Brown Bag, Behavioral Health give hand up to homeless.
CALEXICO — The lure behind the third annual Homeless Resource Fair were nonprofits which distributed a survival item so the homeless could fight another day to turn their lives around.
Organized by the Brown Bag Coalition with space donated by Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego and Imperial County and groups recruited through Imperial County Behavioral Health Services, 15 agencies parachuted in with rescue packages here Saturday.
More than 70 needy found their way to Our Lady of Guadalupe Men’s Shelter to find encouragement and a few comforts of home from clothing, shoes, oral health screening and eye exams, noted Terrie Gonzalez, outreach coordinator of Behavioral Health. “We wanted agencies who could offer something useful and I believe we met that goal,” said Gonzalez.
Along with the array of nonprofits were Air Comfort Heating & Cooling providing fans. McDonalds of Calexico and Lexrian Concepts offered free Obama phones.
The surprising thing was the event was not seeing less homeless but more, noted Maribel Padilla, co-founder of Brown Bag. “The number one thing our clients came for were showers,” she said. “We had 25 this morning. And they can’t find that anywhere else.”
Yet not everyone fell into the cliché of substance abuser. Homeless three months and unemployed 1 and 1/2 years was Robert Heeney, a former Real Estate appraiser who has 37 years experience. When his former employer retired he gave Heeney just 30 days warning. He was dealing only commercial property. “I didn’t want to go back into residential, because when interest rates go up it hurts business,” he said. “Its feast or famine, it’s all based on refinancing.”
After flirting with working in the fields he read about a truck driving prospect he aims to pursue. “Most are based in Fontana/ Rialto,” he recalled. “I can get a Class A license in 30 days. Some trucking companies pay your training and your license.”
Arriving from El Centro, where she lives in a tent, Mary Lou Sandoval, returned to Imperial County after living in Los Angeles County to live with her sister but eventually became homeless. Recently, she enrolled at the California Department of Rehabilitation where they are helping her get back on her feet.
“I got an interview for housing but I’m trying to get SSI for my mental disability—I’m not ashamed,” said Sandoval. “I like the resource fair, but it was hard to find. They should have little maps. They need something like this in El Centro.”
Grateful for the meal Brown Bag prepared, Dalia Arce is also recently homeless. She has two granddaughters, 5 and 2 years of age in her care. “I’m trying to get a residency but I don’t have the deposit,” she confided. “People here are very welcoming. I got an Obama phone and I got reading and distance glasses. I was here last year and every year it’s been supportive.”
Receiving Cal Fresh (food stamp) assistance, Miguel Angel volunteers in the shelter near Walmart in exchange for his room, which he described as peaceful as long as the tenants behave.
“Thank God for subsidies, it could happen to anybody, and thanks for the Resource Fair, they’re saving lives,” said Angel. “The worst thing about homelessness is the loneliness. You need somebody to watch your back. We’d all like to work but it takes miracle for a job today. Just surviving is work.”