Getting close to more and more of our client situations, I remain impressed at people wanting better outcomes at a life crossroad. Then watching advocacy step in is incredibly impressive and
It has been a great pleasure collaborating with HelpNow. We are very fortunate to have an organization in the Rogue Valley here in Southern Oregon that has led the way insuring that our community receives the resources needed for them to thrive. We are very grateful for their commitment to serve and to focus on resolving issues that affect marginalized community members.
Unite Oregon will continue to collaborate with HelpNow because their values align with ours.
Virginia Camberos (she, her, ella) Regional Director - Rogue Valley Chapter
I am a volunteer for this non-profit because I am impressed by the good work they do and how they have helped so many people. They take calls from anyone who is in a crisis situation that they can't solve alone. For example, some of the people they assist have little financial resources, or education, and others have disabilities. These people don't know who to turn to and Help Now Advocacy is there to give them valuable assistance. And it is all a free service.
I get satisfaction from volunteering my time to a non-profit that is helping some of the most vulnerable people in our country and I encourage others to volunteer too, or make donations to Help Now Advocacy so they can expand into other communities.
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I am a volunteer for this non profit because I am impressed by the good work they do and how they have helped so many people. They take calls from anyone who is in a crisis situation that they can't solve alone. For example, some of the people they assist have little financial resources, or education, and others have disabilities. These people don't know who to turn to and Help Now Advocacy is there to give them valuable assistance. And it is all a free service.
I get satisfaction from volunteering my time to a non profit that is helping some of the most vulnerable people in our country and I encourage others to volunteer too, or make donations to Help Now Advocacy so they can expand into other communities.
Help Now! Advocacy is staffed by caring and dedicated volunteer advocates. My experience has been that the volunteer advocates bring a wealth of knowledge, experience, and problem solving know how to each call handled. Help Now! Advocacy achieves significant positive results for its clients.
The help provided is extraordinary. They have reached out to the community and found resources that are not in the regular lists of agencies and businesses that help people. They have helped me several times to advocate for myself and I know people in my community that have gotten dental work, car work, and help negotiating with various agencies and businesses. There are no income restrictions - rich or poor they help everyone negotiate through our complex social systems.
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Help Now is a terrific provider that has found a unique way to help people really in need of help. I have watched it since its inception and wholeheartedly support it and its mission. It is very well managed and provides a much needed service in today's fast-paced society that leaves a large portion of the population behind and helps level the playing field in the bureaucracy. They deserve this recognition.
My sister works for a local organization that helps homeless people get jobs, housing, etc. HelpNow is frequently used to help these people with their legal issues, of which there are many. Homeless people often don’t understand what their legal concerns are and how they are held back by them, and HelpNow researches cases and assists through the legal,system.
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Although I have never needed the services of HelpNow, I have been acquainted with the work they do for many years. HelpNow is always top of my list when I determine my annual contributions to organizations I know make a big impact. So many members of the local community have benefited from their services, and their volunteers are experienced and dedicated. HelpNow is often the last resort for people that have been unable to advocate for themselves. It is so exciting to see HelpNow expand it’s efforts across the country.
This non-profit helps individuals who have a crisis that has impacted their lives and they are at a standstill with nowhere to go. Help Now has helped close to 10,000 individuals free of charge. It is a unique all volunteer organization helping the indigent, those with mental illness, seniors and the list goes on.
I have had the privilege of working with a few team members at help now Advocacy on a variety of occasions! Without a doubt, I would say that Help Now Advocacy is the one to call when you need help with something you cannot handle on your own!
The individuals at Help Now Advocacy are very knowledgeable, efficient and respond in a timely fashion to those in need! In my opinion, This nonprofit organization not only deserves this award but has more than earned it! If you need help, do not hesitate, call Help Now Advocacy, trust me you'll be glad you did!!
With support and admiration,
TLS
My second year as a Board member. Admiration grows because we have such a useful service and a low cost infrastructure that serves the underserved to negotiate with government, law enforcement, landlords, hospitals, insurers, and on and on. Plus we can help find the right case management for social work or behavioral, or mental health needs. This is a hotline approach to leave police, fire, EMR focused on what they do best while we do what we do best and the client receives immediate advocacy, support, response, and ongoing engagement.
