6fdadmin
Direct from Darryl
I think we all sometimes think back and consider how our lives would have been different if some small thing had been different. For the keynote speaker at our gala, she has had plenty of those. One that I am most happy about is that she happened to sit next to Tracey Rick at a class at Valley College. The two of them got to know each other and Tracey told her about the Family Assistance Program and a job opening we had. Yvette applied and has now worked with us for over 10 years. Yvette is an amazing person, and I am excited that she will share her story for us at our gala this year.
Our gala is different than most. We honor our clients, staff, and a community champion. We focus on people who are working to make the world a better place, regardless of where they may have started. I hope you will all be able to join us as we celebrate successes. And, since it is a circus theme, it is an opportunity to wear clothes you would not normally wear. I am looking forward to dressing as ringmaster, definitely an outfit that I could not wear to most galas.
Thank You Life Church
Thank you to The Life Church – Victorville and their “High Desert We Love You” program for volunteering to beautify three of our Transitional Age Youth houses to make them beautiful and safe homes for our sheltered youth! The homes look so beautiful after all the repairs and new decorations! The volunteers came out on August 22nd and 24th and worked extremely hard to beautify our homes for the homeless youth in the High Desert.
We are pleased to report that several of the clients spoke about the redecorating and painting and they were very happy with the results and appreciated the effort. The youth absolutely love the new look! We look forward to working with Life Church in the future!
Hope House
October is Domestic Violence Awareness month which also means it is time for our annual Walk To End Domestic Violence.
Come out on October 25th and show your support, ride with the sea of purple as we show our support for those we have lost and those still going through abusive relationships. We are also taking donations of water, food items, snacks for the walkers, or monetary donations; if you are interested please contact Sylvia Romo at sylvia@familyassist.org
The Hope House Shelter has been talking about healthy eating habits with clients this month and helping the parents in the program find fun ways to feed the kids fruits and veggies. Clients have been very receptive to the information and recipes that the staff have provided to them. One client even expressed wanting have her own garden one day to grow fresh fruits and vegtables to create those recipes. While in the shelter, clients have the ability to focus on themselves and build skills they never had the opportunity to work on before. Often times in an abusive relationship, you aren’t allowed to cook what or how you want; you have to cook what the abuser likes or wants. Now free from that, these individuals have a chance to explore the culinary world and try new things, and Hope House Staff is in total support of that!
The Hope House Empowerment Center wants to welcome Tiffany and Tasha to the team!
Tiffany is the new HUD Case Manager for the Program, and Tasha is the new HUD Housing Navigator. We are so glad to have them here and can’t wait to see them grow with the Empowerment Center.
The Hope House Empowerment Center and shelter knows that it is only September, but is it ever too soon to start Christmas shopping? We have started our yearly Adopt-A-Family for Christmas fundraiser and we need your help! This fundraiser ensures that all of the kids, moms, dads, and youth who are part of our program get to have gifts under the tree on Christmas morning.
Are You Ready?
To be the next Domestic Violence Advocate in your community? Because we totally think you are ready and we CAN’T WAIT to train you…and did I mention it’s FREE!!! Our next Domestic Violence Advocacy 40-Hour Training is kicking off next month, please see the flyer below for registration information. We can’t wait to see you there!
If you have any questions or would like to donate in some way, please reach out to Sylvia or Tracey at 760-843-0701; or by email sylvia@familyassist.org and tracey@familyassist.org
Don’t forget, the Family Assistance Program 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.
2023 Dreams Come True Gala
Thank you to all of our sponsors for our annual Dreams Come True Gala. It will take place on Saturday, October 7th at the Hilton Garden Inn Conference Center in Victorville. Cocktail hour starts at 4:30 pm.
We are pleased to introduce our guest speaker for the 2023 Dreams Come True Gala, Yvette Abreo, who is a true inspiration. Yvette has overcome incredible odds to achieve great things, and their story is a testament to the power of human determination. We are confident that Yvette will leave us all feeling inspired and motivated.
Thank you to all of our amazing sponsors! If you are interested in sponsoring this event, contact misty@familyassist.org
Welcome Home
Welcome Home opened in December 2022 as a queer-focused Transitional Living Facility. Since opening, Welcome Home has built a network of LGBT-positive resources.
San Bernardino Planned Parenthood has been one of our biggest supporters. Planned Parenthood outreach staff has come to our facility each Friday for a new presentation. The topics range from gender to healthy relationships to STI prevention.
In addition to educational opportunities, clients have had pizza parties, game nights, a trip to L.A., and swam in Silverwood Lake. Staff have added items to the home gym, including a punching bag and dumbbells. Clients and staff have played basketball at the park nearby.
