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Pajaro Valley Shelter Services We provide shelter & safety. We tranform lives. We provide hope & home. of families exited successfully to permanent housing 87% of families exited successfully with savings for housing 67% of adults exited successfully with savings for housing 71% 204 Lives Changed in 2019-2020 Be a Hero for Families All Year Long $50 MONTH / $25 MONTH / $15 MONTH / Make a Monthly Gift www.pvshelter.org 2 Nights of Emergency Shelter for a Single Mom and Her Child 1 Case Management Meeting for a Family 1 Day of Nutritious Food for a Family of 4 together, we can help families thrive under a roof of their own. Trained volunteers are available to help fixed-income seniors age 60+ and health compromised older adults 55+ who can't visit a grocery store because of health risks. Welcoming new participants and volunteers. GROCERY HOTLINE: 831-427-3435 www.scvolunteercenter.org NEED HELP GETTING GROCERIES? Families at Pajaro Valley Shelter Services Persevere during the Pandemic Pajaro Valley Shelter Services (PVSS) celebrated a milestone in 2019-2020: 87% of families exited successfully to permanent housing. This success is a testament to the resilience and determination of PVSS families during the pandemic. It is also especially remarkable since the families we serve bear the brunt of the pandemic's health and socioeconomic consequences. Within a week of the Shelter-in-Place Order for Santa Cruz County, 57% of the families in our programs lost their jobs. They did not resign themselves to the situation; instead, they began seeking alternative employment with diligence and determination. Within a month, 25% of those families had regained employment, which demonstrates their commitment to building self-sufficiency against all odds. The pandemic is reinforcing PVSS' critical role in serving children and their parents experiencing homelessness. We are maintaining service levels across all programs – 6-month Emergency Shelter; 1- and 2-Year Transitional Housing; and Long-Term Housing. We are also helping families mitigate the effects of the pandemic on their progress to self-sufficiency. To ensure that families do not lose their housing, we are providing rent deferments. To ensure they can meet their families' basic needs, we are providing financial assistance. We are grateful for you, our community, for your unwavering support of our mission: providing families with a path to stable, self-sufficient futures through short- and longer-term housing and supportive services. Because of you, we continue to be the most effective organization in the Pajaro Valley that provides Emergency Shelter and Transitional Housing. Together, we help families thrive - not just survive - under a roof of their own. In 2019-2020: We provide shelter & safety. We provided warm, secure housing to 204 children and their parents. We transform lives. 67% of families exited successfully with savings for housing. 71% of adults exited successfully with employment. We offer hope & home. 87% of families exited successfully into permanent housing. We take the long-term view that families who address challenges beyond housing can maintain permanent housing and thrive long into the future. In fact, we celebrated the 40th family to purchase a home upon exiting PVSS' programs! Delivering lasting change to children and their parents experiencing homelessness takes hard work every day of the year. So, we turn to you for help to sustain and grow our programs for families experiencing homelessness. Join our Monthly Giving Family to sustain our daily efforts while supporting families to find and maintain permanent housing. Make a monthly gift on our website, www.pvshelter.org. (continued from Page 1) VolunteerCenter Really Connect. Really Connected Through the program volunteers are background checked and trained to take grocery orders and methods of payment. Volunteers then purchase groceries and pick up prescriptions on behalf of the senior and deliver these items to their doorstep using social distancing best practices. Having served 282 people with the help of 76 volunteers who have collectively delivered more than 3,000 bags of groceries, the grocery program has proven be an excellent way to lift the spirits of both those stuck at home and the volunteers as well. "I love that we are meeting a critical need and helping people maintain meaningful connections with one another in the process. Finding creative ways to remain connected is so important for everyone's emotional health as we continue to adapt to a socially distant lifestyle," states Ireland. Fixed-income seniors age 60 or older, or immune compromised adult 55+ who are vulnerable to COVID-19 can call the Grocery Shopper Hotline at 831-427-3435 to learn more. Potential volunteers can express interest at www.scvolunteercenter.org.