The Salvation Army Hospitality House Program Manager Naomi Goforth
“All of us who are part of the Hospitality House team love being able to help single women in need, and men or women with children, get back in control of their lives.”
(San Bernardino, Calif.) The San Bernardino Salvation Army Hospitality House stands ready to house homeless families and single women who need temporary, stable shelter. Their target population also includes multi-generational families, and single men with children as well.
“The Salvation Army Hospitality House serves as a safe refuge that provides residents with a supportive, caring environment and all the resources they need to deal with a wide variety of personal and/or family problems. It all starts with emergency shelter that can keep participants safely housed for 30, 60, or 90 days, depending on their circumstances,” says Program Manager Naomi Goforth.
At intake, each new arrival is assessed by trained Salvation Army intake staff. Once the scope of a client’s needs has been determined, each family is given a detailed individualized case plan and assigned to a case manager who will maintain close contact during their entire stay.
Each family’s case plan includes a comprehensive goals and objectives that cover their intake, transition to permanent housing, help finding a steady job, legal advocacy, child welfare aid, and education. Every resident is treated as an individual with individual needs and every case is different and gets a customized case plan.
“People who come to Hospitality House may have been sleeping in their cars or were recently released from a hospital. At intake, each new resident gets clothing, bed linens, hygiene products, and a chance to take a breath after whatever ordeal they have just gone through,” says Goforth.
“I didn’t know what I was going to do,” says one recent Hospitality House graduate.
“I’m a single mom and I lost my job during the pandemic. Thank goodness, at least my 15-year-old car was paid off and when we were no longer able to pay rent, that’s where we slept. I heard about Hospitality House from a friend and the people there have helped me find a new job, secure a place to live, and even got me enrolled in a course that’s going to add to my skill set so I can advance in my new-found career.”
Goforth says, “Our residents don’t just sit around and spin their wheels. They actively work their case plan. Our case managers are good at finding each individual’s motivation to resolve their homelessness and get back on their feet.”
“Sometimes, that may include a referral to one of our partner agencies for things like mental health services, substance use, and legal aid. Whatever they need, we can either provide help in-house or get them connected to the right providers,” says Goforth.
As current resident K.L. notes, “I had a pretty bad rent history and I knew not many landlords would want to take a chance on me, even though I now have a decent job. But the Salvation Army has helped me reestablish a better tenant history and now I have a place lined up to move to when my stay here ends next week.”
The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian Church. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. To donate, call 1-800 SATRUCK.
(Moreno Valley, Calif.) Dr. Vivian Joneswhye-Brock was enjoying her retirement after a career in the military and in teaching. With her doctorates in Theology and Psychology, she enjoyed reading, networking, and collaborating with people and children helping them overcome stress through animal ministry. She has been extraordinarily successful in overcoming her post traumatic stress disorder by not just working with animals but with all of God’s creatures and enjoying the beauty of nature. She has been so successful with this technique and our own personal life, she wanted and continued to share her knowledge with others.
Dr. Joneswhye- Brock’s love for her environment, all creatures and nature challenged her to pursue her doctorate in theology and psychology. Now, Dr. Joneswhye-Brock has talked on a radio station, done podcasting, and lectured on the importance of ministering not only to humans but all of the Creator’s creations.
But, in 2019 her kitchen was damaged when a water pipe burst inside a wall of her two-story home affecting her kitchen. She submitted a claim to her insurance company that she has had for over 42 years. Her insurance company sent the plumber to fix the leak, a restoration company to remove the damages caused by the water and allowed her to choose the company to reconstruct the kitchen as it was before the damage.
Things went downhill from there.
She looked around and hired a local firm, Delta Restoration and Construction in Beaumont, also known as exclusive property restoration and construction. Exclusive property restoration and construction is a company that does several things. She said “Had I known that this company was a Jack of all trades and a master of none… I would have never hired them.” After they came out and took pictures to prepare an estimate, they promised to do the job the work correctly and speedily. That didn’t happen.
Instead, she got poor workmanship. Since part of her kitchen tile had to be removed, she was told she would get new counter and backsplash tile since her tile was obsolete. And one small cabinet wall had to be rebuilt.
This company ended up putting tile that did not match her existing tile, building a new wall cabinet to match the cabinet door. Then they changed the estimate order without her knowledge or consent…took all of her twenty-seven other cabinet doors and painted them a glossy white. Leaving all twelve of her drawers a cream color as well as the cabinetry. While removing and replacing the kitchen doors, exclusive property restoration also known as delta exclusive property restoration damaged her penny floor. Did they take responsibility and repair the damage? Not at all.
So, Dr. Joneswhye- Brock paid half of the estimate and wanted to use the remaining to repair the damages and poor workmanship done by exclusive property restoration and construction also known as delta restoration and construction.
Delta Restoration and Construction also AKA Exclusive Property Construction and Restoration said that they would not take part they wanted all of the insurance money and would not accept responsibilities for any damages they did or poor workmanship at all. She said no way, they then slapped a mechanics lean on her property. This company did unauthorized work on an unauthorized change order. Exclusive Property Restoration and Construction also took two months to do what was supposed to be only a two-week project.
Dr. Joneswhye-Brock had told them that time was of the essence, and she was planning a party for her Doctorate graduation in mid-August 2019. She signed the contract on July 3, 2019, Exclusive Property Restoration and Construction did not even send any estimate to her insurance company until July 30, 2019. Her insurance company takes like most insurance company ten business days to process the claim. Her insurance company processed the claim on August 14, 2019, and a check on the claim was issued on August 20th 2019… after her graduation ceremony date.
When Dr. Joneswhye Brock tried to go pro per, the legal system was extremely complicated, and a lawyer was needed. She hired Darren Trone from prepaid legal to assist and that turned out to be a substandard move.
He quoted her a fee of $20,000 to manage her case. The bill currently stands at $37,000 and does not include the latest court appearance. A final verdict is expected by May 11,2022 for the attorneys are presenting written closing arguments. No doubt that will add more billable hours to pad his bill. The court’s presiding commissioner noted that attorney Trone was dragging out the case longer than it needed to be.
This same attorney had actually told Dr. Joneswhye-Brock he would resign if she did not pay additional pretrial fees of $16,000 from her case after one court appearance. Dr. Brock called the agency that had referred her to Trone to complain.
We’ll never know for sure, but to an outsider looking in, it seems that they might have contacted Trone and urged him to reconsider. In fact, he did, and he went to court with Dr. Brock to present evidence supporting her claim.
Included in Trone’s bill is $600 for at least three briefcase to carry all the evidence that Dr. Brock provided in and digital format. For whatever reason, the attorney decided to make it into written format which created books at least 13 to 14 inches thick. There is additional question as to why that was necessary since we are in the age of a paperless society and the courtroom definitely had an Elmo dictation projector to connect to the computer. One wonders how big a collection of briefcases this attorney may have in his closet.
Dr. Joneswhye-Brock is working double time to earn money to fight her case period to satisfy the lien she would have to cash in her stock portfolio and her IRA. This widow a disabled veteran this Navy veteran herself and retired schoolteacher this 74-year-old African American woman who is an upstanding citizen is being taken advantage of by unethical people. Now start up here stop
Some justice may be served soon, but there is more to this ongoing story yet to be told.
