East San Gabriel Valley Coalition for the Homeless

Prayer for the poor and needy Lord God, You came to give honor to the least, those forgotten, overlooked and misjudged. You came to give first place to the last, those left behind, misunderstood and undervalued.... You came to give a warm welcome to the lost, those who are orphaned, abandoned and destitute. Help us to be your ears to listen to their cries. Help us to be your voice speaking out love and acceptance. Help us to be your feet walking beside those in need. Help us to be your hands to clothe, feed and shelter them. You came for the least, the lost and last of this world. Lord, hear our prayer. Amen.

The East San Gabriel Valley Coalition for the Homeless is requesting donations of facemasks. We were given 1,000 masks and are getting low at this time. I possible please come to our office at St. John Vianney Catholic Church -pantry area at 1345 Turnbull Canyon Rd. Hacienda Heights, CA 91735 Phone # 626-333-7204. We want to protect our Homeless men and woman. Thank you.

Prayer for the poor and needy Lord God, You came to give honor to the least, those forgotten, overlooked and misjudged. You came to give first place to the last, those left behind, misunderstood and undervalued.... You came to give a warm welcome to the lost, those who are orphaned, abandoned and destitute. Help us to be your ears to listen to their cries. Help us to be your voice speaking out love and acceptance. Help us to be your feet walking beside those in need. Help us to be your hands to clothe, feed and shelter them. You came for the least, the lost and last of this world. Lord, hear our prayer. Amen.

The East San Gabriel Valley Coalition for the Homeless is looking for new board members with talents to serve the homeless. Should you be interested please contact our office at 626-333-7204. Ask for Richard Hopkins, president. Thank you.

National Alliance to End Homelessness The House of Representatives is nearing a landmark vote on homelessness and housing aid, possibly as early as Monday. We urgently need your support. Introduced just two days ago, Rep. Maxine Waters’ Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act (H.R. 7301) takes all of the homelessness and housing provisions of the HEROES Act (already passed by the House last month) and lifts them up in a single bill. This legislation is GREAT NEWS for h...omeless advocates. Given the tight timeline, we must act quickly, and let elected officials know just how important this funding is. WHAT DOES THIS LEGISLATION DO? H.R. 7301 includes the same programs (at the same funding levels) that were passed by the House in the HEROES Act, the most recent COVID relief bill: $11.5 billion for Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) for homeless assistance $100 billion for emergency rental assistance to address the nationwide eviction catastrophe $1 billion in vouchers for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of losing their housing The Senate has not yet passed this funding or the larger HEROES Act yet. H.R. 7301 allows the House to underscore the importance of homelessness and housing programs BEFORE negotiations begin with the Senate. WHAT YOU CAN DO Please contact your House member TODAY to support H.R. 7301, the Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act! H.R. 7301 addresses our biggest challenge, which is to make sure homeless assistance and emergency rental assistance stay in the next COVID relief bill. H.R. 7301 is an opportunity to lift up our legislative priorities before this bargaining begins with the Senate on the next COVID relief bill. It contains the same set of proposals that thousands of advocates across the country have been fighting for since May. Please ask your Representative to vote YES on H.R. 7301, the Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act!

Homelessness has increased by only 1% in the San Gabriel and Pomona valleys, according to early data from the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority’s 2020 point-in-time count. LAHSA’s homeless count, which was conducted across three days in January, showed 5,082 homeless individuals in the San Gabriel Valley, up 1% from 5,031 counted in 2019. That’s a sharp contrast with the bump experienced last year, when the count showed a 17% increase between 2018 and 2019 in the San Gab...Continue reading

From Pope Francis Divine Mercy Sunday Homily. Selected portions. On this feast of Divine Mercy, the most beautiful message comes from Thomas the disciple who arrived late; he was the only one missing. The risk is that we may then be struck by an even worse virus, that of selfish indifference. A virus spread by the thought that life is better if it is better for me, and that everything will be fine if it is fine for me. It begins there and ends up selecting one person over ...another, discarding the poor, and sacrificing those left behind on the altar of progress. We are all frail, all equal, all precious. May we be profoundly shaken by what is happening all around us: the time has come to eliminate inequalities, to heal the injustice that is undermining the health of the entire human family! Each of us could say: These are complex problems, it is not my job to take care of the needy, others have to be concerned with it!. And Jesus replied: Never mind, don’t let it bother you, just be merciful to everyone always . Let us welcome this time of trial as an opportunity to prepare for our collective future. Because without an all-embracing vision, there will be no future for anyone.

