San Benito County’s winter homeless shelter won’t have to close
early, thanks to the generosity of local businesses and
residents.
HOLLISTER
San Benito County’s winter homeless shelter won’t have to close early, thanks to the generosity of local businesses and residents.
Ever since the Homeless Task Force – along with the local battered women’s shelter, Emmaus House – was passed over for a Federal Emergency Shelter Grant, task force members had been looking for money to fill an anticipated $20,000 shortfall. Without those dollars, the shelter would have had to close a month early, on Feb. 15, said shelter manager Cindy Parr.
Luckily, locals donated even more than the task force needs, Parr said.
“They just believe in it,” she said. “What an awesome community we have.”
Task force member Doug Emerson said recent donations total almost $25,000. Emerson, also Hollister’s mayor, said he had been confident the group would meet its fundraising goal, but he was “pleasantly surprised” the goal was comfortably exceeded.
“That’s a great feeling,” he said. “For a lot of people and businesses to donate in this economy, that’s a big deal.”
Many of the donations came from residents who wrote checks of around $100, Emerson said, but the task force also received an anonymous $5,000 donation.
It’s a good thing the shelter will stay open until early March because, Parr said, it’s “not an option to close the doors in February.”
“That warm bed is just so necessary,” she said.
Meeting this season’s goals doesn’t end the fundraising, Emerson said. The shelter costs between $75,000 and $80,000 per season to operate, and the task force is also trying to find a location for a new, year-round shelter. At the current site, the task force can serve only adults, while a new shelter could serve families and children, Emerson said.
The extra donations will help pay next winter’s operating costs, Emerson said. To that end, the task force has also received a $15,000 donation from the Monterey Peninsula Foundation and will soon apply for another grant.
The announcement comes just a few days after Christmas. Parr said she spent Christmas morning at the shelter, where volunteers gave presents to the homeless and cooked them breakfast.
“This is just such a rewarding job,” she said.
