Monday, November 1st, 2021 | Volume 1 | Issue 2 |
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Dear Friends,
The holidays are almost here. Thankfully, our life is starting to slowly return to a new normal that includes gatherings and physical touch. I think all of us are happy to think about good times with friends and family. I don’t know about you, but getting and giving hugs is a high priority for me at my gatherings.
Many of you reading this are like family to us. So, we would like to share some of the cheer and pride we feel about the folks we serve and work with. People are the heart of The Living Room, and I think the enclosed updates and insights will make your heart happy. Soon we will be giving you news about the addition of a new campus. Teaser Alert!
Warm thoughts to you and yours!
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Success stories from our residents! |
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Lily is a resident in our Transitional Housing program, successfully making her way through our butterfly phase. (See The Living Room Program Housing Cycle) She is a hardworking mother of three children. It has not been an easy road for her, but through perseverance and patience, she is achieving success one step at a time. She has been in her current position for the past year and just learned she has been approved for yet another raise. Lily has her eye on the prize and is now preparing for her dream of having a place of her very own. She has goals set for herself some of which include, living a healthier lifestyle that includes exercise, spending time with her children and taking time-out with friends to re-charge her batteries. She is also preparing for her new place by cutting costs, buying furnishings at a discount, stocking-up on non-perishables and removing obstacles that may prevent her from achieving this most precious goal. She would like others to know that it is possible to start with nothing and work your way to success one step at a time. Keep up the good work and all your efforts are not going unnoticed. Way to go Lily! |
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Olga is a also resident in our Transitional Housing program. She is a single working mother of two young children to whom she is very attentive and patient. Olga is a hard worker. Olga has gained employment within a union and is determined to advance as soon as possible within the company. She been approved for a section 8 voucher for permanent housing, enrolled her two children in charter schools, purchased reliable transportation for herself and is one of the recipients of the St. Patrick's Episcopal Church scholarships. Congrats is in order to Olga and her family for all her hard work, determination and her Phoenix-rising spirit. We are so very proud of you and we see you making huge strides in your progress towards independence. You go Olga!! |
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The Living Room Program Housing Cycle |
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Diagram below shows the process each resident takes while working through
our transitional housing program.
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Additional Dwelling Unit (ADU). |
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Our ADU is complete and fully furnished by Inspired Spaces. We have a mother and child who moved in recently calling this place home. |
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Introducing the newest amazing members of
The Living Room team and recognizing our Executive Director for her three year commitment!
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Cindy
Pasko
Executive Director
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This end of October was my three-year anniversary with The Living Room. During this time, I have met and worked with so many lovely kind-hearted people! I often express that I am a better person for working here. I mean it from the depths of my heart.
The Living Room itself has also evolved. Changed. So has our world. We have focused on doing the best we can for those around us, and to keep on learning as we go.
COVID has been a great teacher about thinking outside of the box and for being grateful for community. We have learned that creating a pathway for health, and healing is our sweet-spot.
Housing is absolutely a part of this journey. Here is some of the progress we have made so far. We have five resident houses, two additional dwelling units (ADU’s), one tiny home, and one studio. In these residences we housed 14 women and eight children. All of this is built upon our Pathway Model, which you will read about in this issue of our newsletter.
We are also very close to being able to announce our new ADDITIONAL campus site!
Thank you all for supporting this work. I think we are a good team!
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Alethea
Larson
Director of Programs
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After working for 24 years professionally, I have landed my dream job as Director of Programs and Grant Writer at The Living Room.
I moved from my home state of Texas to Seattle where I continued volunteer work and community advocacy particularly for women.
My Californian husband and our daughter and I relocated to Santa Rosa in 2015 and we fell in love.
My relationship with The Living Room began while I was working for Whole Foods Market and we started a donation program to TLR which grew and has continued today.
Seeing and experiencing the love and commitment of the staff at TLR as well as my coworkers proved that community is alive and well and people have such capacity to give and they want to!
My experience in program building and execution, grants, housing and management allows me to jump in and passionately continue the work of The Living Room and to help provide the tools for our participants to accomplish their goals in order to achieve permanent housing.
