Office: 760-843-0701
24/7 Hotline: 760-949-4357
We have fundraisers lined up to raise money for the Tiny Home Village and Youth Drop-In Center Expansion.
Watch a hockey game and raise money for a good cause! Buy tickets for you, your family, your friends, and enjoy a fun Friday night watching hockey with us! Chuck a pucks can be purchased on site. This is a family friendly, fun event!
All proceeds will go towards the tiny home village & youth drop in expansion.
Contact shelly@familyassist.org for more information.
2023 is rolling along and we are now in February! February is Black History Month and we at the Community Center would like to highlight Frances Thompson, the first known Black Transgender female. Frances Thompson (1840-1876), although born into slavery in Alabama and assigned male at birth, by the age of 26 Frances Thompson was freed and living according to her own gender identity in a booming Black community in Memphis, TN. She kept her face clean-shaven, wore brightly colored dresses, and took in washing for pay. During the deadly Memphis Riot of 1866, Frances and her roommate, another Black woman, were brutally robbed and gang-raped by several white men which included two police officers. Frances and her roommate boldly testified at a committee hearing held by the US Congress, Frances stated that her and her roommate DID NOT consent to their brutal raping. This was and is huge for Black women because just a few years prior they didn’t have rights to their own bodies as enslaved women. A Black woman in 1866 fought bravely to live her truth against unthinkable peril and odds, we at C Street Community Center would like to honor and shed light on a hero this month, Ms. Frances Thompson.
Don’t forget, the C Street Community Center is still offering FREE Notary Services!
This service is available Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Please call Jobi at 760-843-0701 for more information.
Here at Open Door we’ve been accomplishing a lot of things. We have the 40 Hour Human Trafficking Training happening the month of February. Open Door has a lot of great presenters, like Homeland Security, FBI, Partners Against Violence, etc.
We attended the Tacos and Taxes event at San Bernardino Valley College with Assembly Member James C. Ramos. We were able to collaborate with a lot of agencies and helped many people file their taxes for free.
We were invited to Redlands University to educate the students on signs of Human Trafficking. They feel Human Trafficking is happening within their college. They believe with Open Door’s help to speak and present at Redlands University the students will be more aware if someone is trying to recruit them.
With doing all these presentations and tabling, we get the opportunity to get the word out there, spread awareness, and educate the County of San Bernardino on signs of Human Trafficking.
One of our Adult Advocates here at the Open Door is educating the community on the dangers of Fentanyl, and has taken it all the way to the state capital! Here are some words from Lisa, “My name is Lisa Wytcherley, I have been advocating to public mainly young adult and high school students about the dangers of Fentanyl. This all started when my 20 year old daughter was found unresponsive at her friends house due to her taking a pill that contain fentanyl to kill 5 people. My daughter passed 2 hours after she was found. After the trauma team did everything they could to try and save her. My main goal is to educate and prevent anymore deaths, by help passing bill so the drug dealers can be more accountable for their actions.”
A new year brings renewed possibilities; for Next Step it brings a renewed grant with new funding, as well as other new things to be excited about. This new year, Next Step Reentry has the privilege of being awarded a second round of funding for both the Warm Hand-Off and Rental Assistance grants. We did so well on the first round of Rental Assistance that we were first in line to be awarded the Rental Assistance grant. With these new funds, we have a new goal of providing our program participants the ability to rent a room right out of incarceration or with a referral to our program.
Although still in the planning and approval phase, we envision using the Rental Assistance funds to rent a house in which we will provide participants the opportunity to lease a room, free of judgement of their past and eliminating the barrier to housing they would have had if trying to rent anywhere else. This will accomplish three things: 1, provide another option to returning citizens when released from incarceration, 2, it will provide immediate housing for the participant to get them off the streets or keep them from going there in the first place with the security and peace of mind of a real lease agreement, 3, it will build a positive rental history for the participant. During their participation in the program, they will receive all the same assistance we have always provided our housing participants.
The bigger goal is to employ the Shared Housing Model, we are all getting acquainted with, along with the approach we are already taking with our program, to achieve a stable situation with all the participants in the house so that we can negotiate the transfer of the master lease to said participants. But for now, and until we get the go-ahead to move forward with our plan, we will still be providing rental subsidies as we have through-out our first round of funding.
In addition to this, the Next Step Reentry team would like to welcome its new team member, Sara Kruzan. You may remember her as the keynote speaker at the agencies Gala last year. She brings with her much experience and even more passion for providing the best program we can to our participants and the reentry population as a whole.
We are excited about these new possibilities and are looking forward to see how they will impact our program participants in a positive way. If you or someone you know could benefit from our services, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Erick or Vanessa from Next Step. ErickB@familyassist.org, VanessaH@familyassist.org.
Our outdoor activities are in full swing. We have been snowboarding and hiking. We have several activities scheduled for February so please check out our calendar.
There were a few exciting, healthy, and informational activities happening at My Place this month. For starters, we had the pleasure of taking the youth over to Fam Spot for a very informational presentation concerning opioids given by Mr. Frank Kelley and the No Drugs America program. Mr. Kelley spoke to the youth about the dangers and the possible consequences that can happen both short and long term. Our staff also took youth to a new arcade that just opened, clients were really excited about that. Since we’ve been having a warmer weather, the staff decided it would be a good idea to have a B-B-Q for the youth. Staff barbequed delicious meat items and side dishes. Our clients had a wonderful time, they ate, played board games, and played some basketball amongst each other and staff. We also had an amazing and healthy hike on the Pacific Coast Trails in Hesperia. Youth as well as staff were able to breathe clean fresh air and contemplate mother nature’s beautiful scenery. And last, but not least, My Place is looking forward to welcoming Valentine’s Day with a few festive decorations.
We are currently hiring full and part-time for many open positions.
Click here to see all of the open positions at Family Assistance Program:
If you are interested in applying for any of our open positions, email your resume to hr@familyassist.org
If you want to help the most at-risk members of your community, you can donate to Family Assistance Program:
Donate– Opens in a new window.
If you are interested in donating items or anything other than a monetary donation you can email angela@familyassist.org
Family Assistance Program envisions a community where each person has a loving, nurturing home life. We provide the tools necessary to create healthy interpersonal relationships, economic empowerment, and stable housing.
15075 7th Street, Victorville, CA 92395
Main Office: (760) 843-0701
Toll Free: (866) 770-7867