Inspired by the compassionate work of Help Now Advocacy, despite three-months of stonewall bureaucratic denial by state officials, I had the privilege of ultimately aiding a desperate financially needy 100% disabled veteran in receiving payment of his year long delayed unemployment benefits.
Bonnie with Help Now Advocacy worked hard over 5 months to get me a wheelchair ramp when my landlord refused. She stuck with me, checking in weekly to see what I needed and what she could do. The routine communication was greatly appreciated, and I often felt she was the only one truly trying to help me. Thank you for being there!
Help Now Advocacy got a grand send-off as a volunteer organization now over 20 years old. from my college alum magazine. Long history, committed staff, a desire to continue going national and to add to its history of documented successful outcomes. I learned the Board is great. A fine group deserving lots of attention.
I worked as a volunteer for Help Now and was impressed by the fact that we were able to find ways to help so many people who had run out of other options. The need is SO great and the resources so scanty. Help Now fills a void in Southern Oregon, sometimes referred to as the Mississippi of the Pacific NorthWest. Help Now works hard to find ways to provide resources to those who most need it. It is a critically important organization.
Help Now Advocacy goes above and beyond the call of duty, by helping people stand up for themselves in situations where they have become inadvertent victims of the system. This is a great group of volunteer advocates, helping others
Help Now provides a unique and vital service for people overwhelmed by crisis that they cannot solve themselves and lack the resources and/or the capability for securing the kind of expert assistance that can lead to a solution. This service utilizes the expertise of trained volunteers and is free of cost to the user. There is nothing else like it!
Help Now! Advocacy is a unique crisis hotline that links trained volunteer advocates to clients who cannot resolve a life-crisis on their own. The advocate works on the client's behalf until a point of resolution is reached. The range of crises resolved is broad and includes housing, mental health, family entanglements, and social services support. I am a recent addition to the Board and I am helping Help Now! Advocacy with planning for its expansion into a national hotline network.
I was helped by Help Now on two occasions.
We had a timeshare in Mexico. I became ill and it was clear that going to Mexico was no longer a good idea. I was helped to get out of the contract.
The second occasion was when w hit a deer which ran in front of a rental car. We were blamed and Help Now got the insurance to cover it.
I have had the privilege of working with Help Now Advocacy many times in the last few years. I have always been very impressed with their prompt reply, close attention to detail and resolving most of my issues in a very timely fashion. If you have an issue that you feel deserves attention or you need help getting an issue resolved that no one else will help you with, I HIGHLY recommend reaching out to Help Now Advocacy immediately! If they are unable to help you resolve your issue, at the very least they will direct you to someone who can. Thank you Help Now Advocacy for always feeling I had someone in my corner who really does care! Sincerely a very satisfied client served! TLS
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I have never been one to reach out and ask for help, especially from nonprofit organizations! With that said, Unfortunately I found myself in a situation where I needed legal advice concerning my tenant rights while renting from a property management company. Although I had full access to the rights and laws online they can be a bit confusing and I wanted to be sure of what I was reading! Larry Kahn and his team has stepped in many times to assist me in the last two years with my tenant issues and when dealing with the state of Oregon regarding a garnishment!! If it weren't for Larry and his team I would no doubt be homeless living on the street! I highly recommend this organization to anyone in need of legal advice! They are kind, compassionate, understanding and more than willing to step up and defend you when you dont feel you can do it alone! I just cannot say enough about this nonprofit Organization! They deserve all the recognition for a job well done and then some!!! Thank you Help Now Advocacy for making a major difference in my world!! Sincerely, very grateful....Teri Schuster
As I learn more about this organization to be more involved in the future, I see there is an amazing group of dedicated volunteers who care so much about every caller. This group has changed the lives of so many people for the better. Getting results that changes lives for the better is what they do.
Although I have never needed the services of HelpNow, I have been acquainted with the work they do for many years. I am also proud to be a volunteer. HelpNow is always top of my list when I determine my annual contributions to organizations I know make a big impact. So many members of the local community have benefited from their services, and their volunteers are experienced and dedicated. HelpNow is often the last resort for people that have been unable to advocate for themselves. It is so exciting to see HelpNow expand it’s efforts across the country.
