In recognition of “Cancer in the Underserved Action Week Plus,” the Sacramento Community Cancer Coalition (SCCC) including VSP® Vision Care, Albie Carson Breast Cancer Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Susan G. Komen for the Cure Sacramento Valley Affiliate, and UC Davis Cancer Center, hosted the first day of a two-day health fair providing free medical services for local uninsured and underserved residents at Loaves and Fishes in Sacramento today. Patients received free comprehensive eye exams from local VSP optometrists Elisabeth Swan, O.D., Paul Kim, O.D., and Wesley Umeda, O.D. onboard a state-of-the-art, 45-foot long VSP Mobile Eyes Clinic. Free glasses were also prescribed for patient

Taking into consideration the results of the 2011 Homeless Count conducted in January, Sacramento County would need to provide about 1,000 beds in emergency homeless shelters to ensure that everyone has a roof over their heads this winter. Thursday morning, members of the local media, Loaves and Fishes community, Sacramento Housing Alliance and the homeless community gathered for a brief press conference at Friendship Park – the heart of the program and community center for the homeless community, providing multiple services for its guests – and discussed the lack of public allocated funding for emergency homeless shelters this winter. In what is expected to be a cold and wet winter sea

A group of Sacramento-area faith community leaders came out to be recognized on Tuesday for their participation in the Winter Sanctuary program to house the homeless in the winter. “From December to March, (the) Winter Sanctuary program sheltered 550 homeless men and women,” County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan said. It also served to aid the homeless with resources, employment and treatment of health issues, MacGlashan noted. “(In addition), they were provided with sleeping bags and transportation each evening by bus to a safe congregation, and there the volunteers from each congregation (served) them with dinner, breakfast, social and spiritual fellowship,” MacGlashan said. Under the

This year de Vere’s Irish Pub and the Downtown Sacramento Partnership (DSP) are teaming up to host Sacramento’s biggest St. Patrick’s Day event at Cesar Chavez Plaza on March 17 and to give back to a good cause. The de Vere’s Party in the Park will benefit Maryhouse, a daytime women and children’s homeless shelter at Loaves and Fishes. “We started this party years ago to create a signature event for Sacramento and give back to the community that had been so supportive of us as a new business,” said de Vere’s Irish Pub Owner Henry de Vere White. “By moving to a larger venue, we’ll be able to do more for our charity partner Maryhouse and continue our mother’s legacy for their cause.” The d

Sacramento’s St. Patrick’s Day party will be held downtown this year instead of on L Street so the event can accommodate the thousands of expected festivalgoers, according to Lisa Martinez, director of outreach and marketing for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership. The downtown organization and de Vere’s Irish Pub are organizing this year’s de Vere’s St. Patrick’s Day Party in the Park at Cesar Chavez Park from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday, March 17. “Our goal is to create a bigger footprint for the event,” said Martinez, Downtown Sacramento Partnership’s director of outreach and marketing. From 5 a.m. to midnight on March 17, Ninth Street will be shut down between I and J streets for

The four-legged friends of Sacramento’s homeless have a new place to call their own at Loaves & Fishes. “Anneke’s Haven” was dedicated Wednesday, and it will serve as a day-use kennel for pets belonging to the homeless. “What we offer for the animals is actually a place to rest, a meal and care,” said Sandra Morris, volunteer coordinator for Loaves & Fishes. “For many of our guests, the pets have an especially strong bond because, unlike humans, they give you unconditional love, and they provide safety.” The new kennel is across a walkway from the previous structure, which served the area for the past 15 years but was half the size and becoming run-down, Morris said. The old kennels wi

Loaves & Fishes is building a new 15,000-square-foot combination warehouse, reception area and administrative building on the corner of North C and Ahern streets. “This is really our welcoming center,” said Sister Libby Fernandez, executive director of Loaves & Fishes. “This is the entrance to Loaves and Fishes.” There were several reasons to build the new structure, which is a warehouse with interior walls to give space for offices in addition to storage, Fernandez said. The current warehouse and donation center is a rented space near Friendship Park and sees a lot of foot traffic, which poses a safety issue, Fernandez said. “We have 700 people walking through there every day,” she sa

