Summer's ending,

but the job just begins!

Hello Tim,

Thank you for helping the Compassion Center provide for those who have lost almost everything.

So many great things are in the making. I just had to share the news with you. As we begin our new fiscal year, we’ve moved our offices and warehouse (see below for addresses). We’ve also hired new staff, already fully funded our rental assistance program for the year, and are now partnering with another nonprofit to offer showers and laundry twice-a-week. 

Last year saw us deliver more services to more people than ever during our 12-year history. Now, we’re primed to do even more for our most vulnerable throughout the 2022-23 year—all because of your faithful support and belief in what we do.

We appreciate YOU for making everything we do possible!

In partnership,

COMMUNITY UPDATE

Much More than Ever Before

Your support made an amazing impact over the last twelve months. Since we closed out our Fiscal Year at the end of June, here are some highlights (from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022):

• 799 individuals served (up 67% from previous year, and almost all of the 814 unhoused individuals in our area at last count)
• 488 added to housing list via a housing vulnerability survey (up 639% from previous year)
• 325 received case management (up 480% from previous year)
• 89 chronically unhoused individuals guided into permanent housing
• 150+ families received rental assistance that saved them from eviction (since its launch a year ago)
• 14 Safe Parking participants found permanent housing (in addition to the 89 above)

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

Kindness is the Cure

When we first met Donna (not her real name) during one of our weekly encampment outings, she seemed timid and frightened. She also appeared to need some help, as she had difficulty walking and even standing. So our outreach team, Angelina and Silvia, gently approached her. They brought her some food and a case of water. They also connected her with a medical team to address her issues. Then, they provided a housing vulnerability assessment. Because of her condition, she would be given priority for housing assistance. In the meantime, Angelina and Silvia checked in on her regularly. She enjoyed the care and kind attention, and seemed grateful. 

Eventually, Donna got the call that every unhoused person dreams of. There would be a home for her. She only had to wait for a brief period. While she was waiting, however, she fell ill. After receiving treatment at the emergency room, she was discharged to a shelter in San Jose. Surrounded by unfamiliar people, she didn’t know where to turn. So, she reached out to two people she knew would help her—Angelina and Silvia. She said that, in all her years on the streets, no one had shown her kindness like they had. They bought her some clothing, and then arranged transportation to the Gilroy shelter, where she had her own room and could receive visits. 

Now, fully recovered, Donna has moved into her new apartment, with Angelina and Silvia there by her side to welcome her to her new home and her new life. But Donna is only one of many that are getting housed. In just the last week alone, six of our chronically homeless clients have been called for housing. None of this would have happened if not for the care and resourcefulness of our amazing team—whom you support. Thanks for making this all possible!

COMMUNITY GOALS

Gearing Up for Challenging Times

For those who have lost their homes, or are struggling to keep theirs, there are troubling currents afoot. At the end of March, the eviction moratorium ended. Stimulus money has dried up. At the same time, the largest rental assistance program in the nation—Housing is Key, with whom we were a program partner—has stopped accepting applications. Now, with gas and food prices still at an unaffordable high, those on the margins are facing monumental hurdles—either paying impossible rents to keep their homes, or earning enough to get off the street. Despite all the progress we made last year, this year will no doubt be tougher than the last. With your support, however, we hope to meet this new economic storm with the following goals:

• Keep 150 more in their homes — thanks to support from Kaiser Permanente, a county-wide organizational funder, and three rental assistance programs, we will continue to offer assistance to South County residents who need it most.
• Offer housing vulnerability surveys for every unhoused South County resident. No one who wants to get in line for housing will be left out. Assuming the rate of county-wide supportive housing building continues, this will increase the number called for housing.
• Obtain funding to hire a housing retention specialist —thus increasing the number of newly housed remaining in their homes beyond the 85% average.
• Increase the number called for housing by 10% over last year. With fewer unhoused individuals to serve, we can provide more services and attention to those who remain.
• Reduce the number of unhoused deaths by 30% by identifying and referring for medical treatment those with untreated and/or undiagnosed medical conditions, and by increasing access to drug harm reduction treatment (see below for current figures)
• Increase Safe Parking housing attainment by 30% over last year.
• Increase funding individual and corporate funding by 20% to help us meet our goals for reducing and resolving the burden of homelessness for those who experience it, and for those who want to end it.
• Launch a Safe Park in Gilroy by June 30, 2023 — but we need your help to encourage our City Council Members to follow through on their approval to fund a portion of this program.