Don Dabney
Oregon
LIVING IN HER (Van) WAS HER BEST ALTERNATIVE
Erin, seriously disabled and in her early 30's, was homeless and living in a van which she had recently purchased but had not yet titled in her name because she lacked funds to do so. She had the title certificate with the prior owner’s signature on it noting transfer to her but no title certificate actually in her name as owner.
A man, whom she did not know, carjacked her van injuring her in the process of forcing her out of the car. She immediately notified the police and went to a hospital emergency room to be treated for her injuries. The car was subsequently located by police, and the man was arrested.
The car was impounded and towed to the tow company’s storage lot accumulating daily storage fees. Since Erin was not the registered owner, the lot owner would not talk to her about releasing the car to her or to anyone else who was not the car’s owner of record with DMV. It was at this point that Erin contacted us for assistance. We were able to verify with the police all that she had told us including the fact of her ER treatment.
Telling us that she lacked a valid driver’s license, Erin advised us that she could not get the car titled in her name because of that per DMV. At our suggestion, she then got a woman, whom she thought was a trustworthy licenced acquaintance to agree to take title temporarily "stating she's only doing this to help her get her home back", Erin paid the acquaintance gas money to drive to the tow yard and was told the bill was $900.
She trusted her and she said that she would get the bill down and give her the extra money, the acquaintance knew she was on disability and using her entire disability check to do so but to her it was worth it since it was her home and thought she met a trusted friend. The aquaintance got the bill down to $400 and kept the extra money, saying that she will meet her at her house. Then said that her friend also with a lisence would drive back to the acquaintance's house and then be given the extra money then.
The driver was not safe, using drugs in her van while driving her back and also told Erin that she was never going to see that $500 or her vehicle once we arrive back to the aquaintance's house. Trying to warn Erin ahead of time, not feeling safe, once she was close enough to home 2 miles away, she had an opportunity to leave him behind at a gas station since she could see that she wasnt going to get her money back or the van at this point and her safety was at risk do to the acquaintance's friend being intoxicated but was in a desperate situation.
The aquantance saw her in her van a couple days later and slashed two tires and took ownership of the vehicle, hoping she now owned her van.
Not knowing in advance that she was already working with us, we managed to have the dmv title the vehicle in her name and put two new tires on. We were able to get the local United Way to assist with the cost of transferring title. (We do not provide cash assistance to clients. Our budget just sustains our
work.) We also emphatically told Erin she had to get a driver’s license, and she signed a statement for us, as a condition to the continuation of our work on her matter, agreeing to do so.
Once title was transferred, we were able to speak to the tow lot owner with authorization from the aquaintance now the owner of record with DMV.
We persuaded the police to get involved although they initially had declined telling us it was a civil matter, (even after slashing her tires.) The police located the acquaintance and persuaded her to give the van and title papers back to Erin.
We had to then not only move the car for Erin but find a tire shop to replace two slashed tires and carefully hoping that the rims wouldn't be bent since it was sitting in front of her residence, but the police would not allow it to be driven because of the unsafe condition of tires. We then persuaded a local tire shop to donate two used tires for Erin’s car and he installed them at the spot where the van was located. After that, we moved the van to a safe location away from the aquaintances residence.
We then contacted a manager at Oregon DMV in Salem about getting the title transferred to Erin. It turned out that she had been given misinformation about not being able to title a vehicle in her name when lacking a driver’s license. Because of that, the DMV manager agreed to change title directly from the prior owner’s name to Erin at no additional charge. He could see the transfer to the ("aquaintance") in their system and agreed to bypass it.
In the end, Erin wound up getting her van back again but now holding proper title to the van, which had been and was again her home.
While we did expend a significant amount of time on Erin’s matter, because of our involvement she is not living on the street, (has a safe place to lock her doors) and through this process had no one to turn to and was very thankful that there was someone to advocate for her. If we hadn't, she would have been taken advantage of or worse. It was very important to her survival given the nature of her disabilities.
This very unique non-profit fills a void in our society that no other non-profit to date fills. It helps the indigent, mentally disabled, and others with common every day issues such as water and electrical cut-offs, landlord tenant disputes that other agencies do not.
To date Help Now has helped over 8,000 clients with a 95% success rate and is definitely a Great NonProfit!!