Church program putting city's homeless to work
By Darleen Principe darleen@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers EMPOWERED- Heather Doan washes the wood cabinets in a private home in Simi Valley on Wednesday as part of her involvement in Sonrise Christian Fellowship's Helping Hands program. Doan said she plans on getting her GED and getting off the streets with the money she earns.

Every Sunday morning, Susan Marine, like many others in Simi Valley, gets up early to attend worship services.

Only Marine, 53, departs for church not from the comforts of a home, but from a bamboo-hidden camp near the Arroyo Simi.

She makes the mile-long trek with seven others to get picked up on Easy Street for a ride to church. By traditional standards, Marine is homeless, but she's still a baptized member of Sonrise Christian Fellowship in Simi Valley.

"I just like spending a lot of time here (at the church)- and I do," she said.

In the last 10 years, Sonrise has become both a refuge and a resource for many of Simi's homeless. And with city and county officials recently calling out to community congregations for help as part of an official strategy to end homelessness, Sonrise is at least one church that's already begun doing its part.

LEADING THE WAY- Susan Marine, co-founder of the Helping Hands program and homeless herself,carefully folds and hangs hand towels in a freshly cleaned bathroom.

"I think it's terrific any time the religious community can get up and help people that are less fortunate," said Glen Becerra, City Council member and co-chair of the Simi Valley Task Force on Homelessness.

Help and hope

Currently, there are at least 160 homeless individuals in the city, Becerra said, citing the most recent census count.

One of the task force's goals, according to an adopted list of recommendations, is to develop alliances with religious groups, local businesses and public agencies in hopes of reducing the number of homeless by 10 percent annually.

Currie Dobson, 54, and his wife, Karen, run the Storehouse Ministries program at Sonrise.

Photos by IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers SECOND CHANCE- Kevin Hicks reaches under a large row of bushes and pulls out dead leaves and twigs at a private home in Simi Valley on Wednesday. He helped the homeowner tear down a crumbling wall, break up packed-down earth for his plants and trim the bushes.

Manned by dozens of volunteers, the program collects food and other necessities for the needy. Every Monday night they serve hot meals that Karen often cooks at home from a food truck.

"The goal is to help anybody in need," Currie Dobson said. "We're feeding the hungry- homeless or not."

Anywhere from 75 to 100 people regularly show up at the church on Monday nights, he said. In addition to eating a hot meal, anybody in need can come and get a donated bag of groceries from the church's food pantry, pick up some clothing or get a haircut.

The program gives away diapers, medical supplies, tents, sleeping bags and even pet food. The ministry's inventory comes from residents, local businesses and organizations such as Ventura County Food Share. The church also offers prayer circles on Mondays to anybody who'd like to join.

"Sometimes they just want someone to talk to," Currie Dobson said.

Assistance on wheels, too

Unlike most similar programs in the surrounding areas, Storehouse Ministries comes with an added benefit: Members of the congregation, like Dave and Kim Laury, volunteer to pick up and drop off those who have no transportation.

The Laurys use their own van to shuttle people to and from the church whenever there's something going on. On Monday nights, they're driving up and down Simi roads, giving rides to as many people as they can find.

"I enjoy doing it," Dave said. "God says this is what we should do and we've been doing it for a year."

Karen Dobson has also developed a reputation for being unofficially on call for anyone who needs a ride, Marine said.

It was last November that volunteers from the program approached Marine on the street and asked her if she wanted a hot meal. Since then, she said, her life has completely changed. Marine has dropped her drug habit and is now a very active member of the church, even attending City Council meetings and meetings of the homeless task force on behalf of others in situations like hers.

Marine is also Storehouse Ministries' official spokesperson and one of the co-founders of the church's Helping Hands program, which aims to give the homeless a "hand up, not a handout" by hiring them to do various jobs and assisting them in becoming eligible for government programs, she said.

"It was a wonderful experience," said Viki Denton, a member of Sonrise who recently hired people through the program to help her with some yard work. "They worked really hard."

Denton said there's an unfortunate stigma attached to the homeless, making others hesitant to connect with them. However, Helping Hands makes it possible for the homeless to earn some money and win back their self-respect, she said.

"I like that," Becerra said. "I think it's another component to addressing the issue."

Depending on the job, people in the program will typically charge $8.50 per hour or more, plus an additional $20 for gas if necessary. For larger jobs, the workers will take bids.

Helping Hands participants will do everything from housecleaning to cooking to yard and cement work. Marine coordinates the workers using a cellphone that Karen gave her.

"We're being a community effort out here," Currie Dobson said.

It's exactly the kind of community effort that Becerra and the task force are looking for, the council member noted. Becerra said the idea is to "teach someone to fish rather than provide them a fish" and to pull the community together to find the best solution.

The next step

The ministry's next goal is to get a small bus to take the place of the Laurys' van.

Currie Dobson said they already have one picked out and they're just going through the channels necessary to acquire it. As a reminder, he has a picture of the bus on his cellphone.

As part of a long-term effort, representatives from the ministry are asking the City Council for more help and for a community center to be built in Simi that could get the homeless off the streets. For a small fee, the center would provide a safe place for homeless persons to set up tents and have regular access to showers and restrooms, Marine said.

The Samaritan Center is a great resource for the city's homeless, Marine said, but it closes at 11 a.m. The PADS program, in which some churches provide overnight shelter to the homeless, only operates seasonally during the cold winter months.

Becerra's vision is different from the ministry's. He'd like Simi to have a supervised, transitionaltype house that would provide public services "under one roof," and to develop some type of sponsorship program where families would take in homeless individuals.

The task force has already been in touch with several housing organizations to look at the idea of setting up a private, nonprofit transitional house, Becerra said, in addition to meeting with local businesses to see what kinds of jobs might be available for the homeless.

While they wait for official assistance from the government, the members of Sonrise will continue their efforts, and Marine will continue making her weekly trek to church to worship.

"I don't believe we can end homelessness entirely," Currie Dobson said. "But we'll keep doing what we can."