partners that contributed to the project. The ceremony was emceed by John Pruitt, anchorman for WSB-TV.

Construction began on the Conyers complex last October, led by HomeAid Atlanta, a nonprofit organization that helps homeless service providers, like Phoenix Pass, complete transitional housing construction through donations of labor and materials from members of the local homebuilding industry. Conyers-based builders Manor Homes and Horizon Home Builders served as HomeAid’s builder captains for the project, helping to coordinate and manage the construction process, in addition to securing in-kind donations of labor and materials from more than 50 trade partners in partnership with HomeAid Atlanta. During the dedication ceremony, the participating trade partners were honored for their generous contributions to the project.

“The Phoenix Pass complex fills a critical gap in the housing continuum for the Rockdale County community, providing new housing opportunities that have never before been available to local families in need,” said Ann Carey, executive director of HomeAid Atlanta. “The complex will be an asset to the community for many years to come, and we thank everyone who participated in this project to make it a success.”

In addition to support from members of the homebuilding industry, the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation provided HomeAid Atlanta with a generous grant for the Phoenix Pass project, which provided critical gap funding needed for construction. Founded in 2006, The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing about positive change and helping the lives of those in need One Soul at a Time. Through the funding and creation of programs and partnerships, the Foundation supports innovative community efforts to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness.

“In today’s economy, strategic partnerships are critical to maximizing available resources in a community. It was HomeAid’s unique model of building partnerships that originally captured our attention,” said Mimi Box, executive director of the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation. “HomeAid builds partnerships to create cost-effective solutions to a community’s housing needs. This story has even greater potency when you consider today’s economy. Still, we have home builders stepping up to give back to those in greater need in their community.”

The apartment building at Phoenix Pass is EarthCraft-certified, meeting the guidelines of the EarthCraft House green building program. Each single-family apartment unit features a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms and a private bathroom. The lighthouse community center, designed as a resource and opportunity development center for program participants, includes an activity room, meeting room, laundry room, storage area, four restrooms, two kitchenettes and a staff office. A second apartment building, which is also planned to be EarthCraft-certified, is scheduled to be constructed in a future phase.

SECOND BEDROOM INSIDE PHOENIX PASS APARTMENTS FIRST BEDROOM INSIDE PHOENIX PASS APARTMENTS INSIDE A KITCHEN OF THE PHOENIX PASS APARTMENTS

The Phoenix Pass program is designed to serve the needs of families experiencing temporary homelessness by giving them an opportunity to reestablish self-sufficiency in a residential setting. The focus of the program is to empower these families with supportive services and the resources to recover and rebuild a productive, stable lifestyle for themselves and their family. The complex will provide families with housing for up to two years along with curriculum/community-based education in career advancement, financial planning and budgeting, and guidance in family care and management, to help these families get back on their feet. The complex will eventually accommodate up to 90 program participants at any given time.

HomeAid Atlanta thanks the following partners that contributed products and/or services to the Phoenix Pass project, in partnership with Manor Homes and Horizon Home Builders: 1800Mattress.com, Advantage Fire Sprinkler Co. Inc., Amtico, Atlanta Insulation, Atlanta Kitchen, Atlanta Tile Supply, Best Septic Tank Services Inc., Boral Bricks, Cottage House Interiors, Custom Countertops, Diversified Cabinet Distributors, Doors by Mike, EarthCraft House, Ernst Enterprises of Georgia, Ferguson Enterprises, GE Appliances & Lighting, Georgia Power, Gomez Nazario, Gregg Cowan Heating & Air Inc., Hall’s Trenching, Hays & Hays Electric Inc., Homer Lewis & Associates Inc., James Costley Jr., Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, Jose Leyva, Kasey Mitchell, K.W. Concrete Inc., Lithonia Lighting, Mercy Heart Clinic, Murphy & Murphy Enterprises Inc., Northwest Exterminating, Parksite Inc., Pedro Alvarado, ProBuild, ProCraft Windows, Regional Waste Management Inc., Robert Harvill, Sherwin-Williams, Solve, Sonny Hall Construction, Southland Trim, Still Lumber Company Inc., Stock Building Supply, Total Building Services, Truss Specialties Inc., Universal Ornamental Iron Inc., Walker & Son Construction Co. Inc., White Rock Drywall, William Mascari, and X-Stream Plumbing Inc.

