Last month, Hospitality House received a $200,000 federal grant to expand its services in providing emergency shelter to homeless community members in Nevada County. To the many volunteers and supporters of the small, grassroots organization, it was as though Goliath had extended a helping hand to David — federal officials offered help to the homeless.

Does the grant mean that the pressure is off, that the homeless in our community will always find shelter? No, unfortunately. But it does mean that the program at Hospitality House, already strong, now has an opportunity to strengthen further by expanding its services, and that those who run the program can plan for a sustainable future without having to scramble.

Hospitality House has been dependent on Nevada County's generosity since it opened its doors in 2005, and even with the grant, will continue to be so. Our community has proved to be remarkably and reliably generous: For the past four years, the vast majority of the shelter's $270,000 yearly operating budget has come from local donations, some large, but most small — $50 here, $100 there.

The existence of Hospitality House will always be linked with the community's willingness to support it. But the federal emergency shelter grant, which provides $100,000 for operating expenses each year for two years, will allow the shelter to expand its overnight program for several months beyond the current mid-October through April season and plan for long-term stability.

Hospitality House currently provides shelter and nightly meals through a nomadic program that involves busing guests to and from sites provided by local faith communities on a rotating basis. More than 25 faith communities participate in the program, which serves more than 300 guests each year.

In addition, Hospitality House's Welcome Center, located on South Church Street in Grass Valley, provides year-round daytime meals and services, including medical screenings, case management counseling, showers and laundry facilities.

This program contains inherent expenses associated with the nomadic model that are not practical for the long run (costly bus transportation is a salient example). In addition, the Welcome Center is no longer adequate for the rising number of homeless guests who gather every day. For the future, Hospitality House envisions a well-planned, year-round residential program with sleeping quarters, a kitchen, a laundry room, a separate area for families and a sick bay.

In short, the vision is for a place of dignity that will make the best use of local resources, including support from faith communities, volunteers, donors, business people and social service agencies.

If Hospitality House is one day able to secure a building that will serve as a residential facility, homeless people here will have the stabilizing advantage of a single place to stay, rather than having to move from site to site. There will be no need for nightly bus transportation. There will be no need to haul clothing and sleeping gear every night or to bring in food prepared off-site. A single building would also expand the shelter's ability to provide such services as legal aid, life-skills training and counseling.

As the economy continues to sputter, a growing underclass of young and old in our community is in need of something most of us take for granted: a place of safety and dignity. Hospitality House has learned that it can depend on the community to help its homeless, just as the community has learned that it can depend on Hospitality House.

For more information on Hospitality House, go to hospitalityhouseshelter.org.

Karen Newell Young is a Hospitality House board member.