Oscar Lobos has recently been promoted to Shelter Manager and has become a familiar face on local committees. In August, Welcome Home staff members participated in the monthly LGBT Subcommittee.
Welcome Home would like to take a moment to honor the memory of Lauri Carleton, a store owner who tragically lost her life at the age of sixty-six. She was murdered simply for displaying a pride flag in her window. It is a solemn reminder of the ongoing work that needs to be done to combat discrimination and promote inclusivity for all.
Welcome Home is an LGBT transitional living facility in San Bernardino that focuses on transitional-aged youth, 18 to 24. If you know of anyone suffering from homelessness who might need our services, please reach out to Welcome Home at 909-567-2123 or e-mail us at WelcomeHome@FamilyAssist.org
Open Arms
The number of delicious meals that have been coming out of the Open Arms kitchen this month has been amazing. Our clients have been thriving during our nutritional cooking classes and we are excited to expand our menu. Besides our clients becoming successful in life skill groups, Open Arms has had the opportunity to attend various resource fair events. The collaboration with Operation New Hope for the August resource fair showed great success and we are happy to announce another collaboration for the month of October. The Street Outreach team as well as the Victim of Crime Advocate were able to participate and offer services to those individuals who were affected by the 4th Street Apartment closure.
We would like to touch on a few success stories that have occurred during this month as well. The Street Outreach team has been able to successfully house 6 youths into emergency housing programs. Our Victim of Crime Advocate has been able to reach 18 youths and provide them with assistance. We are extremely happy to announce one of our TAY youths successfully exited our housing program and entered independent living.
Open Arms is excited to announce we have partnered with Community Action Partnership and will have mobile showers at our location every Monday from 9am – 2pm. Please refer clients to come take advantage of this amazing opportunity every Monday.
Open Door
Open Door had an awesome time at the Riverside Pride event at the Convention Center. There were over four thousand people in attendance. We made some great contacts to collaborate with.
We just received an employment contract with Valley Star Community Services. Our Employment Specialist will teach classes on resume building, and job hunting and hold mock interviews for our participants.
Open Door’s youth advocate has been mentoring a CSEC client. In the last 3 months, she has maintained placement and is back in school.
Caroline is our new DV advocate who provides services to the local CFS office. She is also our Financial advocate. If anybody is interested in any of her services, please contact her at Caroline@familyassist.org
FAM Spot
Thank You to Everyone Who Attended the Fiesta in the High Desert
What an amazing Fiesta we had on Friday, September 15th! Tickets sold out and we were able to raise over $6781 for our Tiny Home Village for homeless youth! Since our goal was $10,000 we are closing out the donation on September 30th so help us reach our goal and schedule your donation TODAY.
Hi all from FamSpot and the high desert TAY. We are excited to announce that we have a new location for FamSpot. We have been working on it for a couple weeks to get it up and running to serve our clients. We look forward to being back and serving the youth. We have truly missed seeing them in our day-to-day operations. Please watch out for our announcement to reopen. During the last couple weeks, we have continued to serve the youth in our community at parks, local businesses, schools, and more. We continue to move forward with our school support groups as well as building new relationships to bring more resources to our local schools.
As for our TAY housing, the youth are growing more in their successes. Several have jobs, go to school, and continue to learn to be independent. We would like to give a HUGE thank you to Life Church for making our TAY homes beautiful with new paint and home decor. The clients and staff jumped in to help paint as well. We look forward to working with them in the future.
Please consider scheduling a monthly donation.
Your generosity will ensure that local young people have a place to stay safe after school and in the summertime. It is also one of the only places that connects homeless youth to housing and employment opportunities. Again, we thank you for your support.
And a special shout out to the team of volunteers who stepped in to decorate, cook, and promote this event. Thank you Ahea Llamas, Diana Peñaloza, and mom, Cristina Moncada, and Magali Garcia for your culinary support! Thank you to the FamSpot and TAY housing team members who worked extra hard to make this event possible.
Lastly, thank you to everyone who brought in raffles and donated live at the event. Your generosity is what will help us expand the youth drop-in center, which includes a tiny home village for youth.
We would like to thank our local business community for supporting this event, without you this would not have been possible.
Thank you for Donating!
Courtyard by Marriott Hesperia
Elementum Services Inc
Patterson Print Shops
High Def Entertainment
DJ Juwelz
Ballet Folkloriko Flores del Desierto
CARS Auto Body Shop
Ay Ajos Pickled Garlic
Rudy’s Salsa
Options for Youth Public Charter Schools
Chingona Tacos
Angelitas Quesadillas
Sweet Treats by Bella
Mojave High School ASB Club
High Desert Food Collaborative
Who will be the next to step up and sponsor a tiny home?
