editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
September 2015 Shepherd’s Gate: A Haven for Healing
Serving Danville
By Jody Morgan
Inviting strangers into her two-bedroom home wasn’t part of Alice Ann Cantelow’s retirement plan. Nevertheless, in 1983, she abandoned her dream of hiking the Pacific Trail to offer respite from despair to women and children abandoned by everyone else. Aided by a few other couples, she purchased a 3-bedroom Livermore cottage in 1984 and officially established Shepherd’s Gate (SG) to provide a safe haven to homeless women and children for up to a 30-day stay. To date, Shepherd’s Gate has helped more than 11,000 individuals rebuild their lives with a variety of programs offering support, education, and a loving space in which to live and heal. Tailored to address the specific needs of each resident, programs at the Livermore and Brentwood campuses run for as long as 18 months, sending graduates out into the world confident that they belong to a community that cares and leaving them well-prepared to maintain their financial independence. In 1992, the enormity of the need for SG to grow was evident. Forced to turn away more than 500 individuals seeking shelter and recognizing that a 30-day respite was inadequate to break the cycle For a mother running from an abuser or living in a car a photo of poverty, abuse or addiction with her child is a precious gift. Photo courtesy of Shepherd’s Gate. that continued to keep the homeless at risk, planning began to build a 3-acre campus in Livermore. Steve and Carla McRee, Executive Director and Associate Director of SG since 1996, had no intention of moving across the country when they came to interview. They were content residing in Tennessee and running a successful rescue mission. A friend and business associate living in Pleasanton urged them to accept the offer of a round trip flight to California. “Funny things happened the day Carla and I came for the interview,” Steve recalls. “My foot caught as I hit the threshold of the doorway, and a foghorn went off in my head saying, ‘You belong here.’ When we stepped on the gravel lot destined to be the Livermore campus, we both heard separately the same message, which was: ‘This ministry is to expand and touch cities all over the world.’” The original section of the Livermore campus opened in 2000. With a second residence hall and five two-bedroom cottages added in 2006, as many as 70 women and children can be accommodated at a time. In 2004, Signature Properties offered to build SG a Brentwood facility free of charge. Housing up to 25 women and children, the 7,600 square foot site opened in 2006. Plans for additional space never end. As the website explains: “At Shepherd’s Gate we are constantly driven by a sense of urgency – we know women and children face desperate and dangerous circumstances each day. And to us, even one more day spent in homelessness, addiction, or abuse is too many.” In recognition of the long-term success achieved by SG graduates, referrals come from the judicial system, social service professionals, churches, and other organizations involved in helping homeless women and children master the tools they need to become self-sufficient and secure a stable living situation. SG welcomes “anyone, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, age, disability, marital status, or veteran status.” The core program “Road to Freedom” serves women who are homeless for any reason and lasts from 12-18 months. The “Working Woman Program” addresses the problems
See Haven continued on page 22
Local Postal Customer
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Permit 263 Alamo CA
ECRWSS
September is Corporate Volunteer month, sign up individually or as a business and help those in need!
Volunteers Always Wanted!
By Fran Miller
Seeking to lend time to a needy cause? Start with the Volunteer Center of the East Bay (VCEB) to find your perfect match. VCEB provides online resources for both volunteers and non-profits, bringing the two together to create meaningful volunteerism. Finding your ‘volunteer match’ is fun and easy. Enter a few key interest words on the online form, such as ‘animals,’ ‘environment,’ or ‘education,’ and uncover a menu of opportunities from amongst 100 non-profit organizations and 400 volunteer opportunities. VCEB offers one-time, on-going, and single day-of-service projects. Their site receives 11,000 ‘hits’ per month from project seekers. “We change lives,” says VCEB executive director Jo Loss. “That’s the bottom line. Our volunteers really are helping to change someone’s life. Sizing diapers at St. Vincent de Paul might seem inconsequential, but it really is a big deal.” See Volunteer continued on page 25
O’Neill Festival 2015 Highlights Tao House Playwright’s Legacy By Jody Morgan
Beginning on September 4th with the opening of A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and continuing with performances of O’Neill’s Desire Under the Elms, the 2015 Eugene O’Neill Festival -“A Season of Desire” – highlights O’Neill’s impact on American theatre. The month-long tribute to O’Neill’s legacy sponsored by the Eugene O’Neill Foundation Tao House (EOF) includes a variety of events designed to offer participants a deeper understanding of the man who invested his Nobel stipend in Danville Eugene and Carlotta O’Neill relax in their living room at Tao House property and where they resided 1937-1944. Photo courtesy of EOF archives. how his work prepared audiences to appreciate the genius of the subsequent generation of Volume VI - Number 11 American playwrights. 3000F Danville Blvd. #117, Role Players Ensemble presents A Streetcar Alamo, CA 94507 Named Desire at Danville’s Village Theatre (925) 405-6397 Fax (925) 406-0547 September 4-19. Winner of the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the play ran on Broadway Alisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher December 3, 1947 - December 17,1949. In editor@ his December 4, 1947 New York Times review, yourmonthlypaper.com Brooks Atkinson compared the script favoropinions expressed herein belong ably to Williams’s earlier success: “Like the The to the writers, and do not necessarily Glass Menagerie, the new play is a quietly reflect that of Danville Today News. Danville Today News is not woven study of intangibles. But to this ob- responsible for the content of any of the advertising herein, nor does server it shows a deeper insight and represents publication imply endorsement.
See Festival continued on page 26