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Blog
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Elk Grove Citizen
By Lance Armstrong Citizen Staff Writer
The Elk Grove Winter Sanctuary (EG WINS), a program dedicated to providing temporary, emergency shelter for Elk Grove's homeless during the coldest time of each year, has returned for its fourth year. This year, the program runs through March 4.
A joint effort with local churches, EG WINS is a 12-week program of the Elk Grove Homeless Assistance Resource Team (Elk Grove HART).
Fred Bremerman, a board member of Elk Grove HART and a former management analyst for the Cosumnes Community Service District, described the idea behind the founding of the shelter, which serves homeless individuals who are at least 18 years old.
"Four years ago, we realized there were homeless people in Elk Grove that did not have a place to be safe (overnight) and get a warm meal," he said. "We could serve them downtown, but most people are afraid of that and they also don't have transportation. So, we figured we had better do something to serve those (homeless) in our community."
Bremerman added that volunteers of the Elk Grove Food Bank initiated the efforts of beginning the shelter.
Each year, the program functions through the assistance of about $4,000 in donations that are raised through churches and individuals in the community.
Bremerman said that the shelter is also aided by many volunteers, who feel the satisfaction of serving others.
"This is mentoring, this is friendship, this is helping them make a connection with real people," he said. "And that's good for them and it's good for our volunteers. There's a lot of satisfaction in serving others and this is one way to do that."
As part of Elk Grove HART, the Winter Sanctuary also introduces its guests to housing and other resources.
Through ELK Grove HART, two transitional homes exist in Elk Grove. They are Grace House for individuals and Meadow House for families. Guests are housed at no cost for six to nine months while they seek employment, learn budgeting skills, receive mentoring, and stabilize their lives.
The homes of this program were purchased by the city of Elk Grove, and are operated by Self Help Housing. Elk Grove HART provides the operating costs for both homes.
The Winter Sanctuary is currently serving six to nine guests nightly.
Bremerman noted that based on past experience, these numbers are likely to increase this year. If necessary, as many as 20 guests can be accommodated through the program each night.
Guests check in at the Elk Grove United Methodist Church at 8986 Elk Grove Blvd. on a nightly basis from 5:30 to 6 p.m.
These guests are transported from that church to another church, which provides a warm meal and overnight accommodations in a safe environment away from the cold temperature of the winter night.
Altogether, 10 local churches are participating in the program. Each of those churches dedicates one to two weeks for housing and feeding homeless guests.
Bremerman noted that the warm environment of the currently assisting church is helping several guests overcome common colds.
"We have a number of guests who are working through winter colds right now, and it's a lot easier to get over a cold when you're sleeping indoors than it is sleeping outdoors or in your car," he said. "In our program, we also have cold medication.
"A lot of times people can't afford those. Sometimes it's the little things in life: a good meal, a warm place to rest your head, a cough medication. Those things are important."
Bremerman added that EG WINS offers its guests more than a meal, a place to stay and over-the-counter medication.
"We also give them something else that is even more important, and that's self respect," he said. "We love them unconditionally, and in doing that we help them remain human. Here, they get a chance to communicate with people and they're inside and feeling normal. It's a start on the road to recovery."
Those who are interested in supporting the Winter Sanctuary can make a monetary donation through the website, ElkGroveHART.org, or by calling (916) 623-5858.
EG WINS is also holding its "Flapjack Fundraiser" on Saturday, Jan. 21 from 8 to 10 a.m. at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, 8701 Elk Grove-Florin Road. Tickets are $10 each or free for children 2 and younger, and are available by calling (916) 689-7300.
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Cathy O'Neal (center, right)
A message from HART's President:
Cathy knew how I felt about her, I loved her. I would often kid her saying that I wanted to be like her when I grew up. What’s that look like? A godly woman who saw the pain of others the way Christ sees them. To care for them when they needed support, to walk with them when they were lonely, to carry them when they could no longer walk. She even set a beautiful example of how to be a good wife, shutting down the clothes closet at noon so she could go home and fix lunch for Mike each day.
When Mike died, we had lunch and I asked her how she had survived first the tragic loss of her daughter and then, her beloved husband. She said grief could defeat her, or she could use it to motivate her. She worked tirelessly, not only for organizations like the Clothes Closet and Food Bank, the St. Vincent de Paul Society and HART, but she those hurting on a personal level. She often paid the homeless to do odd jobs for her, always feeding them lunch afterwards. She took in the cat of a homeless girl so she could go to rehab. She would spend the night - all night - with the homeless during winter sanctuary. She worked with the police to send a young homeless woman back to her mom.
Elk Grove is a better city because of Cathy. To say she will be missed simplifies the tremendous loss of the most selfless, openhearted and giving person I have ever known. While her time here on earth has come to an end, she leaves a beautiful legacy.
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Members of the Rotary Club of Elk Grove installed a swing set, play house, playground mulch and stepping stones into the backyard of a transitional house for homeless families in Elk Grove on Saturday. The backyard will be enjoyed by 4 families that currently occupy the house. Funding for the materials came from the Rotary Club of Elk Grove and the Rotary district 5180 Foundation.
