INTERFAITH NEWS FALL 2022 YOURCHANGEMIND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH Transitional Youth Academy Page 4 Listen to Our Podcast! Page 5 Interfaith in Action! Page 10 A MENTAL HEALTH & WELLNESS FESTIVAL COMMUNITY EVENT | SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 Help change the conversation around mental health – one mind and one life at a time! Details on page 4
6,785includingindividuals,22,000servewasInterfaithyear,abletonearlyuniquechildren. 2 | INTERFAITH NEWS • FALL 2022
Greg Anglea Greg Anglea Chief Executive Officer Cohn Family CEO Chair Interfaith Community Services
Donating gently used household items supplies our Make-It-A-Home program with bedding, kitchenware, and small appliances that a family needs to run a household.
The mission of Interfaith Community Services is to empower people in need to stabilize and improve their lives through comprehensive programs, in partnership with diverse faith communities and people of compassion. Building on more than 40 years of empowering homeless and low-income community members, Interfaith has become the most comprehensive social services agency in North County, providing both immediate safety net services and long-term, lifechanging services for the most poor and vulnerable residents.
Your neighborhood food and sock drives help keep people warm and fed. Hiring day laborers from our Carlsbad Service Center helps provide a hand-up for workers paying their own way out of homelessness.
we’ll soon open North San Diego County’s largest dedicated Family Shelter in Escondido. You can read more about it in the following pages. And while public funds have helped with some of the renovation expenses, running the shelter and providing direct support to families and children in crisis will only be possible through the contributions of donors like you. Your support also allows us to provide wraparound services that go beyond housing.
As we continue to Help People Help Themselves, we thank you for your ongoing support and compassion. You are changing the world one life, one child, and one family at a time!
Interfaith and other nonprofit agencies see requests for assistance rise exponentially in times like this. In response, we strengthen our relationships with community partners and create new programs for our clients. One sorely needed program we’re excited to announce:
Last
Last year, Interfaith was able to serve nearly 22,000 unique individuals, including 6,785 children. That’s an extraordinary number of people who were connected with dignified, high-quality programs and resources on their path toward self-sufficiency.
Dear Interfaith Supporters, Staggering cost of living increases have affected nearly every family and individual. The cost of simply surviving – housing, transportation, and food – has many people struggling. And while many of us are feeling the pinch, our most poor and vulnerable community members are feeling a knockout punch.
Message from the CEO
Learn more about Interfaith’s programs (we have more than 80!) www.interfaithservices.org/our-programs/at Own
Last year, a family of four who suffered a severe loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic and found themselves living out of their car reached out to Interfaith.
A Home of Their
Since its inception in August 2021, Interfaith’s Family Shelter program has housed 61 families, made up of 99 adults and 126 children (including five new babies!). These families receive food, shelter, medical treatment, and access to case management services as part of Interfaith’s mission to support clients on their road to self-sufficiency.
Over the next five months, Interfaith’s case manager worked diligently with the family and provided resources that helped them improve their circumstances. They recently moved into a new apartment and have obtained Interfaithemployment.programs that assisted the family include:
• Homeless Court, which resolved multiple traffic tickets and fines
For more information on supporting this crucial program, email giving@interfaithservices.org.
• Resumé assistance, which led to employment
• Emergency Rehousing voucher
FALL 2022 • INTERFAITH NEWS | 3
Family Shelter Renovations are nearly complete at Interfaith’s Hawthorne Veteran and Family Resource Center, formerly the home of our Recuperative Care Program. (The Recuperative Care Program will move into its new, larger home at the Abraham and Lillian Turk Center this fall.) The Hawthorne Center will soon open its doors as the only low-barrier Family Shelter in North San Diego County, accommodating 10-14 families. The shelter will include a full commercial kitchen with meals prepared onsite by an Interfaith staff chef, private bathrooms for all families, expanded family-size rooms, and outdoor play areas for children.
• Rental deposit on their new apartment
In addition, the family accessed medical services through Neighborhood Healthcare, who partners with Interfaith and has a location inside Interfaith’s Escondido headquarters.
New Year, New School!
In partnership with Viasat, Interfaith will host Change Your Mind, a full-day family-oriented festival designed to help build awareness about the importance of mental health and wellness. This event is free for the community and includes a full day of informative workshops, panels, and breakout sessions. Attendees can also take part in traditional and modern wellness experiences and activities such as live music, dance performances, yoga, guided meditation, sound baths, and much more!
