When someone walks through the doors of the Gilroy Compassion Center, they are instantly considered family to the staff and other patrons who share or have experienced similar plights.
So, when news broke that one of their own, 67-year-old Judith O’Keefe West, died Oct. 24 after a lengthy health battle complicated by diabetes, those at the Center decided to come together for a special memorial service in West’s honor.
“The driving force came from the people, the volunteers and clients in the Center who knew Judy, who considered her as family and a friend,” said Board Chair Jan Bernstein-Chargin of the Gilroy Compassion Center, an ever-evolving homeless shelter that hosts outreach events throughout the year and offers numerous free social services. “She was well known to a lot of people, especially other people who were homeless. Her passing left people grieving.”
West, born in Livermore and raised on her family’s ranch in Hollister, was one of approximately 10 homeless people in the Gilroy area who passed away in the last 12 months. She was one of the very first visitors to the Gilroy Compassion Center, which opened in December 2011.
“This was like a second home. This was her place of refuge, where she would come and hang out with friends,” said Pastor Debbie Rivera.
She led Friday’s small memorial service inside the Center’s warehouse office at 8425 Monterey Road, where friends and family remembered West – a person some sought advice from and others looked to as a mother figure. “This is the time to remember Judy West as well as all those who have passed this past year.”
There are 7,600 homeless county-wide and 1,067 homeless in South County, according to a Feb. 2013 effort by community volunteers.
Gilroy Police Chief Denise Turner and Housing & Community Development Manager Marilyn Roaf for the City of Gilroy were among a handful who spoke during the memorial service. Turner did not know West personally but said she was on a list of the most vulnerable chronically homeless people in the area.
“Our work is not done here,” said Turner, who meets monthly with the Gilroy Homeless Outreach Task Force that works to aid the homeless in finding some kind of housing, appropriate outreach and case management.
Cooperatively, the mission of the Compassion Center that is “to provide access to the services homeless people need to survive, become stable, and achieve self-sufficient lives.”
Malina Garcia, West’s case worker from St. Joseph’s Family Center in Gilroy, stated how West had recently earned her “golden ticket” – her very own apartment at the Gilroy Sobrato Apartments located at 9369 Monterey Road just a short walk north of the Compassion Center. The facility is run by South County Housing, a nonprofit community development corporation.
In September, 26 studio apartments were added the property. The residential building situated on 1.75 acres is dedicated solely to providing permanent – not temporary or transitional – housing for chronically homeless individuals. The facility also provides full case management to 25 tenants through St. Joseph’s Family Center and Community Solutions, two leading social service agencies that now have a permanent satellite office on the property. The apartment studios are built to accommodate single occupants.
But West, who slept in her truck and enjoyed driving down the California Coast with her dog, “Baby,” was unable to recover from growing health issues.
In August, she was hospitalized after suffering a severe infection in her foot, which was partially amputated, according to Rivera. On her way to recovery and a place to call home, the country-music lover suffered more complications, forcing further removal of her infected foot. West then slipped into a diabetic coma, which she recovered from. After that she suffered a heart attack but came out of it in time to see her new apartment at Sobrato, Rivera said.
“She was going to be moving there. Unfortunately, her illness took her before she could move into her new home,” said Bernstein-Chargin, who encouraged residents to bring winter clothing and other donations to the Compassion Center.
Program manager Daleen Pearce for the Compassion Center said Friday’s memorial service was the first done at their facilities. Pearce plans on continuing the practice in the future to give friends and family a chance to remember others.
“I think a lot of times people in the mainstream don’t realize that being homeless is just one aspect of a person,” added Bernstein-Chargin. “We’re talking about individuals with a life, with friends, people who miss them when they’re gone.”