You can be a part of the solution to end homelessness by donating to the tiny home village. On behalf of the young people who are going though extreme hardships, we thank you. If you would like to learn more about our program and/or volunteer please contact zazette@familyassist.org.
Stop the Hate
The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Civil Rights, Accessibility and Racial Equity (CARE) Office announced the Family Assistance Program as one of the recipients of the Stop the Hate Funding (STH) for Fiscal Years (FY) 2022-23 and 2023-24. The CDSS allocated $91.4 million in funding. A total of 173 organizations are awarded for the service period of July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2026. Family Assistance Program was awarded $450,000.
“An attack on any of our communities is an attack on everything we stand for as Californians,” said Governor Newsom. “As hate-fueled rhetoric drives increasing acts of bigotry and violence, California is taking action to protect those who are targeted just for being who they are. We’re bolstering our support for victims and anti-hate programs and tackling ignorance and intolerance through education to prevent hate from taking hold in our communities.”
The announcement comes as hate crimes, and racial, religious, sexual orientation, and gender bias events have increased in California. Just this past month, a Southern California shop owner was shot and killed because a rainbow pride flag hung outside her clothing store. And in the first month since Governor Newsom launched the “CA vs Hate” hotline, there have been 180 reports of hate acts across California.
Victims of Crime
Young people aged 14-24 in San Bernardino County: You are not alone if you've experienced:
Domestic or Relationship Abuse
Theft
Bullying
Physical or Sexual Attacks
Illegal Evictions
Hate Crimes
Mistreatment by the Authorities
Family Assistance Program is here to support and advocate for you. If you’ve been victimized or just need someone to talk to, don’t hesitate to call us at 909-571-5659. Together, we can explore your situation, your rights, and find a path forward. Watch the videos on our website to learn more about how we can help you.
Hiring
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
Give
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
We have partnered with Santa’s Sleigh again this year.
Thank Your to Our Community Partners
Join Our Team
Join Our Team
CHECK OUT OUR OPEN POSITIONS
If you are homeless and feel that your civil rights were violated by police or community official please click this link to fill out a form from the ACLU.
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.
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.
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.
This month we celebrate Veterans Day and want to thank our Veterans here at Family Assistance Program.
We are so excited and proud of the 16 new Domestic Violence Advocates that our community has after our latest 40 hour training! Congratulations for your determination and hard work completing this training. We will be hosting our next training, Spanish Domestic Violence 40-Hour Training, in late February of 2023.
C Street Staff has so much to be thankful for and we would like to share it:
Open Arms is excited to celebrate Veterans Day with a BBQ for all to come and enjoy on November 11at 1pm. We will have food, games, and music to help celebrate and honor our veterans.
We are so happy to announce that our keynote speaker for the annual Dreams Come True Gala coming up next month on October 15, 2022 is Sara Kruzan.
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. We will have our annual Break the Silence Walk on October 5th beginning at 10 AM and ending at 3 PM. This will be at our Administration office at 15075 Seventh Street. We are inviting everyone to join us. Please wear Purple to support Domestic Violence. If you are not up for the walk come and hang out with us for the day.
Open Door is having our 40 Hour Human Trafficking Training this month. This training is exciting since we have some new presenters. Thank you to all that registered, contact Bernadette@familyassist.org to get on the waiting list for the next one.
This job puts us in a position to help people. Although we have to keep a professional distance between us and our participants in order to stay objective with the care we are able to provide them, we begin to care for them as we would those in our personal lives. We aren’t always able to help our participants to the extent to which we would like to help them, but it’s great when we are able to assist their progress.
This year, JBAY’s Critical Needs and Opportunity Fund will assist around 1,000 young people who have been in foster care or homeless. One of our youth clients was one of the recipients.
Family Assistance Program participated in the 2022 Hesperia Days Parade on Saturday 9/17. The staff and our youth participants decorated the truck and had banners to display to the thousands of parade watchers sharing about all the great things that Family Assistance Program is doing in the community. They all had a blast and represented in their purple shirts. Great job team, you looked fabulous!
We are currently hiring full and part-time for many open positions.
If you want to help the most at-risk members of your community, you can donate to Family Assistance Program:
The Community Center has been working alongside ROOT to organize the reopening of the Old Town Victorville Street Fair; our anticipated first street fair will start up again in September.
We are so happy to see all of the community support of our annual Dreams Come True Gala coming up on October 15, 2022.
