Success & Service: Modesto homeless family of 11 to get shelter by Thanksgiving

Family Promise of Greater Modesto succeeded in helping a family of 11 find a home in Modesto after spending several months in a shelter, said Tamra Losinski, the nonprofit agency’s executive director.

The landlord came forward after hearing about the family’s plight on social media through the Latino Community Roundtable, Losinski said. The couple that owns the four-bedroom home both are from large families and understood the family’s needs. They also dropped the rent considerably to make the home available. The family’s situation was featured in a Bee column a week ago, and the Modesto Peace/Life Center also spread the word through its Facebook page.

“They created an affordable housing solution for this family – using the one rental home that they own,” Losinski said.

If that hadn’t happened, she said, the family might have found itself homeless. The agency already had extended the family’s stay in church shelters beyond the normal 90 days.

The agency works with families, most of whom have lost homes to foreclosure or were evicted, to keep them together until new housing can be found. The family of 11 was the largest the agency had ever handled. Family Promise works with 13 local congregations, with more than 500 volunteers assisting with meals, sleeping quarters and other amenities. It relies on donations and grants to offer its services.

Visit www.modestofamilypromise.org for more information about the organization.

Modesto moms of ‘Angels’ bring 100 toys to UCSF

Making good on a pledge to honor their sons, Sue Fontana-Moniz and Shelley Medeiros of Modesto delivered a load of toys to the children at University of California, San Francisco Medical Center last week.

Their sons, Maurice Moniz Jr. and Zacharias Goni, were good friends who died in motorcycle accidents on Nov. 8, 2013 and Nov. 2, 2014, respectively, and their story was featured in a Sept. 6 column by The Bee’s Jeff Jardine.

Their mothers have created a Facebook page in their honor, calling it “Our Angels,” and the toy collection and delivery “November Smiles.” They took more than 100 toys to UCSF on Nov. 13, and plan to do the same in 2016.

West Side kids earn scholarships

Thirteen students earned scholarships and cash prizes as winners of the first West Side Takes Stage performing arts competition. First-prize winners receiving $1,000 each were Stephanie Rempel, a senior at Orestimba High School, and Christopher Apostol, a seventh-grader at Creekside Middle School. Second-place finishers included Leslie Godinez, a junior at Gustine High, and Tiffany Hogue, a seventh-grader at Yolo Middle School. They each received $500. Third-place finishers taking home $250 each were Madeleine Hartsell, a senior at Patterson High, and Juliana Esquivez, a seventh-grader at Yolo Middle School. Seven others received $25 each. They are Orestimba High juniors Jerry Marquez, Cynthia Leon and Toni Ball, sophomore Jasmine Rodriguez, and senior Weston Freitas. They were joined by Patterson High seniors Steven Halseth and Steve Vaid.

West Side Takes Stage is a new nonprofit created by area residents Samia Merza-Fillpot and Ron Swift and receives support from the Thompson auto dealerships in Patterson, The Stewart & Jasper Co., and individual donors.

Community Hospice in running for $25k prize

Two local businessmen are leading a local effort to win $25,000 for Community Hospice through Help4Hearts, a campaign initiated by United Capital financial advisers. Jason Gordo and Jeff Burrow, advisers in Modesto, picked Community Hospice as the local charity that, if it becomes among the five finalists among 38 total nonprofits, will be in the drawing for the prize.

People can aid the local cause by signing up for and selecting free gifts on the company’s website at http://www.unitedcp.com/ca9.

Then click to receive the gifts and choose Gordo or Burrow as your adviser, provide the requested information, and submit. Or you can call Community Hospice at 209-578-6370, or Modesto’s United Capital office at 209-579-5900, to sign up.

This story was originally published November 21, 2015 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Success & Service: Modesto homeless family of 11 to get shelter by Thanksgiving."