Interfaith Community Services commends Sam Abed for calling on all of North County's cities to share responsibility for helping the homeless. We are eager to work with the Escondido City Council to implement a regional task force that will find new ways to more effectively address the needs of the less fortunate in their communities of choice.
We would also like to clarify that Interfaith Community Services offers services in other North County cities besides Escondido. The total annual clients enumerated on our Web site include all of our service centers, not just Escondido. Last year, we served about 22,000 persons throughout North San Diego County.
Interfaith presently has offices in Oceanside, San Marcos and Vista, offering services to the impoverished in those communities. In Vista and San Marcos, our services are directed at helping low-income seniors maintain their present housing and to make certain that they are safe and able to live comfortably. We provide daily calls to those senior households, visits, case management and minor home repairs.
In Oceanside, we offer a variety of services including, but not limited to: employment opportunities and training for veterans, interdiction programs for adolescents who have been adjudicated, emergency services for families and individuals in crisis, and a business incubator for other nonprofits, funded in part by a National Demonstration Grant.
Interfaith owns apartments in San Marcos dedicated to affordable housing. We also own two apartments in Escondido dedicated to affordable housing for the most poor. We do own a variety of other housing stock dedicated primarily to transitional housing for families and individuals. Our graduates are now employed, self-sufficient and scattered throughout North County. Many of them are now giving back to the community by helping others in need.
We also have two formal contracts (one from the city of Poway and another from a national organization) to offer recovery services to Hurricane Katrina victims who have settled throughout the North San Diego County area. When the Paradise fire hit, Interfaith responded quickly and created a housing environment for 35 families in Pauma Valley in cooperation with the school district and concerned congregations there.
The 10 emergency beds and 44 transitional beds at our Escondido headquarters are funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and therefore are designated for veterans, including those who are senior and/or disabled. These beds are part of the 777 program beds for special populations within the Escondido city limits. They are kept full, as they should be. But keeping these beds filled means that on a blustery night, there is no relief for the homeless who have not yet found their way into a program.
Interfaith continually solicits support, participation and volunteers from our diverse member congregations spread throughout North County. The fact that six of the congregations in the Rotational Shelter Network are in Escondido is a tribute to the character and spirit of this community. We are privileged to work with these fine groups.
We have always been proud of Escondido's strong leadership in providing services and funding for the disadvantaged. We sincerely hope that Escondido will influence, guide and inspire other cities to provide equitable services for their residents. We have tried to spearhead a regional approach for an emergency winter shelter without success. It is clear that the city's influence in recruiting participation from other communities is essential.
We have supported the Salvation Army's request for a temperature-triggered shelter this winter in an effort to save fragile, vulnerable lives during unseasonably cold weather. It is not our intention to burden the city of Escondido with an unfair share of the area's homeless. Our clients are human beings in grave need and our mission mandates that we respond to their needs.
A shelter provides more than food, warmth and safety. It connects the homeless with social workers who can help them begin the journey back to productivity. It is the most appropriate and humane way to provide immediate and meaningful assistance. We urge the City Council to continue its thoughtful examination of the issues and to allow the Salvation Army to use the private funding they have secured to serve the destitute in fulfillment of their organization's mission.
Suzanne Stewart Pohlman is executive director of Interfaith Community Services, an Escondido-based nonprofit.