The Family Assistance Program partnered with San Bernardino Valley College and the San Bernardino County Youth Advisory Board to host the inaugural Youth Leadership Summit on Saturday, July 16th from 9:30 am – 3:30 pm. The goal of the summit was to provide a forum for youth who are interested in building their leadership skills and tools. The philosophy of the lead agency, Family Assistance Program, is that it is both important and necessary to make sure that youth were given the same respect that any professional attending a conference would receive, namely, reimbursing them for their time.
Remember Samantha and her owner that we shared with you all in our previous newsletter? We are proud to announce that they now have a home to call their own! Samantha and her owner “Mr. Mann”, came to tell us about their new place and just how happy they are to have a safe place to lay their heads. In conversation we learned that “Mr. Mann” didn’t have a lot or much of anything to go into their new apartment so the Community Center helped him out with some dishes, cookware, utensils, some toilet tissue, and a few blankets that we had received from donations. “Mr. Mann” was over the moon and so appreciative of the items we gave to him and Samantha, and we in turn were so happy to be able to assist them. Good luck “Mr. Mann” and Samantha!
At My Place Youth Shelter we are focused on helping youth from the ages of 11-17 years old. This month we have been able to reunite two youth with their families after hitting hard times. We have also provided shelter for CFS youth. The youth have been participating in trips to Hesperia Lake, pet shops, and the park. We have had barbecues, movie nights, and game nights. In the last month, we started a garden in our backyard to provide therapy to our clients. There has been a donation of several books to start a library, so kids can check out and enjoy some stories. We have been helping youth with resumes and applying to jobs. Two of our youth recently have interviewed to work at Olive Garden and Denny’s. We are planning a beach trip for August and creating more groups for our youth. With school starting back up we will be bringing back our study groups to help with homework and tests. If anyone knows of any youth in need, please refer them to our program.
The Next Step Reentry Team would like to give praise to one of its own: Barbara C.! Barbara is one of our Rental Assistance Advocates and has been working hard not only in her position on the Next Step Reentry Team but also in her off-time. Barbara is a champion for the rights of those affected by their prior criminal background and who are seeking to improve their lives. She was recently interviewed by Senator Sydney K. Kamlager’s office, who represents U.S. senate District 30, to share her personal story of challenge, adversity, as well as triumph over her past and the success she continues to have following her release from incarceration. Barbara will even be traveling to Los Angeles in person to share her story in a recorded interview.
Fam Spot is excited to say that we provided 80 backpacks with school supplies to youth in need. It was great seeing the youth excited to have new supplies for school. We also have several hiking trips coming up, along with BBQ days. Please see the calendar attached. Our LGBTQIA+ support group is here every other Tuesday so please come join us for a safe place to get support. We are in need of art supplies of any kind for art groups the youth are wanting. Please email Rudy at rudy@familyassist.org with any questions regarding art supply.
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. We will have our annual Break the Silence Walk on October 5th beginning at 10 AM and ending at 3 PM. This will be at our Administration office at 15075 Seventh Street. We are inviting everyone to join us. Please wear Purple to support Domestic Violence. If you are not up for the walk come and hang out with us for the day.
The Open Door has been attending different events and facilitating trainings this month. One of The Open Door’s Empowerment Advocates is Myeesha and she has been busy! At the Sheriff’s Academy training, 120 new cadets were trained on how to approach and treat a human trafficking victim. She spends time educating the new cadets on when they are coming in contact with victims, they are not criminals. Myeesha is a powerful speaker, the Sheriff Academy asks for her to come back multiple times a year.
Family Assistance Program in partnership with San Bernardino Valley College hosted the inaugural Youth Leadership Summit on Saturday, July 16th from 9:30 am – 3:30 pm. This event included speeches from keynote speakers California State Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, California State Assembly member James Ramos, and the Executive Director of California Coalition for Youth Jevon Wilkes. The speakers addressed the resources both locally and statewide for youth to advocate for policies that directly impact their lives. They spoke about the past, current, and future policies they’ve worked on to strengthen the resources and rights of youth in San Bernardino County and the State of California. Each speaker spoke about the personal commitment they have to youth voices impact our communities. Over 120 local youth aged 16 – 24 years of age attended this event to learn how you can advocate to fight against youth homelessness and other issues important to youth. It was an all-youth event, created by youth for youth. Forty-one percent of youth homelessness in California occurs in San Bernardino making this topic an important discussion for our community.
