The event runs until the end of February and includes 25 local businesses that offer their customers the opportunity to purchase a paper heart for $1, $5 or $20 with all proceeds going to the shelter. Haven House receives some government funding, but the drive is a necessary piece of their budget, said Angela Mayeaux, executive director for Haven House. The shelter’s goal is to raise $15,000 by the end of the month, she said.

Mayeaux said it’s important people realize the stereotypes about homeless people rarely are accurate.

“(‘Have a Heart’) can raise awareness throughout the community about homeless families,” Mayeaux said. “It’s not just the 60-year-old homeless person you see when you drive downtown or what you see on TV. The average age of a homeless person is 9 years old.”

Mayeaux said that “Have a Heart,” which began in 2001, is vital to the shelter’s success.
“It helps in the operations of the shelter,” she said. “(The drive) pays for food, utilities (as well as) things to help the families like cleaning products.”

Chuck Raad, franchisee of restaurant Woody’s Oasis Bar & Grill, 211 E. Grand River Ave., said the decision to get involved with such a worthy cause was easy.

“A lot of families are in unfortunate situations and (the shelter) being local is a real positive thing,” Raad said. “We’re happy to be doing a little part of it to help out the local community.”

Frank Cillette, a political theory and constitutional democracy freshman, said it’s important for local businesses to get involved in helping the local community.

“I feel like the area supports them, so they have a responsibility to give back,” he said.

Mayeaux said matching last year’s total of $15,000 will be tough because L&L Food Center, which had helped raise $60,000 throughout the history of the event, has closed its area stores.

“We’re very nervous that we won’t be able to make up that goal,” Mayeaux said. “We did get a couple of new businesses but not enough to make up that gap yet. We may have to find funding through different grants or run another event at the end of the year.”

She hopes to make up the difference by convincing new companies the program is easy to start and telling them about the unique and important care Haven House provides.

“We’re the only place that dads can come to with their children,” she said. “There is no other local shelter that takes single dads. We’re also the only place that takes teenage boys, so we really strive to accommodate any family.”