A Great Society
A recent late-summer afternoon featured sunny blue skies outside Fremont’s Downtown Event Center, but the warm vibe inside the venue was even more enjoyable for us.
That is where Abode enjoyed delicious food with a group of friends and neighbors whose generous support fuels our mission. They are members of our Home Builders Society and Harriet Despeaux Legacy Circle, whom we enthusiastically welcomed at the Sept. 7 fiesta-themed luncheon.
The Home Builders Society has more than 100 members who commit to give at least $1,000 or more per year for five years. This allows us to make long-term fiscal plans, helping us provide housing and services to formerly homeless people and strengthen our foundation for building and expanding Abode programs.
Serious Proposition
Our state is facing increasingly serious challenges. But Prop 5 can help solve them.
That is why Abode’s board of directors unanimously endorses Prop 5.
We have a massive shortage of housing that is affordable for low- and middleincome Californians; and our critical infrastructure is aging and unsafe.
Even worse, state law currently restricts the ability of local voters to approve local housing and public infrastructure bonds for their communities.
The high cost of housing is consuming too much of our paychecks and hurting our quality of life.
Too many middle-class people such as teachers, nurses, and firefighters are being pushed out of the communities where they work.
The good news? California voters are ready for commonsense solutions to these problems. Prop 5 empowers local voters to approve bonds for affordable housing and essential public infrastructure like water systems, roads, transit, and fire stations.
Additionally, this measure supports the development of housing for people with disabilities, as well as families and individuals experiencing homelessness.
Plus, Prop 5 gives taxpayers more power. It shifts decisions about these issues and spending priorities away from state government and into the hands of local voters.
We are proud that Abode is one of hundreds of organizations representing seniors, veterans, working families, and small businesses that support Prop 5.
Please join us in supporting this important measure.
Learn more at YesOnProp5.org.
Hispanic Heritage Month
Abode is proud to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month.
Its official kick-off was September 15, which coincides with annual independence day declarations from Spain and Great Britain by Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and other Latin American countries.
For far too long, the many contributions of the Latinx community have been overlooked. We want to help change that. The community’s excellence and cultural influence is vast and remarkable, featuring a long list brilliant authors such as Isabel Allende and Sandra Cisneros; award-winning filmmakers like Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu; and scientists such as Susana López Charretón and France Córdova — to name just a few.
We also have taken note of the upsurge in the Hispanic homeless population: Latinx individuals are overrepresented among those experiencing housing insecurity in California, making up about 39.5 percent of the state’s residents but 68 percent of its housing insecure population. At Abode, we are working tirelessly to reduce this troubling trend. Currently more than a third of participants in our programs and residents at our sites identify as Latinx. In some communities such as Santa Clara County, more than half of all participants are Latinx.
We are also proud that Abode’s talented workforce includes 236 people who identify as Hispanic or Latinx, representing 32.6 percent of all employees. As we pursue our mission, we will continue to work with our Latinx neighbors and hire exceptional staff to uphold our values — sparking each other’s strengths and starting with dignity.
As we celebrate this important month-long observance, we salute the many Hispanic community members — especially among Abode staff — who make our work possible.
Thank you for all you do in support of our mission — each and every day.
Welcome Aboard
We are excited to announce that two Bay Area community leaders have joined the boards of directors for our family of agencies.
First, Olivia Yu recently joined the Abode Services Board of Directors.
Olivia is a seasoned business executive with over 15 years of experience in partnerships, operations, and strategy. She has been actively involved in Employee Resource Groups and DEIB initiatives through her roles at Disney, Paramount, Activision Blizzard King, and Bumble. She is currently the Global VP of Partnerships & Commercial Operations at Bumble, Inc.
She holds degrees from the Wharton School of Business and UCLA – The Anderson School.
Secondly, Andy Madeira — a former executive of local nonprofit groups – is the newest member of the Abode Housing Development Board of Directors.
Andy has decades of experience in affordable housing and community development. He has utilized his versatile skill set in banking, law, and nonprofit organizations to help those in need for more than 35 years. After working as senior VP of real estate development at Eden Housing in Hayward, he most recently was CEO of the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation in Oakland.
He holds a Juris Doctor degree from Boston University School of Law, and earned a Bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Please join us in proudly welcoming Olivia and Andy to our boards of directors!
Winter Supplies Season
There are many generous people in the communities that we serve. As a result, we often hear the same questions from our donors and supporters.
“What is the best way we can help? And where can we give?”
For people in our programs, garnering enough items of winter gear and clothing is a year-round endeavor.
At our emergency shelter, specifically, there are many items in need:
• Sleeping bags
• Winter coats and jackets
• Rain ponchos
• Tents for two-to-four persons
• Umbrellas
• Gloves, hats, beanies, socks, hand or body warmers
• Miniature first aid kits
Also, your food donations can make a big difference. We are in need of non-perishable food and canned goods.
Please drop off donations at Sunrise Village Emergency Shelter, 588 Brown Road, Fremont, CA 95448.
• Lip balm
• Combs and brushes
Your generous donations will do so much to keep families warm on those chilly days and nights during fall and winter.
If you have questions, please contact our Volunteer Program Manager, Alyssa Santos, at asantos@abode.org or 510-807-8199.
A GREAT SOCIETY
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We also hosted members of the Harriet Despeaux Legacy Circle, who are donors who have included Abode in their will or trust. The Circle is named for a former Abode board member and volunteer who generously left us a gift in her estate plan.
Together with members of both groups, we shared a meal provided by Arteaga’s Food Center. Meanwhile, Abode Services CEO Vivian Wan and Chief Real Estate Officer Jon White presented updates about our work throughout the Bay Area, where we work to find sustainable solutions to homelessness.
For more information about how to join the Society or the Legacy Circle, please contact us at donors@abode.org or 510-459-1663.
If you are interested in giving to Abode without joining one of these giving societies, you can send a donation to us via regular mail at: Abode, 40849 Fremont Blvd., Fremont, CA 94538.
You can also give online at abode.org/donate.
Thank you again, Home Builders Society and Despeaux Legacy Circle members, for your continued support!
EXECUTIVE TEAM
Vivian Wan
Chief Executive Officer
Kevin Neuner Chief Operating Officer
John Reiber
Chief Financial Officer
Kara Carnahan
Vice President of Programs – Alameda, Napa, San Francisco & Solano Counties
Katie Fantin
Vice President of Programs – Santa Clara, Santa Cruz & San Mateo Counties
Camille Llaguna Controller
Marilyn Lovelace-Grant Vice President of Talent & Culture
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Darrian White, Chair
Rohit Angle, Vice Chair
Reshma Inamdar, Secretary
Lynette Stolarzyk, Treasurer
Vishnu Beri
Sameer Bhasin
John Domantay
EXECUTIVE TEAM
Louis Chicoine Chief Executive Officer
Jon White Chief Real Estate Officer
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Claudine Sipili
Ken Smith
Olivia Yu
Tejas Saraiya, Chair
Darrian White, Secretary John Barton, Treasurer Maryann Leshin David Luu
Andy Madeira
Lynette Stolarzyk
Tom Wasow
EXECUTIVE TEAM
Louis Chicoine Chief Executive Officer
Juana Nunley Chief Property Management Officer
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Theresa Ballard, Chair
John Lee, Vice Chair & Secretary
Lynette Stolarzyk, Treasurer
Reshma Inamdar