Congratulations to the participant Alicia A., on graduating from the Next Step Reentry Housing Program! Alicia was referred to us in August of last year by her probation officer and came to us as a mother fighting every day to improve her life and to regain custody of her 14-month-old son Christopher, who was living with a foster family under CFS supervision. To make things even more difficult, Alicia was also battling for her life as a cancer patient. But you would never know she was ill by her vibrant zeal to overcome her current life challenges. Alicia immediately found a job and began to save money; her health concerns, however, began to affect her several months into her stay with us and she was forced to focus on her health and regaining custody of her son.
Hope House would like to thank Cindy Bostick who is the Executive Director at Todays Women’s Foundation for inviting our participants for another session of Empowering Women for Self Sufficiency class. We are glad to attend in person this year. In the past our participants enjoyed the classes and learned a lot on the different subjects be taught. We appreciate all the women who help to put this on.
Don’t forget, you can still file your taxes until October 17, 2022! If you have any questions or need assistance with filing your taxes, reading correspondence from the IRS, anything tax related…Family Assistance Program is here! Contact Jobi at 
C Street Staff would like to say HAPPY PRIDE MONTH! We here at the C Street Community Center stand with and are behind our LGBTQ+ community. LOVE is LOVE!!!!!
Want to support an HT survivor but don’t know how?
Here in the rental assistance program, we have been very busy helping those struggling to pay rent. Covid-19 has hurt a lot of landlords and tenants these past couple of years and has kept rental assistance busy trying to keep people in their homes. We received a new grant for youth aged 18-24 to help individuals and their families who need help with rent.
Why did you get vaccinated? People have many different reasons why they got the shot. Share your story on your social media and get paid for it. We are looking for volunteers to start the conversation about COVID-19 Vaccine. Earn up to $400 when people engage with your post.
Open Door received the following recognition from one of our interns, Tiffany Acklin, from Cal State San Bernardino. Tiffany is in the Social Work Masters Program.
Next Step would like to highlight one of our probation participants David. He came to us last year after just having been released from incarceration with no family to ask for help or place to sleep. David found himself in one of the lowest points of his life. When we first met him, David seemed very rough around the edges with his scruffy looking beard and very worn from his experience being incarcerated. Within a few weeks of beginning his program with Next Step he jumped into action, cleaned himself up, got a clean shave and a haircut; and wow, the difference was amazing, there was a handsome man under that scruffy beard. With his case manager’s guidance David used the shelter’s computer center to create a resume for himself and to apply for jobs.
Another tax season has come and gone, and WOW, what a rush!?! C Street is happy to have reached over 200 individuals with CalEITC information, and other tax tip flyers. Jobi assisted over 100 individuals with self-preparation of their Federal and State taxes; 100 individuals that did not pay fees to file their taxes this year which adds up to about $19,000.00 saved in the community.
Don’t forget to come out and Walk the Block in Old Town Victorville! Support your local business and spend sometime on good old Route 66!
Fam Spot is excited to announce we are adding hikes to our monthly calendar. Several youth have asked for more outside activities and we listened. Twice a month we will be taking the youth out on a hike and having a picnic. We are also continuing our monthly BBQs with the youth. With summer rapidly approaching, we are working on getting more activities added to our calendar to keep the youth busy and having fun.
This month at My Place, we are still growing stronger as a team, as we continue to welcome new team members to help support our at-risk youth. We continue to see a rise in youth attending school, group participation in life skills, and peer counseling. A big support for our youth has been our advocate who always goes above and beyond, Sean! Boxing has been an enormous success to help youth with coping skills. Boxing has been a major source of motivation and a sense of relief for our youth. It has been an amazing part of our shelter and the youth look forward to this group every day that he is here.
We had an applicant with emergency housing vouchers from the Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino. When they pulled up her application she had already started her own business cleaning. She was denied assistance due to her income. She came to us again. She had an apartment lined up to rent. With our other rental assistance funding, we were able to assist her with the funds to move in. At the time she asked for help we were not aware she was sleeping in her car. Then she was contacted to let her know that the checks to help her move in were released. When she came to pick up the checks she started crying and stated we are a blessing to the community. As she walked out of the office we could still hear her cries. The staff on shift just wanted to hug her and let her know everything was going to be all right.
On Friday, May 6 Family Assistance Program held a tour of the planned “Tiny Home Village” in Old Town Victorville with regional legislative leaders. Following the tour, the group gathered for a round table discussion on the local housing needs of High Desert residents and Transitional Age Youth (TAY) population.
Our local leaders discussed the importance of going upstream and investing in housing for youth in order to end homelessness. Regional solutions to aid in the development of emergency shelters, transitional housing and permanent affordable housing were shared amongst the group. The diverse mix of representatives from the local level to the state allowed for the identification of intersectional solutions that can be applied across the region. Youth homelessness and housing for youth need to be prioritized at the local and state level. From our city’s general plan to the funds coming down to address the state’s housing crisis need to support this priority. This will ensure that our young people have access to safe and affordable housing and will help prevent the next generation of homelessness.
