history includes chronic homelessness and in some cases, mental
health and substance abuse challenges.
According to Erin O’Brien, CEO of Community Solutions,
“We’re thrilled at how the county has brought homelessness
issues to the forefront and made housing the homeless a priority.
Every person deserves to have housing, to feel safe.”
“We see people with unmet mental health needs that
contribute to their homelessness and often lead them to
substance abuse. It’s hard for anyone to live in that reality.
Life gets complicated very fast. We need to remove the stigma
associated with mental health challenges.”
Erin said that her organization works closely with a variety
of partners on this issue, including the county as well as the
Gilroy and Morgan Hill Police Departments. “Dealing with the
chronically homeless is a big drain on police department and
other resources. But the homeless are not typically a danger to
the community, they just need help.”
“Community Solutions embraces the housing first philosophy,
to house, engage with, and provide services to the homeless. It’s
hard work done by passionate people. And it works. When you
house the homeless, a large majority of them remain housed and
become productive citizens, good neighbors.”
HomeFirst Services of Santa Clara County has been
helping the homeless since 1980. Formerly known as the
Emergency Housing Consortium, HomeFirst served more than
4,000 homeless individuals last year, including veterans, families
and youth. Many people may not be aware that HomeFirst
operates the Gilroy Armory cold weather shelter in partnership
with the National Guard.
In a recent issue of the organization’s newsletter, HomeFirst
CEO Andrea Urton wrote, “What strikes me the most about this
year’s experience is that this community is very resilient and
dedicated to bringing people in from the cold . . . Going forward
this year, we’ll work on projects with partners to explore how we
can shelter and house people in innovative ways.”
HomeFirst also focuses on housing first strategies. As part of
this effort, it operates the Boccardo Family Living Center (BFLC),
a multi-service transitional housing program for homeless
families, located in San Martin. The program provides 26 units
of transitional housing. Families pay a below-market rental rate
that allows them to build financial resources while they work to
achieve stability. The BFLC also operates an emergency shelter
program for families that is open December through March and
provides housing for seasonal migrant farm workers. Along with
shelter and transitional housing, HomeFirst provides housing
search services, mental health counseling, employment search
services, programs for homeless veterans, a shelter for homeless
foster youth, and a medical clinic.
The National Guard Armory opens its doors during cold
winter months to provide a walk-in shelter for the homeless. A
significant number of homeless come to the shelter from outside
of South County, and some believe that when the Armory closes
the shelter each spring to resume its regular operations, some of
the homeless leave the area again while others stay.
30
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
For this reason, rather than trying to take on a countywide
homeless population, the Armory may adopt a referral-based
system next winter so that the local support system can prioritize
and focus effectively on the local homeless population and help
them move through the necessary steps to transition out of
homelessness to a better life.
“The high cost of living and
income disparity creates
numerous hurdles for the
David Cox
‘working poor.’”
St. Joseph’s Family Center traces its history back to the
1960s when Marge Albaugh and friends from St. Mary Parish
organized food and clothing donations for the needy; first for
their parish, then for the community of Gilroy. In 1981, the
group’s efforts were formalized as St. Joseph’s Family Center
under the auspices of the Diocese of San Jose, and in 2002, it
became a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Today, St. Joseph’s
operates a Food Pantry five days a week and provides hot
meals for the homeless three evenings a week. It offers
comprehensive services to assist with job searching, and acts as
a liaison with other homeless services in Gilroy and throughout
Santa Clara County.
Last fall,
TODAY spoke with Executive Director David
Cox, who provided an overview of St. Joseph’s collaborative
work with Gilroy churches, schools, businesses and civic groups
on programs to combat hunger. Along with Second Harvest Food
Bank, St. Joseph’s partners with food suppliers including Safeway,
Wal-Mart, Target, Trader Joe’s and Costco, among others.
“In all of my 16 years with the agency, we’ve never had a
downturn in demand for services,” Cox said. “The high cost
of living and income disparity creates numerous hurdles for
the ‘working poor’. Gilroy has the County’s highest per capita
rate of homelessness and food insecurity. It is important that
our community understands these dynamics, and we challenge
ourselves to get involved – through awareness and education,
advocacy, volunteering, and/or financially supporting local
agencies that are dealing with these issues on a daily basis.”
St. Joseph’s also secures government funding for emergency
rental and utility assistance to assist families in crisis, triggered
by circumstances beyond their control (i.e. loss of employ-
ment). The Center may subsidize the cost to help a family to
enter new housing, or to maintain their current housing and/or
utility services.
gmh
Gilroy Police Department:
Enforcement with Empathy
The cities of Gilroy and Morgan Hill are fortunate to have
effective police departments whose men and women protect
us through a strong partnership with our communities. As law
JULY / AUGUST 2016
gmhtoday.com