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By Tracy Rivera
@RiveraTracyM
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Not many people can say they’ve been touched by an angel; Amy* believes her family has been touched by several. The young family of five are moving from Meadows House, a live-in program for homeless families, to an apartment after spending the last year homeless. It won’t take long, all their possessions fit neatly in 10 boxes.
How does a family become homeless? “Gradually,” Amy assured me. We settled into the communal office, a slight hum in the air from the computer running in the corner. They’ve shared this house with three other families over the last six months. “It’s been one interesting adventure.” She tucked a leg under her flowing skirt and sank into the couch. Pink cheeks and damp hair speak of a recent shower.
The family does not take running, heated water for granted. “It used to take three gallons of water to shower behind the van in the parking lot.” Amy had to boil water on a camp stove to wash the children.
“Our first night in Meadows House we took turns in the shower. We spent over an hour and a half and never ran out of hot water.”
Amy and Paul married eight years ago, a young couple full of hope and promise. They were making it through the recession, “barely squeezing by,” when her dad offered to let them move back home. It seemed like a good idea. They’d be able to combine resources and save a little money.
The situation deteriorated until Amy and Paul began to fear for the safety of their children. “Even now it makes me nauseous thinking about it. The [domestic violence] was more than I could deal with. So we left.”
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With no recent rental history, limited inventory and exorbitant Sacramento County prices, the family could not find housing. “We realized if we kept staying there the money [Paul] was making would go straight to the hotel.”
The Smiths moved into their 2013 Sienna Minivan in June of 2015.
The kids had fun “camping” and spent time outside in the mild spring. However, the Sacramento region goes from mild to scorching overnight. “During those 100 degree days we went to indoor play structures.”
Amy remembers many nights the children couldn’t sleep until ten or eleven because of the heat. The family sat in the stifling van with the kids crying, “Momma, it’s hot,” as beads of sweat collected on their temples.
Again, Amy assumed it would only be for a short while. Paul made good money working construction. Amy stayed with the children in the van and searched for housing. Several promising rentals fell through at the last minute. “You keep going. Putting one foot in front of the other. There were definitely days that I wanted to just sit down and cry, and I’m sure there were days that I did. But we did it for the children.” Amy paused. “Those babies are worth everything. Everything. They are my everything.”
Amy recalls one night they parked off Grant Line road. “Five miles from anywhere.” Around 2am bright lights flooded the van as the sound of gravel crunched under heavy tires. They woke up to a tow truck parked next to them.
A man tapped on the window and Amy’s stomach clenched. “I can see you’re sleeping with your kids in the car. It’s gotta be hard. But your van’s up for repossession.” Amy leaned forward. She explained how the driver jeopardized his own job to help them. “Get in your van and drive away. Take a left at the stop sign. I’m going to take a right. Don’t park back here again.”
“We drove, and we cried. And felt so thankful because he could have taken our van five miles from nothing on Grant Line road. We could have been standing there with our babies and our stuff in a pile. He was an angel.”
After a couple months living in the Sienna it became more difficult to make the payments. They bought a 1988 Chevy Cargo van. “We set it up almost like a crappy motorhome.” Amy laughed. “It worked.” They slept in the Cargo van and used the Sienna for transportation.
Amy remembers meeting another angel who orchestrated a turning point. She dropped Paul off at work and took the children to a park. “It was one of the worst days I was having, sitting in the front seat, crying my eyes out. The kids bouncing around the back and this lady walks up.” She laughed as she remembers thinking, There’s a whole parking lot, why are you parking next to me? She tried to cool her puffy eyes as the lady approached.
“I’ve seen you here a couple times and I’m pretty sure you’re homeless. Do you guys need any food?”
The plain-spoken assessment took Amy off guard. “We are. But we have our ice chest full of goodies. We have everything we need.”
The lady pulled out a phone and called Debbie Schoeneshoefer, the president of Homeless Assistance Resource Team (HART). She handed the phone to Amy, who, still slightly dazed, confessed they were living in a van.
The hope of resources lifted her despair. “It made that one day, that bad day turn around. I wish I knew who she was so I could thank her.”
When I spoke to Debbie she explained the kind of bravery it took for Amy to admit living in a vehicle. “A lot of people are ashamed of their situation and fearful their children might be taken away.”
Debbie remembers meeting the family at the food bank. They were ideal candidates for the HART program. “Our mission is to break the cycle of poverty through counseling, financial planning, and mentorship.” HART volunteers arranged for the family to park behind the United Methodist Church. “People don’t think about it, but you get the Police banging on the car window in the middle of the night, it’s scary.”
The church parking lot provided safety for the children and a bit of normalcy through routine. Amy felt grateful. “It was comforting to have the home base to come back to every night.” Unfortunately, a complaint from a neighbor triggered a police report, which alerted the towing company. Amy lifted both brows and one shoulder. She chuckled, “We hoped we were smarter than [the towing company]. Obviously not.”
