They show up for a hot meal and a place to stay. That's the easy part. The bigger challenge is in giving homeless people dignity and a chance to succeed on their own. "It's great to be able to put a full plate of food in front of somebody," said Barbara Detherage, executive director of the Modesto Gospel Mission. "But to be able to give someone the tools they need to get food on their own is the cherry on top of the sundae."
A mother of three stood in the Tuolumne Elementary School cafeteria with her arms crossed, her bottom lip almost quivering and her voice filled with desperation. She's afraid. Her teenage son has been skipping school and hanging out with the neighborhood's bad crowd. She's hoping a program designed to scare students straight will help her child. That's why she waited to speak to Jorge Perez last week after a gang awareness meeting he organized at the school.
Taylor Lentz once hated gymnasiums. "I wasn't comfortable with all that noise," the 17-year-old Beyer High School junior said.
TOP JOBS
Driver Winton
Winton
Energy Scheduler I - Ii
Turlock
Medical Asst W Billi
Modesto
Human Resource Gener
Angels Camp
Human Resource Coordinator
Turlock
Nurse Practitioner Pa
Los Banos
Case Manager Mobile Unit Driver
Winton
Medical Front
Modesto
Project Specialist
Winton
Mental Health Clinician
Modesto
