Volunteer for the Santa Monica Homeless Count

The City of Santa Monica will conduct its 2010 Homeless Count on Wednesday, January 27th from 8pm-2am. 200 volunteers are needed to help count homeless individuals living in the area. The results from the survey will help determine the best use of local resources to end homelessness. Training and security will be provided. For more information or to RSVP, call (310) 458-8701 or e-mail dina.aubrey@smgov.net

Rhonda's Story

Of all the benefits Rhonda McGruder gets from her job at L.A. City’s Water Department, the one she’s most thankful for is her health insurance. The single mother of one knows what it’s like do without. After years working as a loan officer, she was laid off during the mortgage crisis. “I had to dip into my 401K until it was all gone. My mother would go to food banks and bring back whatever food she could. It was awful.” says Rhonda.

Then Rhonda developed fibroids. “I was in so much pain I couldn’t function. I couldn’t go to the doctors because I didn’t have insurance. How can I fill a prescription when I can’t feed myself or my daughter?”

A friend referred her to United Way partner, the Saban Free Clinic, where she had surgery to remove the fibroids. “They treated me so well, they were wonderful.” She’s now back working again and continues to get check ups, which her new health insurance covers. “My job has excellent health benefits,” she adds laughing.

Housing the Homeless: Where Hope Lives

Architect Julie Eizenberg has been designing permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless people since the early 80s. Through her work with United Way partner, Skid Row Housing Trust, she’s learned that a sense of community is key to creating a successful environment. “Developing relationships with others can be hard if you’ve been homeless, so I ask myself, how can I organize the space so people connect with each other?”

One solution is to gather people around tasks, like the centrally located laundry room at the Abbey Apartments in Skid Row. Says Eizenberg, “Doing laundry is an excuse to be in the company of others without ever admitting that you need to. You build community by giving people a chance to feel like they could belong to something.”