by Jim Lovell

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Welcome to the second issue for 2019! I cannot believe how quickly the year speeds away. We continue as always to do our best and to stay as busy as possible. And there is much to do. Perhaps you have been watching and listening to the news reports about the growing number of people on the street in San Diego County or maybe just in the downtown area where we are. Maybe you have been seeing coverage of the potential risks to the Affordable Care Act and you wondered about those who come here for healthcare. Or, by chance you might of been thinking about the detainment of migrants at the border. Or perhaps you saw an article about the number of seniors who have lost housing in the past two years as rents go up.

 

All of those people are the types of people who come here. They are affected by even marginal changes in policies or in the cost of living. Our meals, now being orchestrated by Cindy Quinonez, serve people housed and homeless, elderly and young, English and Spanish-speaking alike. This is true of both our clinic partners and those who come seeking social services.

 

By the way, you may know that our meals and clinics the roughly 700 people a week but did you know that the other days of the bring an average of 55 to 65 persons to our doors? In each situation we endeavor to be as helpful as we can, to offer any knowledge that we might have to help the individual change their circumstance. We are very thankful for the opportunity.

 

And thank you for making it possible that we might provide these service to the least and to the most vulnerable. Your financial support makes us able to open our doors which we do wider and wider each and every year. You will see in this issue some photos from a total of 4 Empty Bowls events this year! We are so thankful to everyone who put this on as a way to raise awareness and raise money. We do hope that you were able to attend one of the events, and if you did that you picked your very best bowl. If you were not able to attend we hope that you might still consider making an additional donation to us.

 

You may notice that there is no advertisement for “Homeless Treasures,” the rummage sale that we have been successfully a part of for the past 10 years. Unfortunately the team that has brought us this event every year was not able to do so this year. We hope that someone out there might be willing and able to take this event on. Certainly the organizing of the event. If that might be you, please do not hesitate to call or email us. We will respond immediately. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Martha Radatz for her tremendous dedication to us; she really kept fundraising for us in this marvelous way.

 

With the loss of this fundraiser you can imagine that we are missing the money that it brings in—$8,000 this past year. This is where we need your help. If you have a fundraising idea and are willing to take a strong role then we need your help. Please get a hold of us at info@tacosd.org, write on our Facebook page, or call us at 619-235-9445.