Oprah Wants to Makeover Your Shelter

Published June 09, 2009 @ 07:21AM PT

Mismatched furniture. Peeling paint. Out-dated wallpaper.

Sound like your homeless shelter? If so, you're not alone. With demand for shelter on the rise and staff stretched thin, shelter décor is hardly the first thing on any homeless service provider's mind these days.

But, as my former boss and shelter director used to say, like it or not, a person's surroundings can influence their self-worth. A clean, well-maintained facility specifically for those without a home can boost one's dignity and self-confidence.

To that end, Oprah is teaming up with Benjamin Moore paints to give a deserving family homeless shelter a facelift. Entering is easy: simply fill out this short online form and explain why you think your favorite shelter is deserving of a makeover.

If you feel so inclined, share your submission (plea?) in the comment section below. If Oprah won't makeover your shelter, perhaps someone else will.

Worth a shot, right?

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Comments (21)

I'm incredibly disappointed that you didn't use my actual words, "when you live in a dump, you feel dumpy". You reporters always twist things around. Hope you and Joe are well, and that you are successfully managing all 17 of your jobs.

Posted by Ryan Fehrman on 06/09/2009 @ 07:58AM PT
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Thanks Shannon! I submitted a request:

Interfaith Sanctuary moved into our permanent bldg. in late Fall of 2007. Since 2005, we had been in borrowed spaces for winter sheltering only. We serve men, women, and families with children. There are 3 shelters located within a 10,200 sq. foot converted warehouse. We serve 130-155 people every night and approx. 1,000 individuals/families each year. The warehouse has needed a lot of work beginning with a sprinkler and alarm system and now a roof, insulation, and an HVAC system are needed. Anything from the ceiling down has not been given a lot of attention! I am the Director of the Shelter and I tell people that what we lack in aesthetics, we make up for in compassion. We have a vision for bldg. improvements, but it takes money and time. Our first priority is to provide shelter. We are a community-run shelter and utilize over 50 volunteers each week. Volunteers come from a diverse cross-section of faith groups, organizations, and the community.
Hope you'll consider helping out.
www.interfaithsanctuary.org

Posted by Jayne S. on 06/09/2009 @ 08:14AM PT
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I think that Oprah is a role model for several celebrities to reach out and help the homeless in America. It is a shame that the wealthiest nation in the world cannot provide food and shelter for their own. e.g people sleeping under bridges in california is deplorable. We need to feed and shelter the homeless but also to teach them to be self sufficiency and I think Oprah should form grass root organization across America to do that. (e.g. teach gardening, sewing, etc.). Also this will create jobs, reduce the homeless and teach them to be creative instead of destructive.

Posted by Verna Robinson on 06/09/2009 @ 08:45AM PT
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i was multi disabled, special needs, university grad with no substance abuse and female, so left homeless over 8 years. I know how to cook,sew, crochet and use tools. GOT A sewing MACHINE? Sure wish i had ACCESS to a community garden, i tried. Fighting voc rehab for help to return to school, fighting medi-cal cuts that will prevent many from being able, supporting candidates that support us while in pain is a LOT.ONCE YOU PUT THAT "DESTRUCTIVE" in there i fear you are one who thinks every homeless person is the lazy, uneducated addict the newspapers so love to highlight, when many are far,far from it.
Most homeless people are workingn poor, disabled, single parents and unemployed. Addicts are only one group.

Posted by DARLENE MATTHEWS on 06/09/2009 @ 06:16PM PT
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A contest based on explaining comparative "deserving" for paint? A typical PR promotional program, I'd say.

I'd also suspect that most shelters have more important, priority needs than paint, frankly.

If there's any question in someone's mind why people might "deserve" to be treated with dignity and housed in decent conditions, then this would tend to reveal what's wrong, societally, than anything else.

I'd be curious just who is processing the submissions and what the actual criteria for rewarding one of those is going to be.

Posted by SlumJack Homeless on 06/09/2009 @ 09:15AM PT
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I hope someone filled out the short form for the shelter below:
http://homelessness.change.org/blog/view/will_shelter_supply_meet_demand_this_winter

Posted by Mary Acosta on 06/09/2009 @ 11:50AM PT
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I like Oprah, but she is really out of touch with reality on this subject. She needs to build shelters! My local shelter would be happy just to get some blankets!

