July Newsletter

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I N THE NEWS

Miocar carsharing serivce being offered in Tulare County

Communities still gaming out future of groundwater

Fresno Bank Assists in landing $1.3M for affordable housing

Cal Water investing in infrastructure water quality projects

Families receive keys to home

Tulare County grants $95,000 to nonprofits for at-risk youth

SHE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

*NEW Assistant Program Director of Real Estate Development

*NEW Project Manager - Real Estate Development

* See All Current Openings *

Tulare County families connect to new water system

Maria is a long time resident of Okieville-Highland Acres, a small rural community in Tulare County five miles west of the City of Tulare consisting of approximately 100 homes. Maria first bought her home with her husband (now deceased) back in 2000, and together they had three daughters. Today, Maria stays at home to care for two of her four grandchildren. For decades, families in this area have depended on their individual water wells for their daily water needs. Unfortunately, in 2015, many wells in this community went dry due to the drought. This was the case with Maria’s well. One day, when paying her Tulare Irrigation District Assessment, she shared that they were out of water. Maria was advised to call 211, a comprehensive source of local human and social services information, and that’s how Maria first learned about Self-Help Enterprises’ emergency water tank program.

In 2014, SHE began designing and implementing a drought relief program. With an initial donation from the Bank of Sierra, SHE staff developed a water tank/pump system that could use hauled water to provide running water into homes. Read more.

Miocar: A 100% Electric Carsharing Service for San Joaquin Valley Debuts

Tulare and Kern counties have a new innovative service called Miocar— a 100% electric vehicle carsharing service providing rural San Joaquin Valley residents affordable access to vehicles that can be rented on an hourly or daily basis online or via a smartphone mobile app. Miocar gives licensed residents an easy and flexible transportation option for running errands, getting to medical appointments, job interviews or other daily needs.

A significant portion of the San Joaquin Valley’s four million residents live in rural areas. Long-distance travel is a constant challenge for many living in these communities. Miocar was created to bridge significant transportation access gaps, supplement the available transportation options in rural areas and offer residents easier mobility. “I loved the convenience of using Miocar,” said Laura Aguilera from Dinuba. “It was fun to drive and very easy to get in and out of, even with car seats for my kids, making emergency trips to the store easy and enjoyable.” Self-Help Enterprises (SHE) and the California Vanpool Authority are both operating partners of Miocar. SHE is providing the space for charging stations at several of SHE's rental communities while California Vanpool Authority is providing fleet management, repairs and more. Read more.

Click here to check out the latest TV coverage on Miocar.

Resident Services: Summer Lunch Program Reaches Across 5 Counties

This summer, Self-Help Enterprises’ Summer Lunch Program is reaching across five counties. Children and teens receive a free, nutritious lunch Monday through Friday throughout the summer at ten of our multi-family rental housing communities, serving an average of 270 kids per day. Summer lunch is available at these SHE Locations: North Park, Rancho Lindo, Solinas Village, Almond Court, Lincoln Plaza, Vera Cruz Village, Goshen Village II, Biola Village, Casas de la Vina and Villa Del Rey.

Many families rely on school lunch to help ease tight budgets. But when summer arrives, and school meals are no longer an option, it becomes harder to make ends meet and food for the entire month is not always guaranteed. Current federally funded nutrition programs are in place to help children get the nourishment they need to grow and learn during the summer months. Unfortunately, there are too many children that are unable to reach these resources. By hosting the Summer Lunch Program in SHE communities, food is closer to home, not just for children in our rental housing, but for children in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Resident Services is collaborating with Economic Opportunities Commission, Fresno, Superintendent of Schools, Kern County and the Kings County Action Agency to sponsor our sites under USDA-funded Summer Meals Program to provide the daily meals. We also received supportive funding from Kern Family Health Care’s Community Grant Program to help us close the nutrition gap!

Community Development Activities

SHE kicked off its new Technical, Managerial and Financial Training Series for Small Community Water Systems. The series will consist of quarterly workshops held regionally throughout SHE’s service area. The first workshop, Introduction to Accounting Basics and Software, was held on July 10 at the SHE office and focused on accounting terminology, important financial reports, and how to prepare those reports on QuickBooks. Nine participants from five communities participated in the training. The training will also be held in Madera and Kern County in the months of August and September.

Participants of the Rural Communities Water Managers Leadership Institute took part in a water tour of the Kaweah subbasin on July 20. The tour consisted of five stops that focused on different water and community projects, including a farm/dairy, the Okieville community water system, the Farmersville Sports Park, a recharge basin, and a new recharge project in the City of Visalia. Participants were able to learn how different water interests use water, how they work together to find viable solutions to water issues, and about their participation in programs like the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.