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

Award-winning travel writer and TV host Rick Steves is coming to Sacramento next week to share his thoughts on travel at St. John’s Lutheran Church. “Americans can travel in one of two ways,” Steves said. “They can travel in a way that widens the gap between them and the rest of the world, or with the proper attitude, you can broaden your perspective and get empathy for other cultures.” Steves got his start in the travel industry as a tour guide, and he has since authored more than 50 guidebooks. He is also is the host of the PBS series “Rick Steves’ Europe.” He had a simple message for those who are nervous or afraid about setting foot on foreign shores: “Fear is for people who don’t

St. John’s will give formerly homeless women with children the opportunity to gain work experience and become more self sufficient with its new restaurant, Plates Cafe and Catering. St. John’s Shelter Program for Women & Children celebrated its anniversary on Thursday along with the grand opening of Plates. Guest speakers such as Congresswoman Doris Matsui, Assemblywoman Alyson Huber and Mayor Kevin Johnson attended, along with 350 supporters from the community. "Plates is  a very, very special place,” Matsui said. “It provides a place, a structure, a sanctuary.” After graduating from the 90-day program at St. John’s Shelter, Plates trains women with skills in the food service, catering,

Religious congregations are assisting homeless families through a new housing program backed by Sacramento City Councilman Robert Fong. In the program, known as the Faith & Homeless Families Initiative, local religious groups find housing for homeless families with children. The program is emerging as local homeless shelters say they’re turning away families because of limited shelter space, according to Tim Brown, director of the Ending Chronic Homelessness Initiative, a local public/private partnership. “There’s a lot of newer homeless families,” he said. The program began in February and has linked six families to congregations. The congregations then found housing for the families,