There’s A LOT happening at YAB in San Bernardino County!
Why did you get vaccinated? People have many different reasons why they got the shot. Share your story on your social media and get paid for it. We are looking for volunteers to start the conversation about COVID-19 Vaccine. Earn up to $400 when people engage with your post.
If you want to help the most at-risk members of your community, you can donate to Family Assistance Program:
Open Door received a wonderful donation from Outreach Leader, Teresa Kelly-Harris and Danielle McGee Belton, Founder of “Promise, Purpose and Destiny Ministries”: brand new purses full of hygiene, hair products, and other goodies that our participants can use. Once again thank you to Promise Purpose and Destiny Ministries for their lovely donations.
Open Door is proud to be a part of the continued collaboration and community partnership with the Sheriff’s Academy and now the Gang Unit Special Teams. Advocate Myeesha Arranaga has trained over 200 law enforcement officers and Sheriff deputy trainees from the San Bernardino, Highland, Redlands, Riverside, and Pomona area within the last 45 days. We are looking forward to this continued partnership with the hopes of identifying, educating, and providing more resources to other HT victims.
Hope House is excited to bring in a new fresh season. Especially because it’s probably the BEST season EVER, Spring! Hope House has begun attending more events in the community.
This month has been very successful for several of our participants. On the housing side, due to the hard work and perseverance of both the housing team and participants, two of our participants have been approved for self-pay housing. One, a probation participant has recently graduated from our program, and with the help of his case manager, he has found self-pay housing.
The C Street Community Center is ready to spring into SPRING! The weather has been so beautiful allowing staff to shake off those winter coats and embrace the natural vitamin D! The Community Center staff has been taking turns walking our block throughout the day. Along the walks, we will talk with clients we see, pick up trash if need be, and greet other businesses or community members. It’s a new healthy habit for the staff here!
We at Fam Spot have been working hard to get our outreach up and going. We are excited to announce that we are out in the streets meeting new young people 3 – 4 days a week. We have met a lot of new faces and have been able to connect them with many of the resources we offer. Several of them even started coming to Fam Spot for groups. Fam Spot asked and has listened to the youth about what groups/workshops they are wanting. We have groups in mindfulness, communication, financial literacy, and anger management. Fam Spot and No Drugs America will be hosting a youth resource fair in May. Date TBD. We host an LGBTQ+ support group once a month, along with a monthly BBQ and more.
This month at My Place we are still growing stronger as a team, as we welcome new team members to help us support our at-risk youth. We continue to see a rise in youth attending school, group participation in groups like life skills. A big support for our at-risk youth has been one of our staff bringing her Husky that goes by the name “Ellie” to visit our youth. Ellie has been such a good support for our youth, she lets the youth cuddle her and she’s there as their comfort as you can see in the picture.
Tax season is in full swing, don’t forget Monday, April 18, 2022 is the deadline to file your taxes! Jobi at the Community Center has assisted over 40 individuals with self-preparation of their 2021 taxes, and we have given out 407 informational flyers to the community to educate them on the Cal EITC credit!
There’s A LOT happening at YAB in San Bernardino County!
My Place has been gaining knowledge through amazing staff trainings to have a better understanding of different youth that may walk through our doors. We continue to grow as a team and welcome new staff to help support our at-risk youth. We have seen an increase in group participation, kids attending school, reunifying families, and participation in life skills classes. This will teach our youth how to be independent as they reach their young adult years.
Hope House received a message from Midge at Community Services Council. Midge was collaborating with Sandy from the Grocery Outlet in Victorville. Sandy had many bouquets of flowers from Valentines Day and was taking them to non-profits, seniors, and other programs with participants who would appreciate them. They showed up and gave each of our participants a bouquet of flowers. This brought a smile to all their faces and to the employee’s faces, as well. It is truly amazing how flowers can be such a positive impact on a persons well being, especially for those who are fleeing domestic violence and having to stay in an emergency shelter during Valentine’s Day. One of our participants who decided to be creative, arranged the bouquet in the top of her curtains over looking her bed in her room. Thank you so much Midge and Sandy for thinking about Hope House and making everyone’s day!
