TEN THOUSAND HELPERS: 2009 - THE YEAR IN SUMMARY

Dear Friends and Family of Ten Thousand Helpers:

At the end of another year, TTH survives and grows. The road ahead is long, but we have reached most of our goals for 2009, and I'd like to outline our achievements. TTH had five major programs this year -- Rainbow House (our transitional home for homeless men), a Mental Health Conference, Youth on the Move, Run for Respect, and a Latin party fundraiser, our activities described below.

It has been my honor to have served as chair in 2009. Thank you all for your donations of time, effort and money which have kept us alive and focused on the issues of mental health and homelessness in the Virgin Islands. Together we can solve these problems!

Sincerely,

Judith Bain

RAINBOW HOUSE - A HOME FOR THE HOMELESS

Our residence for homeless men, many mentally ill or addicted, started in 2007. So far 38 men have passed through the 2 apartments in the house. Nine moved into permanent housing, 2 back to families, 2 to foster care in Puerto Rico; 2 to California; and 5 back to the streets. Of our current 8 residents, 4 are working, 1 attends classes, and 1 is awaiting surgery.

The main challenge for us this year has been the reduction of our funding, forcing us to cut staff from 8 to 1, and services from 24 to 8 hours. Nonetheless, Rainbow residents continue to make progress. We are now forming a landscape maintenance program to provide training and income for our residents. Thanks to the efforts of many volunteers, we have been able to offer staff and residents classes in mental health, spiritual subjects, reality therapy, art therapy, and anger management.

MENTAL HEALTH CONFERENCE

Every 2 years we present an educational conference on mental health Issues. This year's theme was Un-Masking the many Faces of Stigma. Yes we can! Thanks to a hard-working conference committee, it was a great success and featured both off island and local professional. The Bennie and Martha Benjamin Foundation is to be thanked for consistently funding our efforts.

YOUTH ON THE MOVE!

Our after-school art enrichment program operates on 3 school campuses, using art to develop mentally healthy children. Video technology, art and literature workshops are taught by local artists. In 2009 we used the skills of 2 Rainbow House residents to offer guitar and pastel workshops. All instructors were paid.

RUN FOR RESPECT

We are in our fifth year of sponsoring the annual 4x4 road race in conjunction with the VI Pace Runners. This year's event was low keyed, due to a late start and lack of funds. Vice Chair Kelvin Vidal stepped in and made it possible for us to succeed.

LATIN PARTY FUNDRAISER

A joyful bash was held in November at Walsh Metal Works, celebrating the birthdays of Rainbow House and host Barbara Walsh. Latin band Siete Son discounted their fee to play for the swinging event. Thanks to the efforts of our volunteers, the party netted a profit of over $10,000.