Homelessness is a vexing issue, one that’s uncomfortable and
complicated. What’s the solution? Determining how to help isn’t
just slipping a $5 bill or extra change into a panhandling person’s
hands.
Truth is, there’s no solution. But Gilroy has a Homeless Task
Force and a passionate advocate in Jim Currier. Together there’s
enough energy to make a real difference and move Gilroy from being
just a compassionate community, which we are, to a place where
there’s a life rope for those who really could use a hand.
Homelessness is a vexing issue, one that’s uncomfortable and complicated. What’s the solution? Determining how to help isn’t just slipping a $5 bill or extra change into a panhandling person’s hands.
Truth is, there’s no solution. But Gilroy has a Homeless Task Force and a passionate advocate in Jim Currier. Together there’s enough energy to make a real difference and move Gilroy from being just a compassionate community, which we are, to a place where there’s a life rope for those who really could use a hand.
Currier is trying to rally the forces, meeting with community groups and the city to try and get the ball rolling on his offer to donate 20,000 square feet of warehouse space in a near-perfect location at 8425 Monterey St. to house the homeless. The vision isn’t just about a roof and a cot, it’s about a one-stop center with a clothes closet, a place where a resume can be crafted and printed, a mailing address for the job seeker and referrals to drug and alcohol programs as needed.
Currier likes to call it a “Compassion Center” and that description perfectly fits the bill. He has sparked a new conversation that could lead to Gilroy becoming a model community for dealing with a vexing problem.
As a businessman who owns Flowstar, Inc., a Gilroy company that creates modular cleanrooms, Currier sets a platter of realism down on the table next to the cup of compassion. He speaks frankly and acknowledges the multiple problems ahead. There are the people who have lost jobs, then houses, who have become trapped in a downward spiral. There are drug addicts. There are the mentally ill. As a volunteer at the National Guard Armory, Currier has seen it all and knows a magic-wand solution doesn’t exist.
But he genuinely believes that magic exists in our community and that God is present in the drive to create a Compassion Center.
The search is on for a lead agency to become the funnel for grant applications and organization. The Salvation Army, St. Joseph’s Family Center, Community Solutions, South County Housing and Gardiner Health are on the list. Currier hopes a local agency is willing to take on the main task which could lead to overseeing a multi-agency organization.
It’s going to take that kind of effort to put all the pieces in place. Covering operating costs will be job one.
Councilman Dion Bracco is an early supporter and so is Police Chief Denise Turner. Currier is talking to numerous groups like the ministerial association. Everyone recognizes the need, now what’s needed is a groundswell of support.
“People are willing to put the work in and clear the way to make something like this happen,” Turner said. We agree. If Gilroy can build it, initially fund it and make a modest start, the community will support it and our compassion will make a difference.
