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Health & Fitness

Help for the Homeless

Gilroy has the highest per capita rate of homelessness in Santa Clara County. Here's what the community is doing to help.

People are often surprised to hear that Gilroy has a high rate of homelessness compared to other cities in Santa Clara County. They wonder how it is possible, since homelessness is an "urban" problem.

Yet, the point-in-time homeless census, which was conducted in February and whose complete results will be released this month, found high numbers of homeless people, not only in the central, "urban" parts of Gilroy, but in the rural outskirts and in San Martin. Most were not in shelters. In South County, there are people sleeping along creeks, under trees, in vehicles, tents and makeshift shacks. Most never carry a sign, some have jobs, and many do all they can to hide the fact that they are homeless.

The Gilroy Homeless Task Force, which has been meeting monthly for several years, has identified four priorities in providing help: emergency shelter, access to services, permanent housing, and outreach.

Find out what's happening in Gilroywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Task Force was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation on April 28 — from the City of San Jose, Project Homeless Connect and Destination Home  — to recognize the work of the Task Force as a partner in Project Homeless Connect (PHC.) The PHC single-day outreach events bring together food, clothing, services, referrals, and medical care — all under one roof. Anyone who has had trouble getting to appointments in another city can appreciate how difficult it is for homeless people in Gilroy to get help when that help is located in San Jose. Geography matters. The last PHC event in Gilroy drew 180 people, including many families with children.

PHC Coordinator Andrew Henning will be sorely missed (he has almost finished his year as an intern with the program). He will be around long enough to help with the next PHC event in Gilroy on Monday, May 23, at the First Baptist Church. After that, the events can continue as needed with local coordination. (Luckily, Andrew is willing to leave us his PHC binder.)

Find out what's happening in Gilroywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Gilroy Compassion Center — a one-stop day services center plus emergency shelter for the homeless —  is getting past the "dream" stage. Seventy-eight people attended an informational breakfast on April 21 to find out about the project. It's not often that a single event draws politicians, business people, service providers, the faith community and homeless people, but the eclectic audience proves that homelessness is an issue that touches the whole community. Many thanks to the Gilroy LDS Church for hosting the event (by the way, did you see the LDS volunteers out in force last Saturday, cleaning up Gilroy as part of their statewide day of service?). Kudos to the Salvation Army for donating the delicious meal!

Volunteers are needed to help make the Gilroy Compassion Center a reality. Can you help with legal services, grant-writing, or fundraising? Can you organize a donation drive for toiletry items, socks, T-shirts, caps, or underwear?  Will you be able to volunteer at the center when it is time to provide services? Contact: gilroycompassioncenter@yahoo.com to get involved.

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