This free program for the homeless, halted by the pandemic, resumes in Turlock
The We Care Program this month resumed serving weekly lunches and holding resource sharing meetings after a hiatus earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Staff hold the Monday lunches and community participation meetings right before a peer support group in an effort to reach Turlock residents in need, shelter manager Debbie Gutierrez said.
We Care began the free weekly lunches and community meetings in 2008 when it moved to 213 S. Broadway, executive director Maris Sturtevant said. California State University, Stanislaus, ran the Cares Resource Center at the location previously, so the nonprofit took over running the meetings. We Care decided to serve lunch on Mondays because there are fewer meal services in the area over the weekend, Gutierrez said.
Turlock’s declared homeless emergency did not prompt We Care to resume the program. Gutierrez and a few of her staff volunteer to keep track of available services and share them with meeting attendees.
“It’s really hard for folks to go to a nonprofit (and find out) that they’re no longer doing the support they had in the past because of COVID or whatever,” Gutierrez said. “We try to stay on top of what everybody is doing and share it out with our individuals.”
Finding resources has been especially challenging during the pandemic for many homeless residents, Gutierrez said. In particular, access to restrooms has been limited, she added. We Care aims to inform people of available resources, such as CalFresh, MediCal and housing programs through the meetings.
While the meetings resumed last week, Gutierrez said the peer support group started in late July. The Turning Point Community Programs Empowerment Center runs the confidential peer support group in We Care’s dining hall. Turning Point has its own funding, Sturtevant said, and it has a verbal agreement to come every Monday.
The United Samaritans Foundation provided the lunches from 2008 until the hiatus in spring 2020, but Sturtevant said We Care now funds the meals.
If the pandemic worsens, We Care may again pause the lunches and community participation meetings, Sturtevant said. For now, Gutierrez said safety modifications include social distancing, masks and increased sanitation.
We Care hosts lunch and resource sharing meetings Mondays at 11 a.m., followed by support group meetings at noon at 213 S. Broadway in Turlock.
To learn more, go to wecareturlock.org or call 209-664-2003.
