Learn how Modesto-area volunteers have adopted foster care model to help the homeless
Modesto residents Juan and Jenifer Aldamuy and their three young daughters recently were homeless for several months, car camping in their 2001 Lincoln Navigator, sometimes renting a motel room, or staying with friends, but making sure they don’t stay too long and wear out their welcome.
They say homeless shelters were not a solution because they separate Juan from the rest of the family, and mom and dad worried a shelter was not a good place for their daughters. The Aldamuys say there are plenty of nonprofits and other agencies that want to help but accessing help can be daunting and there just is not enough affordable housing.
“From a family perspective,” Juan Aldamuy said in early November, “it’s very tough.”
The Aldamuys recently found a temporary home with Jenifer Aldamuy’s parents in Bakersfield, arriving there last week. They plan on helping Jenifer Aldamuy’s mother recuperate from her upcoming back surgery while they figure out their long-term plans.
Acting as a champion for homeless
But for homeless people and families who cannot turn to family, the Stanislaus Homeless Advocacy and Resource Enterprise or SHARE hopes to be an answer. Modesto resident Steve Finch said he started the group a couple of months ago with the goal of training and matching volunteers with homeless people and families to serve as their advocates and help them access services.
SHARE has a core group of about two dozen volunteers. Finch and the other volunteers have experience helping homeless people and understand the challenges.
Finch said SHARE is modeled after the Court Appointed Special Advocates — or CASA — program in which volunteers are paired with children in the foster care system. They advocate for the children in court, school and elsewhere.
Finch, who has been a CASA volunteer since 2017, said the CASA volunteers provide emotional and practical support, such as making sure a child does not miss his counseling appointment by driving him to it. But these volunteers can become the people wary foster children learn to trust and out of that trust become willing to do the work to better their lives.
“There are lots of resources in place for foster kids, but they can fall through the cracks without an advocate,” Finch said. “You are there for the duration. Everyone else comes in and out of their lives.” He added that he and other SHARE volunteers believe the same model can work with homeless people.
The Aldamuys had been SHARE’s first family. Sierra Vista Child & Family Services had connected the family to Finch.
The Aldamuys said they had been renting a home in west Modesto for nearly seven years before their life unraveled in June over marital problems. Jenifer Aldamuy filed court paperwork to end their marriage, but the Aldamuys said they are now reconciled and were getting counseling through Sierra Vista.
Challenges: job loss and probation
But they face challenges. Juan Aldamuy, 55, said he lost his job as a temporary laborer at Blue Diamond that brought in about $1,200 a month. Jenifer Aldamuy said the family’s other income is the $2,300 a month that she and one of her daughters collect in disability payments.
Juan Aldamuy also is on 36 months of informal probation for violating a restraining order that Jenifer Aldamuy, 38, had taken out against him when she wanted to end the marriage. Court records show the order has been modified to allow Juan to be with his family as long as he does not strike or harm his wife.
Before moving in with Jenifer Aldamuy’s parents, the couple said it had been a struggle to just get through each day, scrambling for a place to sleep at night, and making sure their daughters, who have special needs, stay on top of their schoolwork (they attend school remotely), which leaves little time to focus on getting back on their feet.
“It’s hard bouncing from place to place,” Juan Aldamuy said last month. “... It’s not easy.”
The Aldamuys said they are not sure what their long-terms plans will be. Jenifer was born and raised in Modesto and Juan had lived here for 18 years. They also know they are fortunate that they had family to take them in.
Fewer options for other families
They said they know other homeless families who don’t have that option or are too proud to ask for help. And other homeless people may have burned their bridges with family and friends.
“We are not the only ones out here as far as the families,” Juan Aldamuy said. “There are a lot more out there. The public does not know it.”
Finch said SHARE is working on getting its nonprofit status, which he said should take about six months. SHARE hopes to create better understanding about homeless people and homelessness. It also will advocate for more affordable housing and hopes to harness the good work of the many residents in the community who volunteer their time to help homeless people.
“This community,” Finch said, “I strongly believe there are amazing people. ... They want to do amazing things, and they want to help people.”
More information about SHARE can be found on its Facebook page.
