Latest news with #Brooder
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Charity building 28 apartments for recovered homeless in East Naples
Key Points St. Matthew's House will expand to serve an additional 200 or more individuals a day in housing and addiction recovery programs. A long awaited project is Justin's Village in East Naples that will have capacity to house 104 individuals. St. Matthew's House is in the final phase of raising $18.5 million to expand capacity for the increasing homeless population in Southwest Florida. The nonprofit that provides emergency and transitional housing, along with addiction recovery assistance, has raised $17.3 million toward the goal in the quiet phase of a fundraising campaign that ended in December. The Collier County-based organization is reaching out to the public for the final $1.2 million. An anonymous donor has pledged to match the gifts dollar-for-dollar up to $750,000. In addition, the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation has committed $750,000 in matching funds. Steve Brooder, president and chief executive officer of St. Matthew's House, said the fundraising campaign will allow for expansion to serve more than 700 people a day in housing and addiction recovery programs. Currently 500 individuals a day are served. More: Homeless shelter for women and children opening soon in Fort Myers. What to know 'This is a pivotal moment for St. Matthew's House and the community we serve,' Brooder said. 'Hundreds of individuals are ready to change their lives, but they are waiting for the needed resources to be available to them to make that possible. By coming together as a community, we can ensure that no one faces hunger, homelessness, or addiction alone in Southwest Florida.' Homelessness and individuals at risk of not having a place to live is increasing in Southwest Florida due to scarcity of affordable rental housing, low wages and job losses. Some of the cost-of-living challenges are tied to property damage from Hurricane Ian in 2022 with its 14-foot storm surge in Lee County, which was about half that in Collier County. More: Annual point-in-time homeless count conducted in Naples, Collier County Annual 'point in time' homeless counts in both communities are done in January. The final numbers won't be available for several months. The counts through volunteers who span out to homeless camps, soup kitchens and day labor locations are rough estimates and often are lowball figures. Many homeless don't want to be anonymously interviewed and opt to stay hidden on count days. What could be contributing to undercounts going forward is a new statewide law that took effect Oct. 1 prohibiting public camping and sleeping, and federal detention and deportation of immigrants in the country illegally. More: Supreme Court ruling on homelessness leads the way for Florida public camping ban The count numbers are reported to state and federal agencies and help state and local homeless coalitions secure grants. In 2024, the count in Collier showed 660 homeless and Lee was at 2,789. Statewide 32,462 individuals were homeless in January 2024, according to the Florida Coalition to end Homelessness. St. Matthew's runs the only homeless shelters in Collier; the Campbell Lodge in East Naples and Immokalee Friendship in Immokalee. It also has the Jill Wright Retreat Center in Alva in east Lee County, which will expand from 34 beds to 50. Late last year St. Matthew's House opened a shelter in Fort Myers on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard with private dorms for women with children and beds for single women. That was funded through the quiet phase of the fundraising campaign and created capacity for 72 women and children. Construction is expected to start in the next year on transitional housing of 28 apartments, Justin's Village, west of Airport-Pulling Road on Calusa Avenue in East Naples. Justin's Village will house up to 104 individuals. When Justin's Village is ready for occupancy, some men in the transitional housing in Golden Gate, Wolfe Apartments, will be relocated to free up space at Wolfe for additional women. The 21st annual Cars on 5th brought thousands to downtown Naples on Feb. 8, a big fundraising event for St. Matthew's House. The event with exotic cars is organized by the Naples chapter of the Ferrari Club of America and is part of what's become the Naples Automotive Experience weekend. Comedian Jay Leno was in town for the weekend and announced the public phase of the fundraising event for St. Matthew's House. More: 10 best Naples area restaurants we wish made USA TODAY's Restaurants of the Year list The 2024 Cars on Fifth raised $1.7 million. A figure for what was raised at the more recent event was not immediately available. To support St. Matthew's House, visit the website at or call 239-774-0500, ext. 185. This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: St. Matthew's House in final phase of $18.5 million campaign
CBS News
09-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Garage rockers Hot Laundry and the Seagulls co-headline Make-Out Room
