Posts by Mike Mantecon

In our role as the community’s safety net, we’ve received a growing number of calls from residents, businesses, and Public Safety about RV and car encampments in Sunnyvale, asking SCS to reach out to people living in their vehicles and connect them to our services. Our case workers and partners at Downtown Streets Team knock on doors, wave through windows, and leave information sheets. We find that many people living this way are working during the day. But with no place to live, they are constantly looking for safe, well-lit places to park at night.

One of the first questions our case workers ask is, “How did you become homeless?” We know from our own data that loss of income is the leading cause of evictions for many people here in our community. But, loss of income doesn’t always mean loss of a job. More than 1/3 of workers at small businesses (under 100 employees) don’t have sick time, which means if they miss work for an illness, they are not paid. Part-time workers don’t have steady work shifts from week to week. A loss of just a few hours of work can lead to losing one’s home.

Many people sleeping in RVs and cars are hoping it’s a temporary situation until they are able to find more permanent housing. Unfortunately, their options are limited if they want to live close to jobs. For teachers, nursing assistants, car mechanics, and bus drivers, affordable housing is often 40+ miles away.

We are grateful for the generosity and caring concern shared by all of you—our neighbors helping neighbors. Thank you!

SCS has responded to this new reality, with specialized services to prevent homelessness and quickly help people find housing. We now have dedicated Housing Case Managers who focus on connecting landlords and tenants. A Benefits Specialist connects residents with government services. Financial coaching helps renters improve their credit scores. For the most vulnerable, we have intensive Case Management services, helping to stabilize families. Our year-found food program has also expanded from four to 22 distribution days each month, allowing a family of four to receive food valued at $462/month.

The housing crisis and the growing income divide will not be easily fixed. SCS continues to advocate for policies and programs that will help low-income residents.

Last year SCS helped 8,300 individuals with safety net services, including food to stay healthy, and financial support to stay housed or gain housing after being homeless. Every year we see a deepening need as the income gap widens in Silicon Valley. This year we are making an effort to add improvements to our support and extend our services deeper into the community, because we know that there are many more of our neighbors who are struggling to make ends meet. Some of the new programs and services we are providing include:

Sparkpoint - a United Way Bay Area Financial Training Program: One afternoon each week our Case Management clients come to SCS for scheduled financial coaching and credit counseling with a professional credit counselor. Working together, they develop plans to better manage their income, with an eye towards a stable future.

Homebound Case Management: Through generous funding from El Camino Healthcare District, our Case Management services will now reach eligible homebound clients currently enrolled in SCS food programs for seniors. Case Managers will conduct home visits to ensure these clients are being connected to crucial services.

Referrals and Outreach to North County Shelters: SCS caseworkers do intake referrals, and our Housing Case Manager visits the homeless shelter in Sunnyvale each week to reach out to families and individuals eligible for SCS’s rapid re-housing services.

Every year we see a deepening need as the income gap widens in Silicon Valley.

Coming Soon!

Columbia Neighborhood Center: We will hold office hours 1 - 2 days each week at this neighborhood location to deliver services to clients who cannot come to our main office. This will extend our reach into the community, building awareness of the services we offer, and providing convenience to those who otherwise might not be able to ask for help.

Sunnyvale Library: Once a week a caseworker will conduct outreach to homeless clients at the library, providing resource referrals and connecting them to SCS for case management. These and other outreach efforts mean that more people who need help will be served, making Sunnyvale a stronger, more resilient community. SCS continues to work to provide the best support possible to our neighbors in need.

Recently, the nation held its collective breath as hurricanes and earthquakes wreaked havoc, destroying lives and neighborhoods, and leaving thousands homeless. Natural disasters around the country and the world serve as a reminder of how one event can drastically change lives.

At Sunnyvale Community Services, we prepare for emergencies so we can help others when a crisis happens. Thanks to support from our community, our building has been retrofitted for stability in case of an earthquake. We partner with Sunnyvale Public Safety and the Red Cross to train our staff for medical emergencies and disaster preparedness.

But disasters can also be more personal—a loss of income, a rent increase, a work injury, a car accident, a death of a loved one. A family’s financial stability can be devastated by changes in benefits, such as cuts to food stamps for a working family, or changes to Medi-Cal coverage for households that need routine or emergency healthcare. Every day, the stress of trying to make ends meet makes it harder to deal with the next emergency. Families living on the edge in Silicon Valley worry all the time.

Last year, we assisted 529 people who were homeless—a shocking increase of 49% in just one year.

