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Hello, Friends -
As the days shorten and the air turns crisp, we’re feeling so grateful heading into Thanksgiving and the holiday season. We are busy preparing holiday celebrations for members, and the Cafe is overflowing with new members as the weather turns cold.
We also know the holidays are the hardest time of the year for many of us, for those navigating recovery, housing instability, or time away from loved ones especially. This is also what makes the Café so special right now: it’s a place where people come to belong, feel loved, and spend the holidays in warm community. Scroll to the bottom to learn how you can help us give the gift of belonging this season.
We also want to extend a heartfelt thank you to District 9 Councilmember Pam Foley for her recent grant supporting our community meals program. Her thoughtful generosity will help provide nearly 1,000 healthy, delicious meals at the Café during this holiday season. Thank you for your support of our mission, model, and members!
Finally, please note that the Café will be closed on Thursday, November 26th and Friday, November 27th for Thanksgiving.
In gratitude -
Julie Anderson, Executive Director
and Elena Ajluni, Development Manager
| Let the festivities begin! | | |
👻🎃🕷️ Happy Halloween 🕷️🎃👻
Our annual Halloween party was full of treats, tricks, and plenty of laughs. Members competed in a marshmallow eating contest, got creative with beading and pumpkin decorating, and played Halloween BINGO. Our costume contest crowned winners for the funniest, scariest, and overall best costumes.
Over in our Lab (otherwise known as the kitchen), the menu featured some very special “organ donations”: eyeballs (stuffed pasta shells), intestines (sausage), and a side of gallbladders (mozzarella and tomato with pesto). Delicious!
The festivities ended with a big Halloween dance party and our favorite tradition of the month: our end of month celebration! This month, one member moved into his new housing, and another celebrated 9 months of sobriety. No matter how big or small the win, we’re here to celebrate it together.
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🏵️🕯️💀 Feliz Dia de los Muertos 💀🕯️🏵️
Each year, we celebrate Día de los Muertos to honor and remember those who have passed. This year, we hold especially close the members of our own Café community who we lost. Our ofrenda at the Café holds photos of these beloved members, and our community added photos of their own loved ones as well. We love you, we miss you, and we’re thinking of you today and always.
| Welcome Mark & Katherine! | |
We’re excited to welcome two new faces to our team!
Mark is our new Finance & Operations Manager. He brings years of nonprofit experience from United Way and American Leadership Forum, and currently serves as Treasurer on the board of the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits. Originally from Ohio, Mark holds a degree in History from Swarthmore College.
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Katherine helps members navigate the systems and resources they need, from housing to health care and beyond. Advocating for others has been at the heart of her personal and professional life, and she has served communities across the Bay Area, including Berkeley, where she recently earned her degree in Psychology. Her promise to our members is simple: “I will try my best to advocate and support everyone in their individual journeys.”
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Want to join the team? We are still looking for a Substance Use Dirorder Specialist. Learn more and apply here.
| Grateful to Our Community Partners | | |
As we head into the season of giving and gratitude, we’re so incredibly thankful for the community partners who show up for our members month after month.
Community Cycles stops by each month to offer bike repairs, and HopeWeave distributes hygiene kits to members in need. Bank of America joins us monthly for a financial literacy presentation and a drop in hour of one on one support, and the Law Foundation visits each month to connect members with legal resources and support.
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Two partners also enrich our School for Recovery with weekly classes. The Ignatian Spirituality Project hosts a Spiritual Reflection for Recovery, offering members space for reflection and connection, and Garden to Table leads a Seed to Table class where members learn about growing and preparing fresh food. Red Ladder Theatre leads an improv session where members build confidence, creativity, and connection through play. Their work will take the stage at a member performance on Monday, December 21st at 4:30pm, followed by a reception in the Café.
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This month, we also welcomed several partners who shared valuable resources with our community. In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI) presented on practical prevention, supportive services, and helpful resources. The Responsible Landlord Engagement Initiative (RLEI) shared how they promote housing and neighborhood stability through outreach, education, and support services. And Homeward Bound, a City of San José program, shared how they help people reconnect with friends and family by assisting with travel anywhere in the contiguous United States.
| | Member Spotlight: Meet Charles | | |
Charles first walked through the Cafe doors in 2019. Like many in our community, his path here was not a straight line. He came and went over the years, and in 2024 he began showing up with more consistency. This month, Charles is 4 months sober and two months into a new job at Grocery Outlet.
Even with a full work schedule, Charles still makes time for the Café. He calls it “the best place to have a sense of community.” For him, the Café is a place to belong and a way to give back to the community that gave so much to him. Here, he found people who showed up for him, and now he shows up for them.
Charles’ story is a reminder that recovery happens in community, one day at a time. Your support keeps our doors open for every member, whenever they are ready to walk back in.
| | Give the Gift of Belonging | | |
We need your help reaching our fundraising goal of $100,000 this holiday season!
Last year, 40 donors raised $75,000 during the holidays, to support the life changing Cafe community. This year, we’re aiming for $100,000 from 100 gifts. Every gift counts toward our goal, no matter the size, to help us get there!
There are lots of ways to pitch in: make a donation, share our social media posts, send a quick text to show your support, or send an email your friends and family to tell them why you support Recovery Café.
To make emailing easy, we’ve written a message for you. Just click here, add your friends’ email addresses, personalize anything you'd like, and hit send.
Every little bit helps, and your participation means the world to us!
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Learn More About Our Community of Support & Services
Recovery Cafe San Jose provides a community of loving support and services for people working to recover from addictions, homelessness, incarceration, mental health challenges, and other kinds of life trauma. Our model of loving accountability empowers personal growth and transformation. Cafe members enjoy free access to weekly recovery circles, a 10-week School for Recovery, two community meals each day, and become part of the community which gathers in the Cafe's warm, safe, sober, and beautiful space.
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Get help: if you or someone you love needs the healing power of sober community and small group healing, learn more about how to join us
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Come visit! Email our radical hospitality coordinator to set up a time
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Join our volunteers: learn more or complete the form
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Donate to support our mission and community
Thank you - we love you! ❤️
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