Soulful local garage-rockers Hot Laundry team up with SF favorites the Seagulls for an early show at the Make-Out Room Saturday night. In the space of a few short years, Hot Laundry has risen to become a leading light on the local garage-rock scene. Fronted by pint-sized spitfire singer Janette Lopez, the entertaining band matches the vocal harmonies and sass of legendary girl group the Shangri-las and the high-octane R&B of Ike and Tina Turner with the blistering proto-punk guitars of Detroit heroes the MC5. Flanked onstage by back-up singers Ileath Bridges and Gena Serey with matching tassled/spangled outfits and tandem dance moves, Lopez and her vocal support provide the visual focal point for the group's entertaining live show that is powered by founding guitarist/songwriter Grady Hord and the rhythm section of bassist Casey G. and drummer Arun Bhalla. While Hord was writing material intended for the band as far back as 2017, the sextet didn't make its proper recording debut until the release of their EP Shake Slide Twist in 2021. In addition to building a following around the Bay Area with their regular club appearances, Hot Laundry provided one of the highlights to the Mosswood Meltdown in Oakland that same year. It didn't take long for Hot Laundry to follow up with its first full-length album early in the summer of 2022. Packed with catchy, fuzzed-out groovers like "Work It" and "The Dance," Pawn Shop Gold manages to capture the kinetic punch of the group's live show. Last year, the band released a new video for their digital single "Made Like This" in addition to making its first trek to Europe to play Gutter Island Music Festival in Denmark, followed by its first performances in Japan as part of Tokyo's two-day Back from the Grave Halloween Ball last October. For this early show at the Make-Out Room Saturday, Hot Laundry will be joined by melodic San Francisco garage rockers the Seagulls. British punk veteran Jon Brooder was raised in South London during the 1970s and found inspiration in '50s rock, Motown, rock steady, British pub rock before the initial wave of UK punk rock took hold of his imagination. He would end up playing bass in the Clash-inspired late '80s punk band Lightning Strike, which played CBGBs after relocating to New York and managed to score a record deal with RCA. Though the band only managed to release its debut album before getting dropped by the major label, the experience whetted Brooder's appetite for making music and his desire to live in the U.S. He would move to San Francisco in the early '90s, eventually working with the bands the Hairdressers and the Music Lovers, an indie-pop project led by fellow Brit songwriter Matthew Edwards. It was in the latter band that Brooder met keyboard player Isaac Bonnell. The two musicians would start the Seagulls in 2012, building on their shared experience to play a mix of covers and original music that nods equally to roots-minded songwriting, punk energy and a bluesy swagger that recalls legendary British pub-rock band Dr. Feelgood -- who the Seagulls have been known to cover from time to time. Rounded out by longtime drummer/singer Geri Vahey (who played in the bands Skint and Mom's Favorite Vase) and Tony Velour on bass, the band managed to ramp up its activity in the past few years despite the pandemic. After releasing the holiday tune "Spirit in the Air" in December of 2019 before COVID shut down the planet, the Seagulls put out a pair of EPs (recorded both live and in the studio) and several digital singles, with some of the material addressing the stark new reality of sheltering in place and missing human interaction. The band also played a steady string of outdoor shows in San Francisco and at Winters Tavern in Pacifica as businesses gamely tried to operate amid new COVID protocols, providing a bit of relief for people starved to for live music hoping for a brief moment of normalcy. The Seagulls trekked to the UK in early 2023, playing a series of gigs in and around London. They celebrated the long-awaited release of their album This Time Next Year that spring. Packed with catchy rockers like opening track "Big Bad Beautiful World" and "Sunday Afternoon Drinking" and ska-tinged tunes "Hold On" and "G'is a Drink Woodcock," the bracing effort is a fine encapsulation of the energetic party the band delivers onstage. More recently, the group has been performing new tracks written since the release of the album live in addition to putting out a new music video on YouTube for "G'is a Drink Woodcock." Brooder also made a solo trip back to England where he played a handful of shows with a variety of musicians and friends during his visit. One of those friends, guitarist "Soho Steve" Crittall, lent his skills to a series of live shows and recording sessions during an extended stay in San Francisco. Currently a member of the Black Bombers and Alvin Gibbs and the Disobedient Servants, Crittall has previously played with such notables as the Godfathers, the Selector and UK Subs. He joined new bass player Nate Fink (Open Doors, Greg Hoy and the Boys) for a run of shows in SF and Los Angeles before heading home. Last year, the group played its biggest SF concert yet, opening for the current version of the Buzzcocks led by surviving member Steve Diggle at the Great American Music Hall.