COMMUNITY APPRECIATION

Our Volunteers and Donors

Make the Difference

Everything we do to mitigate the effects of homelessness, and resolve homelessness for all our unsheltered neighbors, is completely dependent on all of you who donate your time and money to our cause.

Every hour you give in service, and every dollar provided goes a long way. We’d like to thank everyone who gave:

Our Volunteers

Our Individual Donors

Our Business and Organizational Donors

Our Grant Funders

Our Clothing Donors

Everything we do is thanks to

ALL OF YOU!!

COMMUNITY COLLABORATION

New Laundry and Shower Service

We are always looking for novel ways to give our clients more of what they need. One thing that gets mentioned a lot is the need for more shower and laundry services. In May, we reached out to The Salvation Army Gilroy to ask if they could collaborate with us to open up their facilities twice a week, utilizing their two onsite showers and our new laundry machines. They agreed!

We have already installed the laundry machines and are hoping to start our weekly service later this month, on Monday and Wednesday mornings. A case manager will be on-site to provide walk-in case management services and referrals for those who need anything, from an ID voucher to a housing assessment. After our clients shower and wash their clothes, they can stay for a hot lunch prepared in the Salvation Army kitchen.

Creating symbiotic partnerships with other local providers like the Salvation Army is one way we’re helping to build community participation to alleviate and resolve homelessness in South County. We are looking for additional volunteers to help us with this exciting project. Please visit our volunteer page for more information.

COMMUNITY HEALTH

Homelessness is a Death Sentence

The national average life expectancy for an unhoused person is age 50, compared to 79 for the general population. The recent release of unhoused deaths since 2018 from the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office found that 78 individuals from Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Martin had died too soon, for a variety of reasons—undiagnosed and/or untreated medical conditions (44%); drug or alcohol-related (29% with 78% of these having mitigating issues like underlying medical conditions); accidents (9%); murder (4%); exposure (3%); and unknown causes (5%).

Over the last year alone, we’ve lost 25 individuals in our community. In almost every case, these deaths were avoidable. Providing supportive housing for the chronically homeless, with access to medical care, mental health care, and substance abuse treatment is the proven solution. Compassion Center Outreach staff have, over the last year, identified a number of vulnerable individuals, connected them with teams of medical care and harm reduction professionals, transported many directly to the hospital, and distributed NARCAN, with guidance for use, to opiate users who were exposed to a recent batch of fentanyl. Many lives may have been saved as a result.

We’re committed to doing even more this year, in partnership with the Valley Medical Homeless Health Care Program, Gardner South County Health Center, the County Public Health Harm-reduction teams, and the County Office of Supportive Housing. Our goal is to reduce the number of deaths by 30% over the previous year by increasing these efforts, and through supportive housing referrals.

COMMUNITY UPDATE

We've Moved

We have a new home—actually two new homes. Our warehouse (pictured above) has moved to 505 Mayock, Suite E-17 in Gilroy. Our offices have moved to 1335 First Street, Suite C, Gilroy. We’d be delighted to welcome you if you’d care to drop by. Just give us a call! Also, all donations of client goods will be accepted at our First Street offices. Though we’d be grateful if you called us first so we can be sure someone can assist with receiving these. Please email us details, and we'll get back to you.

COMMUNITY UPDATE

Wishes Abound

We have several things that could really help us assist those in need. Can you help us with any of these?

• New underwear and socks are always appreciated by our unhoused clients. Please feel free to order these directly from our Amazon Wish List and have them delivered to our office at: 1335 First Street, Suite C, Gilroy, CA 95020. Our Wishlist link is here. 
• We need volunteers to assist us at our Monday and Wednesday shower and laundry days at the Gilroy Salvation Army, as well as at our Tuesday and Thursday morning Popups each week. Also, we need support organizing our warehouse, helping assemble our hygiene kits, and sorting our client's mail. If you're available to lend a hand on one or more weekdays, please visit our Volunteer Interest Page and complete the form at the bottom. We really appreciate your labor of love.
• Our unhoused clients need bikes to get around. If you have a working bike that you’d like to donate, please email Silvia.
• Make a gift, or make it monthly, to help us reach our goals throughout the coming year.
• Give where you work, and have it matched by your employer, in most cases. Search for us by name (South County Compassion Center), or EIN number (45-2189365) at your employer's employee giving portal. We're listed on most.