Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night ... TACO delivers the mail.

Without question, one of the most-important services TACO provides is delivering the mail!

Believe it or not, we delivered over 33,000 letters and packages to more than 2000 people last year. Without a physical address, the limitations are real. There’s a lot that’s cut off to individuals. Our clients can’t even get a California ID or open a bank account without an address. Without that physical address, it’s easy to fall further behind and become even more disconnected from society. Instead, TACO clients can collect bills, receive identification documents, legal papers, get letters from home, Amazon packages, medications, and so much more. (A lot of e-bikes and e-scooters, lately.)

Prior to covid, this was one of the minor services we offered. TACO limited mail enrollment to fifty people at a given time and maintained a strict one-in/one-out policy. However, the demand grew and, consistent with TACO’s history of changing to meet the needs of the community,  we expanded the service and signed more people up for mail.

Clearly, most people who use our mail service are unhoused, but perhaps about 10 percent may be “housing insecure,” which means they stay with a friend, a family member or other temporary situation. Many clients live in Single Room Occupancy hotels or apartments where the rooms are small, bathrooms are probably shared and rent is “low.” There’s a lot of turnover in these hotels, so our address is reliable for people who may move from place to place.

There are other centers that provide mail services like us, although, one of them recently closed when their funding was lost and another is facing closure for the same reason. As a result, Uptown Community Center and the Neil Good Day Center have referred hundreds of new mail clients to us. The amount of new work is … noticeable.

For instance, in May 2025, we handled 2000 packages and letters a week. Only twelve months later, May 2026, we processed nearly 4000 per week!

That is a one-hundred percent increase in average in twelve months.

To accommodate the growth and handle so many new mail clients, we started managing the list with an Excel spreadsheet. Of course, we ran into the limitations of a spreadsheet pretty quickly. Thanks to one of our key volunteers with database experience, we built a whole new interface that improves workflow, system security and data reporting immensely. (Thank you, Clint!)

We also added volunteer office shifts to manage the new workload and we’ll regularly have between 2-4 terrific volunteers receiving, sorting, filing and distributing the mail.

Every single day, we respond to over two hundred knocks at the office door. They ask for snacks, to charge their cell phones, see our social workers, grab some hygiene items … but mostly, it’s for mail. Mail dominates the workload and attention of folks coming to see us.

This trend is likely to continue. Federal funding for services of all kinds is being cut, and as the two day-center closures this year show, fewer resources are becoming a reality. We expect mail will continue to be a rising priority and we could use your help! If you haven’t considered becoming a donor or volunteer yet, perhaps now is the time. Helping with the mail is easy. All you need to know is the alphabet!

In fact, the donation of your time or financial support means the mail goes through for thousands of people who need it the most. Please consider helping us by clicking here.

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