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From the Executive Director
Question of the Month: Who Pays for Operating VRS?
Income for the fiscal year 2008-09 came from the following sources: federal, state and county grants totaled 58% of our budget; 36% were from individual, church and community group donations/contributions and 6% were from fundraising efforts.
Statistics Regarding Success Rates for the Fiscal Year
We are impressed that 127 adults and 78 children or 205 people stayed with us from July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2009 with ninety-three percent being discharged into a higher level of housing whether that was independent living such as their own apartment/house, or transitional housing. Transitional housing situations include and are not limited to renting a room, motels/hotels, HUD transitional housing programs which are 18-24 months, or staying with friends/family, residential treatment programs, or sober living programs. Only seven percent of those discharged went back to the street or to an unknown destination.
Typically, families at VRS are able to restore benefits from Dept of Public Social Services (Cash Aid, Medi-Cal, Food Stamps, Child Care), Social Security, or Unemployment, and to save money for future housing; to establish a budget to pay off old bills and to adjust to denying what is wanted now in favor of what is needed later; and to transfer/enroll children in school; and to enroll in or complete treatment that would increase independence and a higher level of self-sufficiency.
A Few Participants’ Stories to Share
The following letter is from a ten yr. old. (Spelling and grammar are as written):
Valley Restart Center, Thanck You For exepting me and my Father. You rilly set my dad straite and now thancks to you my Father dose not drinck or smock 24/7 and I will always rember The people who saved my Father and I. So thanck you Vally Restart Center. Love, J (name omitted to protect anonymity). P.S. Hope you rember me Now and Forever
A. and C. came to VRS with their four children after being evicted. They were able to save money while they were awaiting a space in Path of Life’s Kings Hall, a transitional housing program for families with dependent children. The move there went smoothly, and both are pursuing employment in Moreno Valley.
S. was reunited with her two children the day she moved into VRS. She was able to have social security death benefits restored, save her money and move into a house.
R. and A. and their four children moved into VRS after a job loss caused them to lose their housing. R. had job skills as a bobcat driver for construction. During the first week here, he completed Over-the-Road truck driving school. Now both parents are job searching daily while saving his unemployment funds.
The Race4Humanity Award
 On June 9th Valley Restart received $32,642 as a result of our effort and pledges for our runners. This was the largest amount given to any of the agencies! Additionally, on the day of the race, we received awards for the largest team of runners, more than 100 signed up and showed up ; Erica received an award for the most pledges supporting an individual runner; and the agency received an award for Recipient of the Year. We want to thank all who supported our efforts, whether you pledged, walked, ran or were one of the behind-the-scene helpers.
Provident Bank Community Partnership Program
Valley Restart has been accepted into the Provident Bank Community Partnership Program. Let me explain what that means: Easier ways to donate to Valley Restart plus a year-end bonus to Valley Restart if all combined amount from all accounts under Valley Restart’s partnership number are over $100,000!
If you bank at Provident Bank, donations can be made to Valley Restart at no expense to you. Provident Bank has set up a special account number for Valley Restart. All you have to do is let Provident Bank know that you want them to donate to Valley Restart. In addition, at year-end, Provident tallies donated funds to Valley Restart based on the amount in your combined accounts. This is a blind account so that we never know who has directed their accounts toward Valley Restart or how much you have donated; that is between you and the bank. Remember, you have to activate the donation at the bank.
Many thanks to Provident Bank for their support for Valley Restart on an ongoing basis!
Into the Electronic Age We Go!
Starting with our fall issue, we will be going to an e-mail newsletter. The cost of printing and mailing newsletters is cost-prohibitive. Since most people have e-mail, we plan to try it. We need your e-mail addresses. Please call us at 766-7476 and give us your e-mail address or use the form below. If we have not heard from you by August, we will call for an e-mail address. If you want us to mail the newsletter four times a year, please send us a check for $5.00 and mark your request so that we will know what you want. We are sorry for any inconvenience, but the reality is we need to save every cent we can.Register For Our On-Line Newsletter
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