Winter Sanctuary, Sacramento’s interfaith, rotating homeless shelter, is currently facing a substantial gap in its budget. The program, which nightly shelters 100 homeless adults, is set to open on December 1st and run through March 31st. However, the program will not be opening on December 1st if the funding gap is not significantly narrowed. Christie Holderegger, Vice President of Volunteers of America, spoke of the urgent need for this program, “Our neighbors are experiencing homelessness for a variety of reasons and many for the first time. They are looking to us, all of us to help them out of this desperate situation. As a community we can reach and uplift them. We saw hundreds of li

Sacramento|Yolo Mutual Housing Association recently raised nearly $65,000 at their second Building Up Breakfast in one-time donations and multi-year pledges. As expected, attendance was higher this year than at the inaugural event in 2010. Thanks to the sponsors, Bank of America, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Roseville Bank of Commerce, Sierra Health Foundation and Vital Networks, the nonprofit will be able to use all the money donated by individuals for programs, services and operations Mutual Housing develops and operates well-designed rental housing for modest-income households in Sacramento and Yolo counties. The communities are home to some 2,600 residents, nearly half of whom are ch

Mayor Kevin Johnson and "Sesame Street’s" Elmo met with parents at the Oak Park Community Center to promote Families Stand Together, a Sesame Workshop initiative that provides families with local resources to help them through tough financial situations. “Families Stand Together is an initiative that will have a lasting impact in our community,” Johnson said. When he introduced Gary Knell, president and CEO of the Sesame Workshop, Johnson pointed out that Knell was from Sacramento. Knell joined the stage to explain how "Sesame Street" began in the early days of television when it was quickly becoming a surrogate teacher for children. "Sesame Street" now reaches hundreds of countries and

A group he formed to address homelessness surpassed its target to work with agencies and provide housing for 800 families this year, Mayor Kevin Johnson told the media Tuesday morning. The group, Sacramento Steps Forward, formed last November and worked with other agencies to set up housing for 1,168 families this year. “We’re making a difference in people’s lives,” Johnson said. By 2012, Sacramento Steps Forward hopes to work with its partnering agencies to house 2,400 families. Sacramento Steps Forward works with Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing of Sacramento County (HPRP). The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency administers HPRP, which is a federal stimulus progr

A youth mentor for a local educational program said he used poetry to see himself through a difficult past. Coon, a 15-year-old high school sophomore, was walking home when he was shot three times. One bullet hit his spine and ricocheted into his lung. "I was hanging out with somebody who really wasn't my friend, and I pretty much took on their beef, their issues, and I was guilty by association," he said. "I've never been in a gang or anything like that. You don't have to be (involved) in a gang for something bad to happen to you." Asking to be referred to only by his last name (and stage name), Coon channeled the pain from his wounds and started taking his writing and poetry seriously

For the past three months, young people from 10 to 21 years of age have come together in Sacramento once a week to discuss their role in their physical environment. As part of the Youth Voices for Change initiative, the group called the Sactown Heroes collaborated with UC Davis scholars, artists and graduate students to explore their community, what they like about it and what could change. The culminating event on Tuesday was a presentation of their findings to the community. 14-year-old Bradly Palmer said he would change "where youth are welcome and where they are hired for jobs. Some places discriminate against youth because they think they're trouble-makers." He is a student at West