The C Street Community Center is thankful for our new updated computers in the lobby! Clients are now able to complete job applications, rental applications, or other documents that may be asked of them by other service agencies. Even more so, community members can come prepare their own taxes for FREE and receive guidance as needed, again for FREE! We are so excited that we currently have nine employees throughout the agency training to become registered tax preparers with the State of California! Wishing lots of luck on their tax preparer training to Jobi W., Ginger B., Elsa S., Raquel A., Shelly T., Laura G., Sylvia R., Bernadette V., and Oscar L. By this time next year, these individuals will have the ability to prepare and e-file taxes for our clients and others in the community for free. Don’t forget, on March 10, 2022 from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm the San Bernardino County TAD office will have Volunteer Tax Preparers available for service. This is by appointment only, call 909-421-4091 or 909-421-4093 to schedule your appointment!
Being able to count and report these individuals assist the County in acquiring money to assist the homeless community, and create resources for them. Thank you to those who came out to Volunteer, you are appreciated! Thank you to our own Diana Penaloza, Shelly Thomas, Jose Chavez, and Board Member Sir Duplechan for coming out and participating in the count! A HUGE thank you to the Starbucks at Palmdale and Highway 395 for allowing us to use their store as our check-in/check-out base for the Adelanto PITC, the Staff there is awesome!
We have almost completed our ADA unit at one of Family Assistance Program’s domestic violence transitional locations. This one bedroom unit went through a complete rehab thanks to the contractor John Farinelli. The bathroom sink and kitchen sink have room for a person in a wheel chair to be self sufficient. A desk was also made for accessibility. Our maintenance guys Raul and Antonio installed the flooring and carpeting. This unit will make some deserving participants feel very comfortable at their new home.
There’s A LOT happening at YAB in San Bernardino County! We’re doing:
We are currently hiring full and part time for this and other open positions.
Why did you get vaccinated? People have many different reasons why they got the shot. Share your story on your social media and get paid for it. We are looking for volunteers to start the conversation about COVID-19 Vaccine. Earn up to $400 when people engage with your post.
If you want to help the most at-risk members of your community, you can donate to Family Assistance Program:
The Family Assistance Program received $1 million donated from The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians to help with a solution to end youth homelessness. This money will be used in the expansion of Family Assistance Program’s current youth drop-in and community center in Old Town Victorville, located on the corner of 6th and C Street. This expansion will add 20 beds to create an emergency shelter, a commercial kitchen, and a tiny home village with 14 tiny homes. This will be the first tiny home village created exclusively for transitional age youth that are experiencing homelessness in the state of California.
Hope House is happy that the holidays are here! The month has already brought one party for our families and more to come. This week Hope House was invited to our first Christmas party of the year. The party hosted by CHOICE Medical Group and Today’s Woman Foundation. The whole party was wonderful, they thought of everything, down to the kiddos favorite foods.
At Next Step, the core of our program is our housing and case management, but we are also working very hard to further develop our PAROLE RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. During this last month Next Step Reentry has had the opportunity to provide 25 parole participants with rental assistance, which provides our participants with monthly rent for anyone in danger of losing their housing or simply needs rapid rehousing assistance. We have plans to expand this program and increase the number of participants we are able to serve and help. This month, we were able to disburse a total of $43,563.90 towards helping people keep a roof over their heads and warmth in their bodies. In addition, we continue to take in new participants into our housing program and took in 3 probation participants and 2 parole participants. We are also very excited to be working with our in-house life coach Yvette Abreo, she is assisting us to develop tailored life coaching lesson plans for participants to assist in their taking control of their lives. We are also coordinating with her to implement the CARE Curriculum weekly groups, we look forward to achieving much success with her help.
One night a concerned father called our emergency youth shelter because he needed a place for his 17 year old daughter to stay. He recently was awarded custody after the mother was lost in a tragic incident. The youth didn’t have a relationship with the father and didn’t feel comfortable staying with him. When she arrived at Our House she did not have an idea of what she wanted to do with her life. A case manager sat down with the client and started having a conversation with her to explain the program. She seemed intrigued and set goals for herself.
The month of December is a tough one for a lot of the youth in our shelter with the holidays approaching. The staff at My Place try to make it as joyful as possible for them and decorate for the holidays with the supplies we have. This month we could use your help and are looking for Christmas decorations to help decorate the shelter. We are also asking for donations of gift cards so we can provide gifts for our youth under the tree. Thank you to the amazing couple that donated a Christmas tree with lights. Together we can make this holiday season merry and bright for the youth experiencing homelessness.
The Community Center staff and The Fam Spot staff and kids participated in the 74th annual Victorville Christmas parade. The Grinch joined us and put smiles on everyone’s faces. The community did a great job ensuring that everyone felt the Christmas spirit. We enjoyed being a part of this event and are already looking forward to next year. 