Verna? "teach them to be self sufficiency" and "teach gardening, sewing, etc.). Also this will create jobs, reduce the homeless and teach them to be creative instead of destructive." Sounds like you are as out of touch with reality as Oprah. There a people with degrees living on the street. They are not there because they don't know how to sew or grow food. And you need land to grow food. The homeless are made up of people that went down with high medical cost and/or illness or injuries, loss of jobs, and home foreclosures. How is learning to be creative or grow food going to get them a job? And what do you mean by "instead of destructive"?

Posted by Sharon Blasingame on 06/09/2009 @ 12:19PM PT
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Whoa. I'm glad you've said what you have here.

I know how to sew (thankfully, as some recent repairs have been needed) AND I know how to grow food, although don't have anywhere to do so.

And I've had careers being creative. I also know how to paint very well. I even offered to do such things for various "help the homless" outfits in exchange for some reasonable, functional lodging.

No takers, though. Even when I had a broken foot.

Posted by SlumJack Homeless on 06/09/2009 @ 12:39PM PT
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Oprah instead of making over a Homeless shelter. which is

a good idea why don't you be the first to undo poverty by allowing word to get out that the means to ending poverty is here. I have written you by email countless times Our website is www.Hospialityhouseofmaine.org -Jan Oh yes there is a national Poverty conference slated to pick up where Martin Luther King JR left off for the poor of all races. Louisville Kentucky This July 16 through 19

Posted by jan Lightfootlane on 06/09/2009 @ 04:10PM PT
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Can you please check a year of records and find a shelter that regularly takes in physically disabled or long term ill people and reward them for being the rare ones?

Posted by DARLENE MATTHEWS on 06/09/2009 @ 05:52PM PT
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I have been homeless myself,living on the streets.It is no picnic.terrible way to survive.People that are well off have no clue about what homeless people have to endure.

Posted by David Tsosie on 06/11/2009 @ 12:55AM PT
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Dear Oprah is teaming up with Benjamin Moore paints to give a deserving family homeless shelter a facelift. Entering is easy: simply fill out this short online form and explain why you think your favorite shelter is deserving of a makeover. We have families they didn't even have a home to be. some of them live in the apt. 1badroom with 9 to 13 people, in it.in my community Oprah. What do you think I can do with those kind of a families Oprah?
I need to help people, but I didn't even help myself. How do you think we can gate there Oprah?

We have to help our people, but I think if is a great Idea Oprah. You have a great heart then any humanbeing in the world. God be with you Oprah.
Pathiel Gach
206 484 0933
pathielg@gmail.com

Posted by Pathiel Gach on 06/13/2009 @ 01:29PM PT
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Such Love, Mercy and Goodness God shows unto His children. For evil begats evil; However Good is good this is a very Positive step, thing to do. Surly she is inspired from Heaven above, oh more power to her as all Glory is to... God. If the following could reach Oprah - Please help victims of "Cause Stalking" "Gang Stalking" "Organized Harassment" This evil is grown out of control the perps even use their devices/tactics on and with little children. They are all going to Hell. Please help the Victims of this terrorism.

God bless us all

Posted by Torrance Turner on 06/16/2009 @ 01:50PM PT
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Yes this gang-stalking is out of control. I was shocked when became a victim last year.

I think it is out of control now and that the numbers of victims increased dramatically with the advent of computers and cell-phones which made it easier for gang-stalkers to stalk their "prey", ordinary citizens whom they claim did something "wrong" but is really just an excuse for them to choose people to destroy so that they can do something wrong.

Most people refuse to believe this because it is such an evil crime that good-hearted, decent people have a difficult time believing that other human being would be so cruel to their fellow human being under the "blessing" of organized, legitmate authority groups in America.

I can only say that this is a waiting game as more and more people will become targets. At what point will the Gang-Stalkers wake up and realize they can't stalk everybody, I don't know!

I just know that we are at a breaking point and I see a major explosion in 5 years about this not so "secret" crime.

Absolutely everyone knows someone who is a victim. Just start asking and you will quickly see that a family member, co-worker or friend is a target for this death sentence of a life time crime.

This crime reminds me of World War II when America didn't want to acknowledge what was going on in Germany. But now it's in your back yard America and yet we are still sleeping.

Let's wake up and take control of this crime before we have no choice and there is a civil war!

If you've never heard of this crime or want more information about it then just google: gang stalking. You will quickly find out who is behind it and how long it has existed. The scary part is that you will find out it is everywhere!