In addition, Phoenix Pass thanks the following partners: First Baptist Church of Conyers, John Wieland Homes Second Mile, Light House Village Inc., North Georgia United Methodist Council on Housing and Homelessness, Rockdale Emergency Relief, The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, The Woodruff Foundation, United Way of Metro Atlanta, United Way in Rockdale, as well as various community-based groups and individuals in Rockdale County that contributed to the project.

RIBBON CUTTING AT THE DEDICATION OF PHOENIX PASS

About HomeAid Atlanta:
HomeAid Atlanta is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working in partnership with the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, and is a local chapter of HomeAid America, a leading national provider of transitional housing for the temporarily homeless. The HomeAid mission is to build and maintain dignified housing where homeless families and individuals can rebuild their lives. This is accomplished through the donation of construction services and materials from members of the homebuilding industry. HomeAid Atlanta partners with existing homeless service providers and expands their capacity to serve the homeless by building a new transitional housing facility or renovating an existing facility. For more information about HomeAid Atlanta, visit www.homeaidatlanta.org.

About Phoenix Pass:
Phoenix Pass, Inc. is a nonprofit organization designed as a partnership between First Baptist Church of Conyers and Rockdale Emergency Relief. The mission of Phoenix Pass is to serve the needs of families experiencing temporary homelessness by giving them an opportunity to reestablish self-sufficiency in a residential setting. The focus of the program is to empower homeless families with supportive services and the resources to recover and rebuild a productive, stable lifestyle for themselves and their family. Phoenix Pass operates under the vision that those who have successfully completed the program will remain in the Conyers-Rockdale County area to live, work and contribute back to the community the education, life skills and job skills acquired during their tenure in the program. It is expected that residents will transition from Phoenix Pass back into the community as productive and self-sufficient citizens. For more information about Phoenix Pass, visit www.phoenixpass.org.

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 April 8 2010 

Between concerts, Bon Jovi visits Minneapolis shelter (Star Tribune)

In his jeans pocket was a rock painted like an alligator head — a gift from a 4-year-old girl whose mother also shared the family’s story about a recent job loss and eviction with the New Jersey rocker.

The visit with Bon Jovi occurred away from the cameras at People Serving People, 614 S. 3rd St. But speaking with reporters afterward, he referred to Larissa Thelmon, 28, a personal care assistant laid off just before Christmas, as an example of how “the face of the homeless has changed.”

Of the shelter, he said, the scope of services “blows my mind” and offers a model “that can and should be duplicated.”

Bon Jovi, who was between Xcel Center concerts on Wednesday and Thursday night, was on a fact-finding mission for the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, which has worked to tackle homelessness by building affordable housing, establishing community kitchens and cleaning up vacant lots in blighted neighborhoods.

Touring in support of his band’s latest release, “The Circle,” the singer also recently visited a shelter for alcoholics in Seattle and toured Skid Row in Los Angeles. He identified People Serving People as a possible stop after driving by it during a previous concert date in the Twin Cities.

Mimi Box, executive director of the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, who accompanied the rock star during Thursday’s visit, said the foundation uses such stops to find out what has worked in some cities and can, in turn, be promoted elsewhere when awarding its grants.

At People Serving People, Box said, she was impressed by the large number of service providers under one roof.

Jim Minor, president of People Serving People, said Bon Jovi asked “a lot of good questions … and knew what he was talking about.” Asked whether the shelter might someday benefit from a grant, Minor added: “They haven’t said a word. And we haven’t said a word.”

But taking a cue from the band’s latest album, Minor said he thanked the rock star for “really increasing the size of our ‘circle,’ the people who know our story.”

During the 10-minute visit in Thelmon’s room, Bon Jovi asked about her layoff and the services she’s received, she said. Child care and clothing vouchers were among them.

Before leaving, he pulled out his freshly painted gift, waved it at Thelmon’s daughter, Kaileigh, and said, “Thanks for the rock,” the mother said. Left behind was an autograph on the back page of the book “Scooby Doo Dinosaur Dig.”