A local group that combats homelessness is asking the public for $50,000 to shelter the poor during the winter season. Sacramento Steps Forward needs the funding to continue its new Winter Sanctuary program, which allows homeless people to sleep overnight at certain churches, according to the group’s director, Tim Brown. Volunteers of America is partnering with Sacramento Steps Forward on the program, which started Dec. 1, Brown said. The two groups have raised about $40,000, which will allow the program to run until the end of January, he said. Another $50,000 is needed to continue the program through the end of March, which is the goal. “The churches have really stepped up to open thei

A local group that addresses homelessness is already preparing to count the county’s homeless population in January. Sacramento Steps Forward, a group formed by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson to combat homelessness locally, is organizing the 2011 Homeless Street Count. While Johnson’s group is running the event, the information from the Jan. 27 count will be used by Sacramento County. The county is required by the federal Housing and Urban Development agency to provide information from a count every other year, said Michele Watts, program manager for Sacramento Steps Forward. The federal housing agency provides millions of dollars to Sacramento County’s homeless programs, Watts said. At

I will remember Nov. 22, 2010, as a big blur of turkey – from spicy and delicious to bland and dry. As one of five judges in City Councilman Rob Fong’s 4th Annual Turkey Cook Off on Monday, I nibbled on slices of 16 cooked birds. Sixteen! In all my 31 years, I have never had so many consecutive tastes of separate turkeys. The event was a benefit for Loaves & Fishes’ Thanksgiving meal, which will be held Tuesday. While 16 restaurants entered turkeys in Monday’s cookoff, the restaurants prepared many other turkeys to add up to about 40. The event was held at Beatnik Studios near 17th Street and Broadway. Sister Libby Fernandez said community participation is key to Loaves and Fishes’ annu

"This Designer Warehouse event is an opportunity for people to actually shop till they drop and feel guilt-free because every dollar earned here goes straight to our Maryhouse Day Hospitality Center for homeless women and children,"  explained Sister Libby Fernandez, RSM, Executive Director of Loaves and Fishes in Sacramento. Sister Libby tries on a designer top during the designer warehouse sale held Friday on the 25th floor of the US Bank building. It continued through Satuday. There were many high-end brands among the more than 40,000 pieces, including Charmel, Lillith, Cosabella, Elm and others. Here's some photos from Friday: Hats, hats and more hats! Lots of good eats don

Once a month, every month like clockwork since 2005, hundreds of people get together under the 12th street bridge for a love-in. Yes you heard right, and this is probably the first time you have ever heard of it. In fact it happens this Saturday, October 30th at 2:00pm.  People come from all over the area dressed in tie-dye and many other forms of clothing, depending on the weather, to create an atmosphere where "Love Wins". This monthly event is called Project61 and was started by local rapper and motivational speaker Minister RMB in the fall of 2004 with some friends.  RMB says, "Everybody wants to know they are valued and loved...regardless of their current situation or background.  Pe

Community leaders gathered to speak with local government to find out what is being done about the homelessness problem in Sacramento. It was a chance for the community to discuss the progress made toward more permanent housing and the setbacks that have hindered them. There was resolve that if the community efforts remain strong, the problem could be solved within the next few years. Mayor Kevin Johnson and Councilman Rob Fong were among 13 community leaders who spoke at the Homeless Forum held Tuesday in the Redwood Room at Sacramento State. “This is a chance to bring the activists to the policymakers,” said moderator and event organizer Steve Watters. Fong was the first of many to re