It happened in the middle of the night. Amy and Paul woke the next morning with the Sienna gone. Paul said, “Did you move the van?” Then looking around the small lot. “Did I move the van?”
That moment still makes her laugh. “He’s a hoot.”
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That wasn’t the end of their bad day.
The Chevy blew a head gasket on the return trip. “It was a miserably hot day, we had almost no food with us, no phones and our oldest was waiting to be picked up from school.”
Amy said it was Paul’s worst day. “He jogged over a mile before he found someone with a phone. In the space of 24 hours we lost both vehicles.”
A friend called AAA and had the Smith’s cargo van towed back to the church parking lot. They spent the months before moving into the Meadow’s House without transportation.
The family experienced another setback when Paul lost his job. Thankfully, two days later Amy was hired through a temp agency to substitute at a school in Davis. “That affected the kids more than being homeless. Not having mommy there.” She went from being a stay-at-home parent to gone for up to 12 hours a day.
Public transport from Elk Grove to Davis required a five-step process and 2 1/2 hours each way. She said there were many days she didn’t see the children awake. But, “their happiness is the reason we kept going and doing what we needed to do.”
Paul biked their six-year-old daughter over a mile to school every day. The baby in a bike trailer and the toddler in a child seat. When asked about days that it rained, “We wore coats and got wet.” The staff at Florence Markofer Elementary School gifted the family a new bike trailer and funds to help get the family’s van running. More angels.
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“You meet a family like this, who work hard, don’t have substance abuse issues, and could be anyone’s neighbor. It shatters common misconceptions of what homelessness looks like.”
When asked how it feels to see the Smith family ready to step into their future, Debbie said, “It’s a privilege. It’s the most important, rewarding privilege. There just aren’t words to express how happy that makes me.”
What Amy remembers most about their year without a home is not the weather extremes; not trying to figure out where the next meal would come from; how to afford diapers, take a shower, get to work. She remembers the safety net of people who stepped in and showed them kindness. “There is more good in the world than most people realize.”
The family became homeless in June of 2015. One year later they prepare to settle into their new apartment. When asked what’s next, Amy said it’s her dream to get a degree in Early Childhood Development and become a teacher. She wants to give back. Be an angel in someone else’s life. “Our goal has always been to be happy, to bring joy, to be excited - to be with the kids.”
Paul traveled extensively as a child, spending many years in third-world countries. Eventually he’d like to show his children the broader world around them.
When asked if there are words of advice or encouragement for others facing their situation, Amy said, “Find things that give you joy. Without joy, life is not worth it.”
There are people who jump into the trenches of humanity to improve the slice of life given others. They are angels, and they’re all around us.
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For more information on HART, or to learn how you can be an angel, please visit www.elkgrovehart.org
*Names of family members have been changed.
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Seldom does one meet a man the caliber of Ed Kelly. For this reason, we are sad to see him step down as the President of HART (Homeless Assistance Resource Team) as he moves out of the area. He has been an asset to our organization in so many ways. He handled all of the technology and filings, from creating our website to filing for our nonprofit status with the Secretary of State.
But what makes Ed truly stand out among people is his humble attitude of service. He has walked with many of our homeless here in Elk Grove, caring for them through their backsliding, patiently waiting for them to turn back around, ready to try again. His patience gave many, 2nd, 3rd and 10th chances, just as many as it took for them to succeed. This made many of them dedicated, lifelong friends, anxious to pay it forward as Ed always encouraged them to do.
Just last week, we learned that Ed left his family on Christmas Day to deliver two bikes to an unsuspecting grandmother who couldn't afford bikes for her grandchildren. This selflessness was no surprise to us. In fact, Ed is missing his last HART meeting to take one of his homeless friends to his mental health appointment. We salute such beautiful dedication.
Ed's no nonsense, "just get it done" attitude has not only helped many of the homeless in Elk Grove, but has helped HART as an organization grow into a strong, solid nonprofit. He played a significant role in the opening of both of our houses; the Grace House for single people and the Meadow House for homeless families. He has been a strong advocate for programming that went beyond just giving them a place to rest their heads, but moved the residents in these houses up and out of homelessness.
And of course, in Ed Kelly's style, though he is moving out of the area he assures us that he is only a phone call away. We sincerely wish him the best life has to offer and know that he will continue with his heart of service because that is just who he is. God bless you, our friend.
- The HART Board and Committee Members
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Elk Grove HART is featured in the current issue of Ardent for Life Business magazine.
Ardent for Life is a magazine created to ignite ideas and enrich the lives of the contemporary woman. - www.ardentforlife.net
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Thank you for your support, but remember we still need your assistance.
This beautiful 7 bedroom house will be home for up to 3 families plus a house monitor. The unique configuration of this house is perfectly setup for each family to have 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. Our desire is to help these families get out of homelessness and back on their feet, but we need your help. It will cost $30,000 a year to operate this house, so your continued support would be greatly appreciated.
One of our goals is to help these families become self-sufficient and establish themselves back into being productive in society. The greatest need is for them to find gainful employment and begin building stable lives. If you have employment opportunities or job training that may help please contact us.