Staff Writer Paul Walsh contributed to this report. Anthony Lonetree • 612-673-4109

Between concerts, Bon Jovi visits Minneapolis shelter

Photo By Jim Gehrz, Star Tribune

Jon Bon Jovi signed the sleeve of Demar McClellan,
3, near the entrance of the People Serving People
shelter in Minneapolis. Bon Jovi toured the building
and met some of the guests and staff during his
visit.

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 March 3 2010 

BON JOVI TO PROMOTE SERVICE AT CONCERT TOUR STOPS (AP)

Obama doesn’t appear in the video and isn’t even mentioned, but Bon Jovi talks about the importance of lending a hand.

“We can tackle the tough challenges we face and build community through service and volunteering,” Bon Jovi says in the roughly two-minute video. “The reality is, we’re all in this together.”

The video shows pictures of people working on homes, helping children and painting, and directs people to the “United We Serve” Web site.

A similar 60-second public service announcement that includes pictures of Obama and his wife, Michelle, is scheduled to air on television in the cities on Bon Jovi’s tour.
Obama launched “United We Serve” last summer. The nationwide volunteer initiative is aimed at getting people to tackle problems in the areas of education, health, energy and the environment and community renewal.

Bon Jovi said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that he spoke with Obama during the presidential campaign about what the musician and actor could do to help bolster volunteerism. The video and PSA are a collaboration between Bon Jovi and the government-run Corporation for National and Community Service to urge people to get involved in “whatever moves you.”

“For me it’s affordable housing,” Bon Jovi said. “For you it may be something else. But all these little bits make for one greater sum of the parts. It’ll make for a better whole.”

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 March 2 2010 

Jon Bon Jovi and Steve Lopez

‘Lamp’ is a nonprofit that helps people living with severe mental illness move from the streets to homes. Once settled in their home, new tenants are surrounded with customized services such as mental health treatment, drug recovery, healthcare, budgeting, visual and performing arts, job opportunities, and other supports to help them achieve their goals and become a part of their community.

We will keep you up to date on Jon’s fact finding mission during the tour.

To watch the KTLA News Story on this, please Click HERE

To read Steve Lopez’s blog about this visit, please Click HERE

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 February 26 2010 

BON JOVI’S NEW TOUR DOUBLES AS A RESEARCH MISSION (AP)

“I’ve spent the last quarter of a century touring, going from arena-stadium to hotel back to arena-stadium-hotel,” he says. “This time, because of my foundation’s work over the last six years building affordable housing, on my days off and when the opportunity arises … I will go do shelters and try to learn more about the issue and how to combat it.”

Among those stops: Skid Row in Los Angeles early next month with Steve Lopez, the Los Angeles Times columnist who wrote “The Soloist,” about a schizophrenic, homeless and wildly talented cellist named Nathaniel Ayers. The book was later made into a movie.

“Skid Row is an eye-opener,” Lopez said in an e-mail. “I don’t know Jon Bon Jovi, but I suspect he may come out of this with a keener sense of how many people are suffering in this economy, and of how many people on Skid Row are dealing with a combination of financial, physical and mental health issues, many of them veterans.”

Such themes dovetail with the latest album, which features “Working for the Working Man” and other songs inspired by the economic meltdown and political turmoil around the world.

Before he kicked off the tour with two shows at Seattle’s KeyArena last week, Bon Jovi toured one of the city’s most well-recognized homelessness programs, a building run by the Downtown Emergency Service Center that provides homeless alcoholics, many of whom have serious mental illnesses, a place to live — and drink alcohol.

The program saves taxpayers more than $4 million a year in social service and jail costs and creates a safe atmosphere where residents may be more likely to get sober, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association last year.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyUSi_mKyfs&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1]

The singer didn’t specify what aspects of the program he might incorporate into his future work at the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, which has built more than 150 units of affordable housing in seven cities since 2006. Various problems of homelessness require different solutions, he said.

Thinking back on a quarter-century of hanging out in hotels around the world, does the 47-year-old wish he started working on the homelessness issue earlier?

“I don’t think I was ready for it,” he said. “When you’re a boy in a rock band, you want to go out and see the world and do all the great things you’re supposed to do when you join a rock band. Now there’s another aspect to it. There’s just more to be said and done, and the difference that can be felt on the trail that you’ve made.”

To read an article on Spinner, Click HERE

To read an article on The Examiner, Click HERE

To read a blog by John M Grohol PsyD, Click HERE

To read an article on Billboard.com, Click HERE