Posted by Sadie Judge on 07/27/2009 @ 11:16AM PT
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Our organization has been trying to reach Oprah for several months to give her our proposal for a "People In Need" (PIN) telethon, featuring 5-time Gospel Grammy winner, Edwin Hawkins, and other celebrities. Any ideas how best to reach her, personally? Thanks, TBN

Posted by The Benefit Network on 06/17/2009 @ 05:08PM PT
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I have no idea on how to reach Oprah been trying off and on over 5 years. I would love to tell her 5 of us from Maine, Hospitality House Inc and No Class will be in Louisville Kentucky July 16th to the 19 for a national conference which wants to pick up where Martin Luther King Jr. work left off.
Building the Unsettling Force: A National Conference to Abolish Poverty www.ppehrc.org top left.

The only trouble woulg be if the Oprah show actually helped to end poverty by promoting the end to all poverty, she would run out of poverty shows. I know not to thank her or yell at her. It is time not to just fix up shelters but to end the need of them.

1) A Voice for the poor. I and others underpaid am not just a tragic feel bad story. I have learnt much and thrive. Let me tell where the holes are in the system, I am in the front row. For both myself and helping others.

2) Pay everyone a livable wage!-Less than 30% of this county workers makes a livable wage. accord to a study published here 16 states pay SSI people less then the average cost of the rent.

3) Change courts so the poor can use them. and hold officials accountable for unlawful misquoting of the law.

Need to contact anyone willing to have their shows tell the Untold story. A friend of Oprahs say; ..."There is no greater agony than the untold story." The untold stories of poverty inflicts daily agony on 120 million American people.

Society needs more than wallpaper on shelters we need to a luxery homeless shelter, then have it go out of business.

Posted by jan Lightfootlane on 06/18/2009 @ 08:06AM PT
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Amen... Jesus said there will always be poor people among you. He was speaking to Judas(the one chosen to betray him) What this says is God is in control let us never lose sight of the eternal promises he has made to his true children.

Posted by Torrance Turner on 06/18/2009 @ 06:29PM PT
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For the sake of publicity Oprah should endorse a number of shelter across the nation rather than supplying a nice coat of paint. If the paint job is the only reasonable financial venue that Oprah supports then we as a nation should reconsider our system of values.

Although in some cases shwlters do need that appeal of being cozy the financial difficulties are of shleters and homeless service providers is becoming more of a troubled topic as this current recession is affecting all aspects of American life as we know it.

Posted by Aaron Shaw on 06/19/2009 @ 08:50PM PT
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Is the work we do to help humanity and the Earth greater than that which we consume around us through our own living? I wonder this often with Oprah, her lifestyle and the things she does on an every day basis. I hate to discount all the charitable work she does and I know it's tempting to jump on board the Oprah chain but red lights of warning go off in my head each time I think about this woman. The idea of making over a shelter in some type of swarm of publicity for a paint company turns my stomach. Am I supposed to be placated by the thought that everyone in her audience might get a chance at winning the ability to give $100 to a homeless person they see? It just doesn't work for me.

Posted by Michele Rodriguez on 06/20/2009 @ 02:07AM PT
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Oprah is a liberal pig and socialist of the highest order. Socialist like to silence freedom of spech. Oprah wouldn't bring Palin on her show for the truth. Oprah only wants her fat ass liberal way espossed.

Dump this over weigh bitch in the closest harbor.

Georgi

Posted by G Z on 06/21/2009 @ 01:39PM PT
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I think Oprah should be honored for her gifts. I would also like a few minutes to teach her and others that poverty can be ended today.

I would love to tell her and Bill Gates, that taxpayers will save heroic cost of homelessness, like when sleeping in a cars cause frostbite and cost $40,000 a year in amputations. That amount could prevent all homeless, and hunger if spent the way the wise among us the underpaid or the poor knows would uplift humanity.

When Jesus said " there will always be poor people among you." He wanted a mortal pleasure a foot rub.

I think he spoke more about the heart of mankind and free will not gods will.

When God gave the Hebrews Manna- which was kind of like a trail mix of today, he also needed to cause maggot appear in unused Manna, which the greedy wanted to sell for profit.

Some one uses Jesus's words, against the kindness to the poor.

I will send both parts of this to Oprah by an email that was never answered in 10 years.

Posted by jan Lightfootlane on 06/22/2009 @ 07:41AM PT
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Author

Shannon has worked in homeless shelters and service organizations in San Francisco, the Triangle region of North Carolina, and currently in the greater Boston area. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.