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Hannah
Bunker
Outreach Assistant
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My name is Hannah Bunker and I am a new hire at The Living Room. I have joined the team as an Outreach Assistant, under the guidance of Thomas Alexander. I have only been on the job for a short while and it is already a dream come true.
I am originally from a small town in southern California, I settled here in Sonoma County after graduating with a degree in Women and Gender Studies and Anthropology from Sonoma State University.
My passion for helping and learning about the lives of others, especially women, has led me to working directly with disadvantaged and otherwise marginalized groups.
I have spent the past year working at Social Advocates for Youth as a Street Outreach Worker, and I continue to work there as a relief shelter staff.
I have thoroughly enjoyed serving my community through outreach, and I look forward to continuing this work with The Living Room. I am eager to maintain as well as advance the great work this agency is already doing in the community.
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The Secret Hope Kitchen
Bringing hope to others through food.
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The Secret Hope Kitchen is currently providing meals to off-site encampments, our residences, senior and youth sites, and insecurely housed families throughout Santa Rosa. |
We are serving between
100 and 200 meals daily.
Weekly 500-1,000 meals.
Monthly 2,000-4,300 meals.
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Blue Basket Pantry Program |
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Our Blue Basket Pantry Program is a weekly grocery service that provides well balanced meals with a focus on farm fresh produce and protein. Our goal is to produce meal cards and cooking tips to help people store, prepare, and serve wonderful meals. |
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Photo pictured above is of a resident cooking one of our Blue Basket Pantry meals.
"Thank you chef for another great recipe last week. Me and the kids enjoyed it."
-Resident
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New Outreach Tools From Unite Us |
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The Unite Us platform has been amazing connecting people to organizations that can help them. If the platform is unable to help, they respond right away and we can send their info to another resource until we find the correct fit for their needs. This has been an amazing tool for The Living Room and we are just learning its capability.
TLR Outreach program has grown greatly the last few months. We now have 3 organizations we supply hygiene kits to every week (SAV, 101 Impact Foundation, and Acts of Kindness). We have been able to provide 100 hygiene, 100 snack packs, and 100 water bottles to them each week while supplies last. The plan moving forward is to team up so that they can do recon in encampments. Then we are able to follow up the next day by going directly to that location. We sign them up for Unite Us and they are able to provide resources.
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Administrative Office:
Hours: 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM
328 South E Street
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
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Residences by The Living Room:
Hours: 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM
1207 Cleveland Ave
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
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Outcomes from our services and programs. |
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Number from July 1 - Oct. 1 2021.
7,106 Meals
14 Women reside in our houses
8 Children included
We are preparing 3 women to get into permanent housing. One family with children has moved into a larger house to accommodate the 3 children.
The mother of this family had been doing an outstanding job of moving her family forward.
She has taken additional training at work and has been promoted.
We give a big shout out to her hard work and true grit!
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Meet the newest addition to our Board of Directors. |
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Martha Saly has been a Sonoma County resident for 30 years. She has been a Realtor for the past 8 years. Prior to that, Martha worked as a strategic planning consultant for county health departments and nonprofit organizations throughout northern California. She served as the Executive Director of the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable, a public health policy coalition, from 2007-2014.
It is very important to Martha to give back to her community. She served on the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women at the time The Living Room was started, in the early 90s, and she remembers how exciting and innovative this new organization was at the time. Martha has donated to the Living Room over the years and was thrilled to be invited to serve on the board. Martha is a former board member of Latino Service Providers.
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A fifth generation Santa Rosa, Wes is the third generation of the Daniels family to be a part of the funeral home. He and his wife Carol are 1985 graduates of Santa Rosa High School. After high school, He attended both Azusa Pacific University and the University of Oregon, where he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. He is a 1989 graduate of the San Francisco College of Mortuary Science. Wes is a 2007 graduate of St. Mary's College of California with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Management.
Wes and Carol have two children, Will who is currently serving his apprenticeship at the funeral home, and Kaitlin who is in Medical Sales in the Bay Area.