85% of TYA students improved their GPA and 100% did not enter (or re-enter) the juvenile justice system. Over 90% of our students represented first generation Latinx students, who were the first in families to successfully graduate high school and attend college.
Interfaith’s Transitional Youth Academy (TYA) will soon begin a new school year and Interfaith is proud to announce expansion to an additional school for 2022-2023. This school year, TYA staff members will be available on both the Oceanside High School and El Camino High School campuses to support students throughout the academic school day.
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TYA serves low-income youth between the ages of 14 to 18 who are at risk of dropping out of high school due to poor academic standing, poor attendance, behavioral issues, or have exited criminal justice systems, are in foster care, are homeless, or are pregnant and/or parenting.
Viasat, Inc. 2456
visit:
TRANSITIONAL YOUTH ACADEMY
4 | INTERFAITH NEWS • FALL 2022 YOURCHANGEMIND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH A MENTAL HEALTH & WELLNESS FESTIVAL Change Your Mind – A Mental Health & Wellness Festival Saturday | September 10, 2022
Help change the conversation around mental health – one mind and
This past June, TYA celebrated the achievements of 20 graduates (100% of TYA seniors), who will attend SDSU, CSUSM, UCLA, Mira Costa College, and Palomar College this fall.
To
As part of Interfaith Community Services Strategic Planning process, the agency is committed to expanding into a minimum of one school in North San Diego County each year. While we have secured significant funding, we are still more than $250,000 short of our goal to successfully fund TYA for the entire year. 11:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. Town Garden Rd., Carlsbad, CA 92009 attend www.interfaithservices.org/change/ Attendance is free but pre-registration is required.
Lynn Solorzano Mei Bautista
Event topics include: • Destigmatizing Mental Health • Depression in Youth and Teens • Tools to Survive Transitions • Wellness and Spirituality • Healing Through the Arts • Support for Veterans one life at a time! SEASON STREAMING3 NOW!
FALL 2022 • INTERFAITH NEWS | 5 Change Your Mind is free to the public but pre-registration is required. To sponsor or attend, please www.interfaithservices.org/change/visit or email ctrejo@interfaithservices.org For more information on how to support the TYA program or adopt a scholar and provide them with supplies and funds for senior year activities, giving@interfaithservices.org.contact Listen up! Interfaith’s “Homeless in San Diego” podcast has been ranked as the country’s #2 podcast focusing on homelessness by FeedSpot, the Internet’s largest human-curated database of bloggers and podcasts. Homeless in San Diego Podcast Real People, Real Stories
Lynn Solorzano (left) founded Ashley’s Hope to provide clean clothing to unsheltered individuals after the death of her daughter, Ashley, who struggled with addiction and homelessness. LISTEN UP
After homelessnessexperiencingasa child, successful business owner Mei Bautista (right) created Humanitotes, providing sturdy hand-sewn totes filled with essential items like soap and sunscreen to unsheltered individuals. LISTEN UP
6 | INTERFAITH NEWS • FALL 2022 *Please contact your tax advisors to determine your estimated personal tax benefits of this action. Interfaith Community Services is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit tax-exempt organization. Federal Tax ID #95-3837714 DONATE STOCK GIFTS Interfaith accepts stock as donations! Help us help people in need while also making smart financial decisions. If you directly transfer your appreciated stock to Interfaith instead of selling it yourself first, you will not have to pay any capital gains tax and you may be entitled to a significant deduction.* IRA CONTRIBUTION If you are 70 ½ or older, an IRA gift can be made up to $100,000 without incurring federal taxes.* FUNDRAISE VIA SOCIAL MEDIA Enact social change on social media by creating a fundraiser on Facebook. MAKE AN IMPACT SUSTAININGSUPPORTER Create a monthly or quarterly automatic donation from your credit card or debit card. You may cancel at any time. Interfaith helps people help themselves through long-term supportive with the ultimate goal of self-sufficiency. Your contribution provides support and crucial access to services. Please make a Want to help? To donate gently used small furniture or household items and small appliances, donations@interfaithservices.org.email
In
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asset.*
Over the past year, Interfaith’s Make-It-A-Home program has provided furniture and essential household items to more than 370 people including children, families, veterans, and formerly homeless on your donations, the Make-It-A-Home Program takes housing one step further by providing moving services, new beds and dressers, gently used donated furniture (such as couches, chairs, lamps, tables, dishes, etc.), new bedding and towels, as well as other household items as available to clients. addition, each individual/family receives Welcome Home Kits which include food, kitchen supplies, cleaning supplies, and other necessities. A home furnished with basic comforts can mean all the difference between shelter and a stable home environment. interfaithservices.org/donate/ Make-It-A-Home with your financial advisor to designate in your will or living trust a gift of a specific amount, percentage of your estate, specific
Relyingindividuals.completely
Gather your groceries and your group (up to 8) and head over to our kitchen to prepare and serve dinner to residents of our Haven House Emergency Shelter. SIGN UP FOR A DATE or donate $125 to support one night of meals for all. QUESTIONS? Contact Mitchell Snow at msnow@interfaithservices.org. Bon appetit!
