Jaws dropped at Hope Solutions’s Interfaith Breakfast when representatives from the local faith communities learned that 50,000 children are living in poverty in Contra Costa County. The impact of poverty on their health, emotional stability, and academic performance is tremendous. Pastors, preachers, rabbis, and other concerned members of local faith communities were dismayed by the statistics, but also inspired by the effective model that Hope Solutions has developed to support homeless and at-risk families.
This year’s Interfaith Breakfast was scheduled to align with East Bay Housing Organization’s (EBHO) Affordable Housing Week, a coordinated effort to raise awareness of affordable housing issues. Representatives from many of our member and non-member faith communities came to enjoy hot coffee, a home-cooked breakfast, and learn more about poverty and homelessness in our community.
A striking moment came when Justine, a resident of Garden Park Apartments (GPA), shared her story of growing up with drug-addicted and absent parents that eventually led to her own downward spiral into drug abuse and homelessness. “The support and care I’ve received at GPA has turned my life around,” she says. She is now working and attending Diablo Valley College and plans to pursue a career in social work so she can help others turn their lives around as well.
To learn more, please click here to view the PowerPoint presentation.