About Us
| HOMELESS TO INDEPENDENCE'S MISSION STATEMENT THE SOLE PURPOSE OF “HOMELESS TO INDEPENDENCE” IS TO HELP PEOPLE TO COME FROM WHERE I HAVE COME, BY GOD’S GRACE, BY PROVIDING AS MUCH HELPFUL INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE. I MUST NEVER FORGET WHERE I HAVE COME FROM! DISCLAIMER JUST A SHORT NOTE TO STATE THAT THE PURPOSE OF THIS PUBLICATION IS TO PASS PRECIOUS INFORMATION ON TO THOSE OF NEED. OCCASIONALLY, THERE WILL BE ARTICLES BY OTHER WRITERS. I MAY NOT NECESSARILY AGREE WITH THEIR VIEWPOINTS, BUT I DO RESPECT THEM. THANK YOU ***************************************************************************************************** ABOUT THE FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Ann Martin-Frey was born November 17, 1960 in Elizabeth, NJ Active in various church’s and community activities since the age of 10, including small a’ capela choirs, food drives, volunteerism with food banks, cooking/baking special diet meals from scratch primarily for diabetic’s of a Meals on Wheels program in Leesburg, FL, providing lawn care for the disabled and working poor at very low cost… Eventually being brought to a point in my life when I acknowledged God had been molding me for something even bigger. As I was traveling throughout the United States back in 1999-2000, praying for clarity of my purpose for His will for my life, I found myself in Sacramento, CA at Friendship Park (affiliated with Loaves and Fishes). I found homeless people from so many different backgrounds – veterans, teenagers, the elderly, and singles with dogs, families, speech and hearing impaired – I took extra time to listen to them, their needs, their wants, their dreams. I slept in the shelters, the overflow shelters, in fields with sleeping bags and under bridges to experience the difficulty of their life experiences. And there I found His will for me. When someone expressed their sincere need to find employment I took the time to find out their past work experiences and compared that to what they enjoyed doing for work – and then I hunted for employment openings. And since they had some type of shelter they were hired within a short period of time and they worked with their shelter case manager to get into more secure and stable housing. And they were on their way…. It went even further, not just fellowshipping with people looking to better their lives in respect to work and housing, but fellowshipping with active alcoholics and substance abusers. Somehow, in some way, a person would cross my path and when we met we would just start to talk and in most cases within 24-hours they made the decision to go into serious treatment for themselves. I still remember one woman that came up to me and gave me a strong hug and she could not stop thanking me. I did not recognize her at first and when she reminded me who she was, I am in tears even now remembering….she had brought her weight up, had her hair and modest makeup on, was employed – a walking miracle. And I in turn had to remind her that I am just the willing vessel and to give all thanks to God. I continued to make up the employment lists and distributing them and started to travel to other towns and cities, where I would stay for a month or two, work with those that sincerely needed someone to talk to, to express their fears, their needs, their wants and their dreams. This is how “Homeless To Independence Inc.” came about and today is focused on my home State of New Jersey within all 21-counties - bringing both people and services together, as well as, bringing services a better awareness of other service providers to help those in need more thoroughly. I have also served as an AmeriCorp VISTA Volunteer in Service to the New Jersey State Parole Board servicing those released and their families with employment, housing and other information that is needed to help these families transition successfully into a positive lifestyle. Recently honored by NCADDNJ (National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence-New Jersey), F.O.A.R. (Friends of Addiction Recovery), Royal Priesthood Fellowship/Somerset, New Jersey The Ida B. Wells Community Activist Award from the Metuchen-Edison N.A.A.C.P. Garden State Bar Association 2009 Holiday Charity To view pictures of the event please go to: http://www.tricountyonline.org/ Articles have been written on "Homeless To Independence" on: 09-25-05 by the Star Ledger, Elizabeth, NJ April '06 Trenton Area Soup Kitchen August 2009 - Volunteers of America September 2009 - Trentonian Newspaper September 2009 - Front Page Trenton Times Speaking and Presentation Events: Somerset County Community Development (CEAS) Comprehensive Emergency Assistance NJ State Parole Conference 03-06 Jersey City, NJ re: Housing FOAR December 2nd, 2006 Royal Priesthood Fellowship/Somerset, NJ December 15th, 2006 N.A.A.C.P. February 3rd, 2007 The Crisis Ministry - Poverty Simulation, Whig Hall, Princeton University Feb. 24, 2007 Homeless To Independence Inc., is an ALL Volunteer Faith-Based Non-Profit that provides information regarding: Employment, Affordable Housing and First Time Home Purchaser Programs, NJ Emergency Services Including Food Pantry and Meal Information, Flu Shots and Much More Information provided for the Homeless, Working Poor, Those Coming Out of Jails, Prisons and Institutions, those that were Transplanted Due to Natural Disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina/Rita and those that are losing their employment due to companies closing and downsizing – regardless of the situation…… We cannot pick and choose who we help….. Doing His work should be all that matters…. Thank You, Ann Martin-Frey Founder and Executive Director ********************************************************* INFORMATION ON THE BOARD WILL BE COMING SOON! |
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