Once a month, hundreds of pets and their owners break the Saturday morning quiet on Ahern Street. Dogs bark and pace, cats meow in travel cases and owners talk to one another to pass the time. Many will wait up to six hours to be seen at the Loaves and Fishes’ location for free veterinary care for the homeless by UC Davis’ Mercer Veterinary Clinic. The clinic has been coming to Loaves and Fishes for more than 15 years to help the animals of the homeless clients. They visit the second Saturday of each month from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. On Sep. 11, 148 animals were brought to Mercer to be seen. Client Lisa Lafont of Sacramento brought her three dogs, Muffin, Missy and Sam, to be vaccinated, spaye

Things that make you go “Hmmm…”: Next year will be the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Has it really been that long? But, no need to dwell on negative memories as September 11 falls on Saturday, which also happens to be the date of one of the more jovial afternoon events in Sactown, the California Brewer’s Festival at Discovery Park. (Here’s an insider’s tip for the brew fest. Get buddy-buddy with the beer pourers, and they might not take one of those wooden tokens that are designed to regulate everyone’s hooch intake). If you’re still alive after sampling a few (dozen?) tasty NorCal ales, here’s what’s happening on your concert calendar. Side by Side Benefit Blues Show – OK, so we can prob

On Aug. 17, the City Council members voted 5-3 in favor of holding public comments until the end of its meetings. For the last three weeks, matters not found on the agenda have been addressed at the end of meetings for the last three weeks. However, the council’s rules of procedure were reversed last night after a number of advocacy groups publicly opposed the council’s decision. Council members passed the motion under the condition that commenting would not exceed 30 minutes and would allow each speaker a maximum of two minutes on the floor. If the allotted 30 minutes expire before a person is able to share, their comments are to be held until the end of the meeting. Prior to Tuesday’s

The homeless will find easy access to all the services they need in one location Saturday, as the third annual Sacramento Homeless Connect returns. The event, held at Sacramento City College, will run from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., offering a variety of resources including free haircuts, bicycle and wheelchair repair, California identification cards, job preparedness and even a barbecue lunch. "Last year we saw 700 people and had 400 volunteers," said Tim Brown, executive director of Sacramento Steps Forward. This year, Brown said he expects to see 800 homeless and about 500 volunteers, due mostly to the increased percentage of homeless. Sacramento Steps Forward is an initiative started to comba

The homeless population has another ally in Sacramento with the creation of Sacramento Copwatc in August of his year. Josh Cadji the young founder began the program with the abused homeless population in Sacramento in mind. Its no secret the homeless have been dragged through the dirty trenches of dislocation, harassment, and constantly uprooted through political fancy under the guise of altruism, but it’s the gumshoes that has Cadji concerned. Cadji, “Sacramento has a sizable homeless population, and homeless people are most vulnerable to rights abuse and physical violence on behalf of cops, so they need people out there who can watch the police.” The abused homeless demographic was t

Thursday morning, journalist Lisa Ling, members of the City Council and the homeless and formerly-homeless community joined Mayor Kevin Johnson in launching the "Sacramento Steps Forward" initiative. A crowd of several hundred waved blue initiative flags and cheered as Johnson announced his goal "to end homelessness and focus on permanent housing." He applauded permanent housing shelters such as Mercy Housing, Turning Point and Martin Luther King Jr. Village, 3900 47th Avenue, where the launch was held. Johnson said the goal of Sacramento Steps Forward is to provide 2,400 "decent and affordable" permanent housing units over the next three years. That would nearly quadruple the amount of

Thursday afternoon, about 50 seniors, homeless and other community members participated in the Sacramento Housing Alliance Affordable Housing Bus Tour. The tour surveyed 10 different housing options and stopped to provide in-depth tours of three housing complexes. Guided by Shamus Roller, director of the SHA, Ken Cross, CEO of Sacramento Habitat for Humanity and Paul Ainger, Mercy Housing project developer, the four-hour tour began and ended at the SHA office in Midtown. "It's important to know what affordable housing means," Ainger said. According to the federal government, housing is considered "affordable" when a person renting or buying it spends no more than 30 percent of his or her