The team of UCO staff and 41 volunteers (including students from the Key Club at Sato HS) worked together to successfully re-open the drop-in center. We offered two meal services to a total of 129 guests, of which 15 were new to the drop-in center. Nurse Anne Herzog and two nursing students from Cypress College gave caring service to many – everything from distributing supplements and over-the-counter medicine to checking blood pressure and dispensing advice for improved health. Our guests were also happy to receive hygiene items from the nurses.
UCO’s counseling staff and I were busy all afternoon completing intake forms for new clients and writing updates for returning guests. Many asked for assistance with job training and placement, as well as shelter and permanent housing. We are following up during the week to find ways to help clients move closer to more stable living situations. We continue to work with the County to help those who qualify submit housing assistance applications. Our housing coordinator is also working closely with her clients who are receiving both mental health and substance abuse treatments at Safe Refuge. She recently helped two of them find and move into permanent housing last month.
We helped a returning client with transportation costs that will allow her to go to Century Villages and the Social Security Office to check on her health and benefits hearing, respectively. We also helped a client receive help with her August rent from the County through Supervisor Janice Hahn’s office.
Several guests logged into the computers at our computer lab to read and send emails, as well as access other useful information on the internet. Overall, it was a productive day at the drop-in center, as guests, staff and volunteers were reunited following our closure in July.