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.
Thank you In-N-Out for the generous donations of your gift duffle bag with In-N-Out gear and gift cards in support of our Taco Tuesday Easter Fundraiser! Items will be part of our raffle prizes for our fundraiser March 7th at Miguel’s Baja Grill. We are inviting you to join us the 1st Tuesday of every month in support of a great cause . We are always accepting donations and raffle prizes. Thank you to everyone for your generous donations . Your support helps further our mission in our domestic violence shelters and programs. For more information contact Sylvia 760-442-0649 sylvia@familyassist.org
Our participants have been working on Self-Love in Art Healing. They are really enjoying it and are learning to love themselves. They feel stronger and are learning to have more self-esteem and becoming more independent. One of their favorite quotes is – My own love for myself is important.
We are presenting a Financial Empowerment and Credit Coaching Class. This is our second time presenting this class and we are extremely excited about the overwhelming outcome that has been received. The class runs for 10 weeks every Thursday from 11am-12pm on zoom. The class started on February 9th, and will run until May 4th. So far, we have had over 40 people attend the classes. In these classes we go over the meaning of Financial Literacy, Budgeting and Saving, How to Build or Repair Credit, and Homeownership. This class is totally free and is open to everyone. If you would like to sign up please contact Nalisha Anderson (760) 223-7787 nalisha@familyassist.org
Hope House would like to Thank Sovereign Way Christian Church. They invited us over for a Valentine’s Day event. Our participants had a fun day of shopping, they were so excited to have lots of goodies, coffee and tea. They were able to shop for themselves and their children from the racks of clothing, purses, and shoes. Our participants were welcomed to anything! They even gave them flowers, journals, and little bibles. Our participants were very thankful for everyone who made this special event possible.
International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8th as a focal point in the women’s rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women. The proud women at the Community Center will be wearing purple and green in honor of this day. Join us and wear purple and green on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 to support the honored women in your life!
On January 20, 2021, Kamala Harris became the first woman, the first black person, and the first South Asian-American to become U.S. Vice President. In 2016, Harris was the first Indian-American woman to be elected to the United States Senate and in 2010, Harris became the first African-American and first woman to serve as California’s attorney general. Kamala is a California native; she was born in Oakland to immigrant parents (her mom was from India and her dad was from Jamaica). As a Howard University alumna, Harris is the first graduate of a historically black college or university to hold the vice presidency.
Thank you, Vice president Harris, for inspiring us young girls specifically brown and black girls to dream. In you we see a super hero, a possibility and an aspiration. Representation matters. It matters to young black and brown girls who have not seen themselves in positions of power. It matters to young black and brown girls whose race and gender have been weaponized against them in ways that they might not even see or know – yet.
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.
W-2s and 1099s are in the mail which means one thing, it’s TAX SEASON! Did you know that Family Assistance Program can help you file your basic 1040 and CA State tax returns….for FREE? Well if you didn’t know, now you do! Call or email Jobi for your appointment today (760) 843-0701 or jobi@familyassist.org
The Victorville Community Center will be hosting the San Bernardino County FREE tax preparation service on March 30, 2023. Please call the number listed above to schedule your appointment.
February allowed Open Arms the opportunity to reflect and embrace Black History Month with clients. Having the chance to discuss prominent figures pertaining to Black History allowed for our staff and clients to discuss an important part of history. Saturdays focused on art therapy, having clients express their emotions through the art of color and brush strokes. Clients have really taken to this activity and have been taking their paintings home to hang in their rooms. Our Valentine’s Day paint n’ snack activity was a great success, clients were gracious enough to share some of their paintings to decorate our center walls. For the month of March our groups will focus on Women’s History Month, dedicating time to discuss prominent women figures in our history.
We are happy to announce Open Arms will be hosting a resource fair on March 23rd from 12pm – 3pm. We are eager to share we have over 15 vendors registered for the event, ranging from health resources, employment, education, and housing. We will also have a raffle drawing throughout the event, as well as food and clothes drive. We look forward to providing the community with a wide range of resources and opening our center for everyone to come and see the great things Open Arms has to offer.
Last month we announced the privilege of being awarded a second round of funding in both the Warm Hand-Off (WHO) and Rental Assistance (RA) grants and the start of a new grant period, beginning March 1st. But, as we enter a new grant period for this second round of funding we reflect on the achievements made during the life of the initial grant, which was from August 2019 to February 2023.
Those achievements include:
Grant Achievements
1. Paid $1,921,899 in rent payments for 373 participants to place them into a new home or keep them in their current home.
2. Provided $29,983 worth of essential appliances and furniture.
3. Housed 135 participants and 34 accompanying children in need of rapid rehousing due to homelessness or threat of homelessness.
4. Provided case management, housing navigation, and landlord mediation, for 373 participants. Advocating for each participant throughout the process of securing suitable and stable housing.
5. Provided employment assistance resulting in employment of 193 participants.
6. Provided emergency services in the form of food, clothing, identification assistance (CA ID, birth certificates and social security cards), transportation, bus passes, hygiene products
7. Provided employment clothing for job interviews to 29 participants.
Of course, none of this could have been accomplished were it not for the hard work of our team members, like Case Manager Ana Arteaga, who took in our first “pre-release contact”, Claudia from Central Institute for Women (CIW) in Corona. We initially received a letter from Claudia prior to being released asking for assistance to help her parole from incarceration. We provided Claudia with a letter of support letting her and the parole board know we had a bed reserved for her in our housing program. Ana coordinated with Claudia to pick her up from CIW when released. Since coming to our program, Claudia has worked hard to overcome the obstacles she faced. With Ana’s full support she has obtained all her essential documents, graduated anger management classes, opened a checking account at a bank and secured gainful employment. Claudia’s goal is to raise $10,000 by the end of her program with Next Step and secure suitable housing for her 4 kids; we are happy to report she is on track to achieve her goals.