Interfaith client Mariana is a single mother with three small children. Domestic violence and drug use by her ex-husband forced Mariana to make the difficult decision to leave home with her children, even though 6-year-old Lucas had recently been diagnosed with Leukemia.
Comforts of Home Cook’s Choice!
FALL 2022 • INTERFAITH NEWS | 7 HELP STOCK OUR PANTRY BY PURCHASING ITEMS FROM OUR https://amzn.to/3zqRdOzWISHLISTAMAZON IMPACT supportive services, provides transformative gift today. interfaithservices.org/donate/ STOCK GIFTS
www.interfaithservices.org/get-involved/volunteer/
After a month in Interfaith’s Family Shelter, Mariana and her family moved into their own apartment through assistance from the County. The apartment was completely unfurnished, and on a routine check-in, Mariana’s Interfaith case manager discovered that Lucas was sleeping on a pile of jackets, the only soft surface in the house, after his chemotherapy Thetreatments.casemanager reached out to Interfaith’s Make-It-A-Home staff at 4 p.m. and by 6 p.m., the entire family had beds to sleep on that night. The next day, the team came back to furnish the rest of the apartment. Lucas has three long years of chemo ahead of him, but can rest comfortably because of the generous donations you provided to Interfaith’s Make-It-A-Home program.
StorySuccessChaise’s
For more information on Interfaith housing programs, go to www.interfaithservices.org/program/housing/
8 | INTERFAITH NEWS • FALL 2022
After graduating from the program, Chaise transitioned to Interfaith’s outpatient treatment center and has gained employment and safe, stable housing. He recently reflected on his experience at Interfaith. “I just remember everybody constantly checking on me and at that point something told me that I was at the right place at the right time,” he says. “I’ve never felt more at home or with a family, not by blood but because of the impact they have had on my life.”
Residents of all 24 units of Interfaith’s newest Permanent Supportive Housing program in Carlsbad have officially moved in. Disabled, chronically homeless individuals and families are provided with resources and supportive services from case managers and peer support specialists to ensure that they maintain housing stability.
The medical staff, knowing he would not survive if discharged to the streets, referred him to Interfaith’s Recuperative Care Center.
Chaise hopes to one day open a small donut shop and give back to a community that has, in his words, “made me feel like I still had a chance at life.” And for customers struggling with addiction or in recovery, Chaise says, the coffee will be free!
Interfaith staff recognized that Chaise was still battling his addiction and transferred him to Interfaith’s Recovery and Wellness Center, a 90-day in-patient program.
Living on the streets and suffering from a severe alcohol addiction, Chaise says his only comforts were alcohol and the raccoons who came to visit him at two in the morning. After suffering from a seizure brought on by alcoholism and lack of nutrition, Chaise found himself in the hospital fighting for his life.
ext. 136. SpotlightProgram You’re invited (twice)! This fall, Interfaith will combine our 2022 Annual Meeting with the grand opening of the Abraham & Lillian Turk Recuperative Care Center. Check our website for event www.interfaithservices.org.updates, Want to attend, or have questions? Contact Mitchell Snow, Faith Relations Specialist, at msnow@interfaithservices.org or (760) 807-6518.
