The line of people waiting for food baskets at La Luz Center on Friday was the longest it has ever been. Over the course of the morning, 1,318 received food baskets, twice as many people as received them in July.
Non-profits like La Luz, FISH and Vineyard Workers Services are working hard to meet increased requests for food, and help with rent and finding employment.
Donations of both food and money have been critical in the past few months.
“We call it pennies from heaven. Somehow we’re able to fill the need,” said Jennifer Yankovich, a coordinator for Friends in Sonoma Helping (FISH).
Food requests are at maximum level FISH can provide – serving about 10,000 individuals, about half of these children. In the past six months, FISH has registered 200 new families who had never before asked for help.
FISH also gives emergency rental assistance. They anticipated more need and budgeted accordingly in 2008, but ended up spending even $24,000 above that.
A family just making it might be pushed over the edge by the loss of a job or housing.
The Valley’s Latino community has been hit especially hard as many Latinos work in the construction industry. Jobs in hospitality have also been harder to come by.
Many go to Vineyard Workers Services for help finding work. Executive director Kenneth Ramirez said they’ve had over twice as many people coming in for employment help. Staff is setting up a service to connect willing workers with locals who want to contract out small construction or landscaping projects.
“People are at the point where they no longer can afford to go back. They have nothing to go back to. The Mexican system does not support those people,” said Brenda Serrano, administrative assistant at La Luz. “Most people choose to stay and hope for the best.”
The situation is particularly tenuous for people who don’t have a social security number because they can’t collect unemployment.
Serrano heard of cases where the bank foreclosed on the house, but the landlord kept coming by to demand rent. The renters didn’t find out about the foreclosure until the bank told them they had 60 days to get out. Then they didn’t even get their deposits back.
Other people have lost their homes when they couldn’t meet mortgage payments.
La Luz’s primary base of clients are Latinos, but they’ve also seen an increase in non-Latino families coming in for food and services.
How to help
FISH collects food donations on an ongoing basis at local supermarkets and at their building at 18330 Sonoma Highway. They also need volunteers, especially to help drive people to medical appointments. Call 707.996.0111 for more information.
Vineyard Workers Services is running a job bank to connect homeowners with workers to help on small construction, cleaning and landscaping projects around the house. If you need to hire a worker, call 707.933.0897.
La Luz Center currently needs volunteers for a variety of needs, particularly people willing to baby-sit for an hour or two during meetings and consults that take place during both the day and evening. Volunteers do not need to be bilingual. Call 707.938.5131 for information. The center also accepts non-perishable food donations during office hours, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday.