Another one of our Rental Assistance Advocates/Case Managers, Adriana Zavala, successfully advocated for her participant, Monique, to be accepted into a home of her very own. This was the first time Monique had lived on her own in her very own home. The landlord was reluctant to approve her for the home due to her background and circumstances, but after explaining the program and how it would benefit them, Adriana successfully advocated for the housing approval. Monique continues to live in her own home and continues to pursue her goals.
As we look towards the future, we are excited to introduce our new WHO Case Manager, Tonya Ward. Tonya comes to us with lived experience as well as much experience having worked in CIW assisting with their inmate programs. We are confident that Tonya will be an asset to our program and will continue to help us make a positive impact in the lives of returning citizens.
Thank you to all of our supporters who have helped us make the Next Step Reentry Program a success. We couldn’t do it without you.
If you or someone you know would like to inquire about our reentry services for a person on Parole or Supervised Probation, please reach out to us at our hotline 909-550-5615 or email us at NextStepReentryServices@familyassist.org
“Hi, my name is Austin. I am 21 years old and I’m currently homeless. The Family Assistance Program has helped me with getting temporary housing so I could have an opportunity to get back on my feet and hopefully move into my own place by the end of the program. They also help me with finding a job as best they can. The Family Assistance Program has helped me in a number of ways. I have a hard time being around people because it makes me anxious and coming to The Fam Spot has really helped me out a lot with that especially! It has helped me sort of break down my walls and make me feel more comfortable being around other people. The Family Assistance Program is a great opportunity to get you the help you need to get back on your feet and give you another chance at life. This program has truly saved me from what could’ve been a very horrible, horrific, stressful situation that I would’ve been in if I hadn’t discovered this program. Shelly is amazing and always puts her clients at the top of her priorities. She has helped me a lot, probably the most. I am very thankful to have this program and the support group that comes with it! Everyone is awesome and they have saved me from a terrifying situation. I have nothing but good things to say about The Family Assistance Program and what they have done for me. They’ve truly helped me in a number of ways and saved me from the worst possible situation I could’ve been in and they continue to help and support me regularly. I’m very grateful for that and the staff that works hard to make sure their clients are in a safe environment where they can focus on themselves and grow as a person without having to worry about where they’re going to sleep at night. I’m truly thankful for everything that The Family Assistance Program has done and continues to do for me! I have no idea where I would be right now if not for them!”
This month has been very exciting and productive for My Place. Our youth were able to do outreach and volunteer in our community. We implemented life skills groups including making resumes, grocery shopping, learning how to pump gas and nutrition groups were a success. There were several outings this month including a trip to a hockey game, the Science Center in Los Angeles, snowboarding at Mountain High, park trips, hiking, lake trips, barbecues, and an outing to Dave and Busters. Our youth helped decorate our shelter for Valentines day and Black History Month. We look forward to March and hope we can continue to make our shelter feel like a home for our clients.
We have a lot in store for our clients from our trivia nights to all of the outdoor activities we set up for our youth. The staff have done a great job implementing numerous groups, like life skills and nutrition. They have also been providing outings such as going to the movies, mall, and bowling. Our youth have also been enjoying Ms. Lynne from Open Arms coming out to talk to them about the dangers of drugs and what they can do to their bodies. We have been encouraging our youth to go to school and help them get enrolled. Some even want us to help them get involved with other independent living programs as they are coming of age.
Welcome Home LGBTQIA+ TAY house is currently in the works of a PRIDE event for June 23rd! More details yet to come as we collect LGBT friendly sources and vendors for this momentous occasion. We are excited to share that we’ve already had our first successful exit after only being open for two months. Furthermore, we’ve had two clients score jobs this month! With the help of on-site advocates, as well as Christopher from Arrowhead United Way, they were equipped with rides to and from interviews. Our case manager, Oscar, is working side-by-side with clients to help them monitor and build their savings. He has implemented forms of positive reinforcement to make sure that our clients stay on top of their goals.
The case manager has spoken with many different organizations this month, including; Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance, Rainbow Collaborative, Redlands Charitable Resource Coalition and the LGBT DBH subcommittee. Our goal is to spread the word to ensure that every homeless or at-risk queer person knows that they have a safe space available to them at Welcome Home. Even if we are at max capacity, we have many sources available to them as well as a waitlist. Stay tuned for more information in regards to the upcoming PRIDE event!
We were extremely honored when Southwest Gas Corporation picked Family Assistance Program as one of the local non-profits that the employees can donate to in their Fuel for Life Employee Giving program but we were blown away by the generosity of the local employees that pledged $12,791.60 to Family Assistance Program! These much needed funds will help the most vulnerable members of our community. We appreciate the continued and ongoing support from Southwest Gas, their foundation, and their employees!
Family Assistance Program is honored to be among, Mary’s Mercy Center, Inc., Lestonnac Free Clinic, Step Up on Second – San Bernardino, Lutheran Social Services of Southern California, and Legal Aid Society of San Bernardino and receive this grant that improves the health of the greater San Bernardino community! Join us in thanking Dignity Health for providing this grant to these local organizations and thank them for the support they provide to these organizations helping struggling families, victims of abuse, and homeless access to housing, medical, dental, and behavioral health services.
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
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
