Agencies unite to bring help to the homeless of Gilroy
By Betsy Avelar Staff Writer
Gilroy – Businesses and services will unite Wednesday at Las Animas Veterans Park with hopes of providing services to better the health of the homeless, aid in their self-sufficiency and assist in arranging housing in a collaborative effort called “Outreach Connect.”
Local organizations like the Gardener Clinic, Community Solutions, Saint Louise Regional Hospital and St. Joseph Family Center, among others, will be at the Lakeside Picnic area at Las Animas Park Wednesday from 1 to 4pm.
“This (event) has grown out of the county’s 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness,” said Dina Campeau, chair of the South County Collaborative.
That plan was mandated by the federal government for communities that wished to continue to received homelessness assistance money, she continued. The mandate requires communities to improve in the categories of outreach and engagement, empowerment and benefits, housing, and prevention of homelessness.
Life on the streets is extremely dangerous – especially for women, Campeau said. Homeless women more often than not have been the victims of domestic violence, she said, and must seek out a male partner for protection on the streets.
Seventy percent of the children who are homeless have parents who are addicts, she said.
But the problem of homelessness in Gilroy is not going unnoticed by local organizations. Our House, part of EHC Life Builders, is building new shelters here in Gilroy to help, in addition to offering a variety of services for the homeless, including housing referrals, employment information, medical services, legal services and substance abuse treatment. The organization also provides hot meals, fresh water, condoms and lubricant, information and referrals, clean needle kits, rapid HIV testing, safe injection kits, snacks, socks, underwear, hygiene kits and more.
And EHC Life Builders is not alone in the effort to provide assistance to Gilroy’s homeless. They’re joined in the effort by Gardener Family Health Network, Inc., which will provide mobile medical services at Wednesday’s event.
“We’re just a small component of project outreach,” said Roberta Gundersen, Program Coordinator for Gardener Family Health Network, Inc. “We’re just one of the many components that serves the homeless.”
Students from the cosmetology program at Gavilan College will also be on hand to offer haircuts to the homeless men, women and children.
“The haircuts are the hit,” Campeau said.
Though “Outreach Connect” is a one-day-only event, organizers hope that the event will make Gilroy’s homeless population aware of the resources available to them.
“We’re trying to find them and going where they are, because once they trust us, that’s when they’ll come in,” Campeau explained. “It’s a misconception that they don’t want help, and its not always their fault.”