Interfaith’s Recovery and Wellness with a 14-day withdrawal management (detox) program, a 90-day residential treatment program, and an intensive outpatient program. screening assessment with an coordinator level 760-294-6365,
substance use disorders and co-occurring conditions. Our step-down levels of care include
will indicate which
A
Center offers a full continuum of care for men and women struggling
of care is necessary based on each person’s individualized needs. Need help, or know someone who does? For detox, call 760-489-6380, ext. 221; for residential treatment, call 760-489-6380, ext. 246 and for outpatient, call
intake
FALL 2022 • INTERFAITH NEWS | 9
IN ACTION
(RIght) Representatives from Harrah’s resort in Valley Center delivered a truck full of boxed lunches, providing meals to more than 200 hungry people.
INTERFAITH
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(Above) Interfaith partnered with Del Lago Academy in Escondido this spring to host four 11th-grade interns. Students worked alongside Interfaith staff for six weeks to obtain real-world job experience. Pictured left to right: Mark Toyserkani and Lucian Mosemak.(Left)
10 | INTERFAITH NEWS • FALL 2022
Events and partnerships are vital to the success of any non-profit, and Interfaith to all the people in the community who support us in countless ways.
(Below) Pastor Jack Rickman of Broadway Baptist Church enjoys a laugh at Interfaith’s first General Membership Meeting in two years. Faith leaders from throughout North County gathered to discuss their commitment to action and support of the community.
Did you know? One of the definitions of the word salon is “a gathering of people held by an inspiring host. During the gathering they amuse one another and increase their knowledge through conversation.” Interfaith supporters have hosted four intimate (and amusing) gatherings over the past few months, with CEO Greg Anglea highlighting the progress Interfaith has made and where it’s headed.
Interfaith is grateful ways.
(Right) The San Diego Padres recently invited Interfaith staffers Manny Rodriguez and Hannah Brenzel to promote organizationtheduring a recent Padres game. Our team passed out resources and helped raise awareness of Interfaith’s mission. The evening ended with a win for both the Padres and Interfaith!
(Above) Every first Thursday of the month, a small army of students from Ivy League Barber Academy in San Marcos sets up shop in the Interfaith parking lot, giving free haircuts and shaves (and restoring dignity) to Interfaith clients.
(Above) Brenda Mitchell shares her inspiring story with a packed house at the salon she and her husband John hosted.
(Above) Jerry Turk speaks at the campus of the brand-new Abraham and Lillian Turk Recuperative Care Center. Jerry and his wife Carole’s donation was instrumental in making this life-saving center a reality. Want to attend the next Interfaith salon? Contact Fiona King at fking@interfaithservices.org.
FALL 2022 • INTERFAITH NEWS | 11
Housing Community
1000 – With Your Help, We Did It! Interfaith
Give Us A Call! (760) 489-6380 Office of ImpressionsFirst
Introducing Interfaith’s newest department!
VOLUNTEER DONATE GET INVOLVED! NEEDS GET SOCIAL Scan this QR code with your phone to enter your email for electronic updates. We send one email a month and will not sell or share your information. GOING GREEN Stay up-to-date with us on social media: @interfaithcs Betty and Melvin Cohn Center 550 W. Washington Ave. Escondido, CA CHANGEwww.InterfaithServices.org92025SERVICEREQUESTED U.S.NonprofitPostage PAID Permit #1669 San Diego, CA For further information, please call Robert Adams, Chief Development Officer, at (760) 489-6380, ext. 206 or radams@interfaithservices.org We value your contribution and assure you that it is used effectively. Please contact us for a tour of Interfaith. 2,019Interfaithpledgestohousemen,women,andchildrenbynextyear!
Services exceeded its goal by housing 1,198 men, women, and children, including 167 veterans in the last 12 months. See the front cover story for exciting news in the coming year! INTERFAITH NEWS UPDATES FROM FRONTLINESTHE GET SOCIAL Stay up-to-date with us on social media: @interfaithcs
The Office of First Impressions was formed as a centralized call center with the goal of offering a more personalized experience to callers. Veteran staff members Maria and Ariel are highly knowledgeable about programs and are able to resolve many issues without needing to transfer clients. In their first month, they have already implemented a new Spanish-language phone greeting and decreased the number of voicemails by 10-15 daily. “I enjoy helping those most in need to get connected with services or resources,” says Maria. “I put my full focus on the client and make them feel heard and welcomed. At the end of the day I feel satisfied that I made an impact in someone’s Nextlife.” time you reach out to Interfaith, be sure to say hello to our friendly staff!