Unfortunately, COVID-19 is still affecting our community, luckily, the CA COVID-19 Rent Relief Program makes a difference in people’s lives. Most of our applicants are not familiar with today’s technology. We help ease the stress of 112 people a month by assisting them with the application process. The state program promises to pay 100% of rent owed. We have participants who have received payment and have one less worry this holiday season. They are extremely grateful for Family Assistance Program staff for providing them support every step of the way.
Join us on Tuesday, January 4th from 6-8pm for our monthly Taco Tuesday fundraiser! Thank you to the Steven Dhillon Law Firm for sponsoring this event! Join us at Viva Maria for Taco Tuesday and raise some money for a great cause! We will have raffle prizes to win. Viva Maria has a variety of street tacos for us to enjoy, as well as a full menu and bar. See you there in the new year!
Our office has been busy with appointments for the CA COVID-19 rent and utilities relief program. We assisted one client who was behind three months in rent and utilities. The reason she is behind is due to her mother passing away from COVID-19. Her mom was part of the household income. She was trying to deal with the loss of her loved one and then her aunt also passed away a week later from complications from COVID-19. During our appointments we really get to know our clients and the difficulties they are going through during these hard times. Our client also mentions during the appointment her mother had custody of her niece and nephews which are twins. Our client took the niece and the client sister took the twin boys to help raise. Our client missed some time at work and was force to be unemployed due to covid-19. As we were finding out more about her situation we realized she was eligible for other services such as the emergency housing voucher and resources for food distribution, since she mentioned she was also a victim of domestic violence. We were able to sign her up for all of the services to help her get on the road to success.
We have finalized our second annual 40-hour State Mandated Domestic Violence Advocacy Training. We had 26 individuals participate and receive their certificate. We look forward to the work they will do in their community. A big thank you to all our presenters!
The picture below is Diana, Raymond and Jobi with Pastor Jessie Lopez from Azure Hills Church…they donated over 200 hygiene bags to be given to clients. C Street gave some to our Transitional Aged Youth programs, Fam Spot, Hope House and the DV Program, and Open Arms. Our clients appreciated these hygiene bags during the clothing give away. Thank you, Azure Hills Church, for your generous donation!
Fam Spot participated in the City of Victorville’s Veteran’s Day parade; we took the liberty to do group activities with the youth to create Veteran’s Day t-shirts to show our love, support our veterans and support world peace. In the future, Fam Spot will continue to do groups with youth to educate them about anger management, communication skills, and healthy relationships. The goal is to provide self-reflection and personal growth. We want all individuals; to have awareness of self-care and self-love.
Furthermore, we will be having a Thanksgiving dinner on November 23rd at Fam Spot. Other programs such as our Transitional Age Youth and My Place Shelter will attend this thanksgiving event, as well. For instance, Staff will be doing thankful activities and groups with adolescents to express their gratitude. To add, we will appreciate any food donations and gift cards to have food items purchased for thanksgiving for the youth to enjoy a traditional meal.
My Place has a lot of fun things planned for the month of November! On November 23rd, we are hosting a Thanksgiving Dinner for our youth programs here in the High Desert. We plan to have fun games, prizes and Turkey with all the fixings included! We’ve also begun a new tradition here at My Place: The Thankful Pumpkin, where we have our youth write something they are grateful for every day until Thanksgiving.
CA COVID-19 Eviction Moratorium is coming to an end!
We are planning the next 40-hour domestic violence training for October. We look forward to educating and training community members that are eager to contribute to the domestic violence field. Keep an eye out for the Eventbrite link with more information to follow.
One of our families at Hope House has moved on to our transitional housing units! The mother of three had worked very hard to reach many goals and she made wonderful progress. The mother overcame some obstacles, was always determined to have legal issues taken care of for her children. She worked to earn extra money so that she could purchase a vehicle.
Many of our target population have not been seen by a health care physician for a long length of time. However, because of Carolina G., our agency’s new Health Navigator, many more of our participants are learning how to navigate the heath care system and are getting the services they need.
We would love to share and update with you on our friend Faith who has recently received keys to her beautiful new home, she is legitimately a FIRST TIME HOME BUYER! This woman was able to buy a brand-new home for her children, thanks in part to her participation in our program.
We have partnered with Frank Kelly and No Drugs America for Substance Use Education Classes that are free to the public. If you are interested in these classes or booking a training for your school or organization email jobi@familyassist.org
Thank you to the Greater High Desert Chamber of Commerce for having us as a speaker for the Friday morning Coffee Break. It was a great way to share about all of the great things that Family Assistance Program is doing.
