San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
EATERY, BAR CLOSURES PROMPT FUNDRAISERS TO HELP WORKERS
Things have never been gloomier for the San Diego County restaurant and bar industry. But there’s a silver lining among the clouds.
In the wake of mass closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many restaurant and bar owners have launched charitable and crowd-funding campaigns to support laid-off employees, and others are giving food away to seniors, shut-ins, first responders and medical workers.
Leading the pack are Steven Yeng and Brittany Merrill Yeng of Ocean Beach. The co-founders of Skrewball Whiskey Co. have pledged up to $500,000 to the national Bartender’s Emergency Assistance Program and they’re planning to assemble up to 5,000 care packages to distribute to local laid-off hospitality workers.
In 2017, the couple launched their company with a peanut butter American whiskey inspired by a shot drink that Steven, 35, had developed long before in his years as a bartender. Brittany, 31, said she and her husband spent many years working in bars and restaurants (they recently sold the O.B. Noodle House) and were horrified by the mass closures that began on Saturday.
“We were paralyzed watching this unfold,” she said. “We felt compelled to do something. It wasn’t even worth looking at our bottom line. We just did what we needed to do. We diverted money that would have gone toward building our brand. That’s not important right now. People are.”
Vista-based Operation Hope-north County has announced it will close its yearround shelter for homeless families and single women in about two weeks, but the nonprofit also has launched a last-minute fund drive in hopes of staying open.
“We are trying to raise $100,000 before April 4,” said Lizbeth Ma, director of programs. “If we don’t raise $100,000 by then, we’re going to be forced to shut down.”
Operation Hope was founded in 2003 and operated a winter shelter for eight years. Aeriell Woodhams, community engagement coordinator for the nonprofit, said the financial strain began after the shelter expanded to year-round in 2016.
The board made the announcement to close North County’s only shelter for families on Wednesday, but also is hoping a push for donations could keep it and other programs alive. Donations can be made online at www.operationhopeshelter.org/dollar-donors.
Ma said a fundraiser that raises $100,000 could keep the shelter open along with related programs and classes, while less than that could keep its food pantry and boutique open.
The city of Vista in January released a plan to fund 10 shelter beds, but Ma said Operation Hope was not eligible for the city funds. The plan had called for beds to serve men in a low-barrier shelter, meaning an operation that turns away people struggling with addiction.
Operation Hope is for families and single women, and it screens clients for alcohol or drugs. Ma said that policy also was an obstacle in obtaining money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which follows a low-barrier model known as housing first.
Ma said only about 1 percent of its budget did come from HUD because of restrictions, with other money coming from private donations.
Some major donors have cut back in recent years or have begun spreading their money among various agencies rather than focusing on one, she said.
The shelter has 45 beds in 12 rooms, including one room with four beds for single women. The other 11 rooms are for families, including single mothers with their children. The shelter is considered transitional housing, with people usually staying just three to four months.
Besides the shelter, Operation Hope offers people in the shelter classes to help them become self-sufficient, including classes in parenting, budgeting and credit repairs, Ma said. It also offers job training classes and help with job placement.
Operation Hope was not alone in expanding its shelter. In 2015, Escondido’s Interfaith Community Services expanded its Haven House winter shelter to a year-round shelter, and the city of San Diego closed its winter shelter tents and moved the same number of beds indoors to Father Joe’s Villages.
In Oceanside, however, Bread of Life Rescue Mission had hoped to make its winter shelter year-round, but closed it altogether last year because of funding challenges.