Re: ESGVCH Bridge Program Since 1998 when the East San Gabriel Valley Coalition for the Homeless moved its offices and our Emergency Assistance Center (EAC) from the city of Covina to Hacienda Heights, homeless people from all parts of the San Gabriel Valley have been drawn to the EAC primarily by word-of-mouth. They come to the EAC for food, clothing, showers, hygiene kits, service referrals, tap cards, and, in some cases, motel vouchers. Over the years, these motel voucher...s have been reserved for homeless families with children. A significant number of these vouchers have been for a 3-to-5-day duration. A select few of these families have been enrolled in the EAC-supervised Bridge Program which consists of a long-term motel voucher commitment (90 to 180 days). In the interest of achieving our predetermined goals, the families selected for Bridge must demonstrate a good potential for self-sufficiency based on existing income and the opportunity for income enhancement. Case management is critical for the creation and maintenance of the family budget, which enables the family to save the first and last month rent as well as to stabilize the family in terms of education, nutrition, medical care, transportation, benefit eligibility and employment. Once enrollment is established, the ESGVCH case worker determines a monthly payment/ savings amount that will be held and returned upon their exit from the Bridge Program. In addition to case management, the ESGVCH assists the enrolled family with food, clothing, baby items, tutoring, resume building, obtaining child care and other services they may require. The primary role of ESGVCH is, to the extent possible, ensure the families success in obtaining and maintaining permanent housing. Recent experience has shown that most of these families transition to permanent housing, usually in the form of an apartment, after 90 to 180 days in the Bridge Program. Current funding? The EAC operates on a yearly budget. All income for the operation accrues from donations, private and public. When the basic operational needs of the EAC are met by these contributions, the funds that remain are devoted to the Bridge Program vouchers and the short-term vouchers. ESGVCH includes about $40,000 in its yearly budget for the Bridge Program, but this total is entirely dependent on the donations received during the fiscal year. Funding is a struggle, a hope, and a prayer every year. My hope is that this letter will provide you with a better understanding of our Bridge Program and will encourage you to help us expand our funding sources.

St. John Vianney ( Hacienda Heights, Ca.) needs items for the Homeless Winter Shelter for Jan 15th-Jan 31st Below is a list of the items that are needed by our clients. Call the East San Gabriel Valley Coalition for the Homeless office at 626-333-7204 to arrange a time for delivery. Thank you.... Personal Care Items These are hygiene items that should be placed in a plastic bag: Nail Clippers Lip Balm Deodorant/antiperspirant Toothpaste and Toothbrushes Razors Soap Shampoo Conditioner Hair gel/grease Hair Brushes/combs Cotton Swabs Clothing Items New Tube Socks New Underwear (Boxers) New Women’s Undergarments (Sports Bras and Plus Sizes) Men’s Pants (especially sizes 34 44) XL, XXL, XXXL Men’s Shirts Men’s Tennis Shoes Size 8 and Higher Pajamas, Tops and Bottoms

Final East San Gabriel Valley Coalition for the Homeless 2019-220 Winter Shelter & Bus Schedule.

Excellent Article by Fr. Ron Rolheiser on Giving OUR NEED TO SHARE OUR RICHES WITH THE POOR We need to give away some of our own possessions in order to be healthy. Wealth that is hoarded always corrupts those who possess it. Any gift that is not shared turns sour. If we are not generous with our gifts we will be bitterly envied and will eventually turn bitter and envious ourselves....Continue reading

The East San Gabriel Valley Coalition for the Homeless will be having its Winter Shelter 2019-2020 beginning Dec 1st 2019-March 17th, 2020. We would appreciate your financial support, donating items and voluntary time. Please contact churches. Thank you for caring our homeless men and women clients.

What is your most humiliating experience while homeless? Ian Williams, Formerly homeless in the UK Begging. I've detailed in many other posts why I stopped accepting food donations, and at one point I was literally starving to death. I was desperate, so I resorted to begging.... I woke up earlier than usual and made my way down into the town centre, and got a prime spot immediately in front of the main shopping centre entrance, and waited for people to start arriving. What happened next was 12 hours of hell. I had the worst day of my life, by far. During those 12 hours, I was constantly spat on, kicked, had two separate people throw milkshakes over me, was called every name under the sun and more besides, had people tell their kids I was a dirty old man (I was barely out of my teens at the time), told I was a drug addict, had people literally scream at me at the top of their lungs, berate me, accuse me of indecent assault, heard people tell their friends they had seen me selling myself in the town's red light district (that never happened before you ask) and a lot more besides. My crime? Asking politely if they could spare a coin or two so I could get a meal that evening. And I really was polite. I made sure to say please and thank you, I accepted when they said no or told me they didn't have any money despite me seeing the outline of it in their skinny jeans, or hearing it clink around in their jackets, and I bit my tongue when they told me to fuck off. My earnings at the end of the worst day of my life? Less than 50p. Not even enough to buy a chocolate bar, let alone a meal. I don't care how desperate I get in the future, I will never, ever, try begging again. Once was more than enough. See more