He is an avid San Francisco Giants fan, San Jose Sharks fan, and anything University of Oregon. An active member of the community, Wes is a member of the Rotary Club of Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa Luther Burbank Lodge #57 F.&A.M., Santa Rosa Scottish Rite Bodies, and the Aahmes Shrine Temple. Additionally, Wes currently serves on the board of directors of The Living Room, the board of directors of the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, and is a member of the Alumni Volunteer Corporation for Oregon Beta Chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
In his spare time, Wes enjoys sports of all kinds, taking walks with Carol and their Border Collie Wrigley, baking, and attempting to play the bass guitar.
“My first experience with The Living Room came years ago when my mom would donate desserts for different events. I was the pickup and delivery person. Back then, The Living Room operated out of the Episcopal Church on Cherry Street, and I was always so impressed how much they did for those in need with so little resources.
When the opportunity came for me to be a part of The Living Room, I couldn’t imagine not saying yes. The commitment of the staff and volunteers is inspiring, and it is an honor to be a part of the organization. Of course, The Living Room is much larger now, but the need in our community is even greater. It really is an honor to be a part of the board during this exciting time.”
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Annual Fundraiser Loving The Living Room Was A Huge Success! |
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We want to give a big Thank You to all those who have supported our fundraiser this year. Due to your generous contributions we have raised over $180k! |
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Meet one of our awesome volunteers, Valerie! Valarie reached out and started volunteering with us in June of this year. She joins us every Monday morning making meals, and she also helped us in the kitchen during our annual fundraiser, Loving The Living Room. She's always super upbeat and positive, and a hardworking contributor to the team.
Why do you volunteer at The Living Room?
I wanted to use my free time to give back to the community. I knew about The Living Room from others who previously worked with the organization. I really admire the work the organization does and wanted to be apart of it. I enjoy cooking and I've loved being able to help cook for others.
What is your favorite part about volunteering?
My favorite part about The Living Room is how much effort the team puts into what they do. You can really tell that everyone cares about what they do.
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Do you want to volunteer? |
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Volunteers are the backbone of our organization. The service provided by our volunteer teams are critical to the daily operation of The Living Room, and we’re always looking for more to join us!
What Can I Help With?
Based on our operations, here are our current volunteer needs listed below:
Kitchen Team
Each morning The Living Room provides up to 175 hot meals a day to our residents and to partner organizations for distribution. Kitchen volunteers work in coordination with our Food Services Manager to prepare these delicious nourishing meals.
Garden Team
The Living Room’s campus is largely highlighted by our beautiful garden. Garden volunteers would work in coordination with our Facilities Manager for weekly upkeep, maintenance, and other miscellaneous projects.
Maintenance and Repair Team
Our resident living spaces could use the help of some handy volunteers! Maintenance volunteers would work in coordination with our Facilities Manager for occasional repair and carpentry work.
Special Service Projects
If you specialize in a particular field, you may be able to share service and/or expert knowledge with our participants. Whether it’s direct service, classes, or consultation, we’d love to hear your ideas!
How Do I Become A Volunteer?
All potential volunteers begin the process by submitting a Volunteer Application (linked below). At The Living Room, we are committed to providing a safe and secure space for everyone, and all potential volunteers are subject to an interview process and background check. Once approved, volunteers can join us on campus, where the fun begins!
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Bring your leadership to the table and help lead The Living Room into its future with your time, talents, and treasures. We are looking for individuals in a variety of career fields.
If you are interested in learning more and being a part of our board members please contact our Executive Director, Cindy Pasko, at 707-978-4801.
See link below for all board member requirements.
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Are you retired and not sure what to do with your time during retired life? Are you a student who needs volunteer hours or has extra time on their hands? Why not volunteer?
We welcome all who are willing and want to help with our daily operations. If you are interested please feel out the volunteer application by clicking the link below and our volunteer coordinator, Kris Bartolome will reach out to you.
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Want to help in another way? |
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Please consider an annual, monthly, or one time monetary donation. Thank you! |
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The mission of The Living Room is to ease adversity, promote stability, and support self-reliance for women and children who are experiencing homelessness, or at-risk of homelessness, in Sonoma County. |
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Administration Office Hours
Monday – Friday 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM
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Follow us on social media! |
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