For low-income residents who live paycheck to paycheck, Sunnyvale Community Services (SCS) is their safety net. An increasing number of those affected by personal emergencies fill our front lobby. The most dramatic increase has been in the number of homeless individuals we helped. Last year, we assisted 529 people who were homeless—a shocking increase of 49% in just one year. Sadly, children under 18 were 17% of the homeless persons we served, and adults 50 or older were 40%. The total number of people we served in the past fiscal year, 8,300, was a 20% increase in just two years.

SCS’s financial aid and food distributions help to bridge the gap for low income families and seniors struggling in Silicon Valley. In August, a record number of 946 families came on a single “Produce Monday.” Every day, SCS provides additional food, toiletries, diapers, and other necessities for our neighbors in need.

We’re grateful that the community continues to support the most needy in our neighborhood here in Silicon Valley. Together we can build a better community, where everyone has a safe place to call home, with food on their table, and the lights turned on. Thank you!

We Californians love our cars, but few of us would want to sleep in our vehicles. Sadly, that is happening more frequently for many Sunnyvale residents. Seniors, couples, and families with children who are evicted from their homes want to stay near the schools and jobs and the neighborhoods they know—so they park their cars on local streets. The person serving you at a local restaurant or cleaning your house may not have a home to go to after work. The front seat of their car is their living room.

The person serving you at a local restaurant or cleaning your house may not have a home to go to after work.

Living in Sunnyvale, we have a lot at stake in the future of Silicon Valley. The housing crisis and transportation challenges are affecting long-time residents who have lived in Sunnyvale for decades. Access to affordable housing can help hard-working families with children live where they work and go to school, and allow seniors and Veterans on fixed incomes to remain in the community where they spent their lives. Without this access, seniors, children, and grandchildren risk being forced to move out of the area, and those who remain risk losing some of the rich tapestry of an inclusive community.

Sunnyvale has always been a welcoming community. Our community voted overwhelmingly to support Measure A, which will raise nearly $1B over the next 30 years for low-income housing and first-time home buyers in Santa Clara County. Voters also approved Measure B, which will raise much-needed funds for improved public transportation and road repairs. Our State of California government is also considering infrastructure and housing initiatives that can improve the quality of life for all residents. Sunnyvale Community Services stands with these efforts.

Sunnyvale Community Services never turns away an eligible person for lack of funds or food.

Sunnyvale Community Services never turns away an eligible person for lack of funds or food. Our roots go deep, and thanks to continued community support, we’ve been able to serve those less fortunate amidst the successes and challenges of Silicon Valley. We are grateful for the thousands of volunteers and donors who make it possible to serve 8,000 of our neighbors in need every year.

In many Sunnyvale classrooms, stomachs are grumbling. Last spring, local teachers and principals let us know that students were coming to school hungry on Monday mornings. Working families were making difficult choices as they juggled bills to pay, and food often ran out on the weekends. Sunnyvale Community Services worked with school staff and parents to pilot the Weekend School Food Program.

One in four children in Silicon Valley are “food insecure”—not knowing if they will have food every day. Numerous studies show that children who live in food insecure households have worse performance in math and reading, lose school days because of illness, repeat grades, and have overall lower academic achievement scores due to lack of nutrition (AAP Institute for Healthy Childhood Weight).

One in four children in Silicon Valley are “food insecure”—not knowing if they will have food every day.

Addressing Food Insecurity

In our role as the safety net in Sunnyvale, we have seen continued growth in the frequency of families coming for food assistance. Second Harvest Food Bank’s survey of 800 of their local clients in 2015 showed that 66% have had to choose between paying for food or paying for other necessities such as utilities, housing, medicine, or transportation.

According to the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), poor nutrition contributes to poor health, leading to increased diabetes risk, increased obesity risk, and increased risk of heart disease. It’s ironic that food insecurity and poverty also puts low-income children at risk of obesity, due to lack of access to healthy, affordable foods, fewer opportunities for physical activity, cycles of food deprivation and over-eating, high levels of stress, and limited access to health care.

In response to this growing need for healthier food, we now have nutritious food distributions every weekday. Over 50% of the food we distribute is healthy produce and 20% is lean proteins. A family of four who participates in all eligible food programs can receive healthy food valued at $396.00 each month, helping to close the food security gap and increase nutrition.

We have recruited hundreds of new volunteers and raised funds to fuel our food program growth. Thankfully, the community has responded with their time and their financial support.