By Bruce Newman

bnewman@mercurynews.com

Posted: 12/15/2011 03:22:34 PM PST

No one was with Roger Hissim when he died.

His body was discovered at the mouth of two large drainage tunnels, a spot Hissim carefully selected to be his home because it was as invisible to runners and cyclists — passing just a few yards away in their color-coordinated gear on the Los Gatos Creek Trail — as it was to motorists overhead on Los Gatos-Saratoga Road.

“Out of sight, out of mind,” his friend Bill noted. At 64, Hissim was a lifelong resident of Los Gatos, yet unlike the families living in million-dollar homes just up the embankment from his filthy squat. Hissim’s last 35 years were spent under what he proudly referred to as Hobo Bridge, and until last summer he was believed to be the longest-surviving homeless person in town. On Aug. 19 he died as he had lived, hiding in plain sight.

“You don’t see it here like you do in San Francisco,” said Jennifer Loving, executive director of Destination: Home, “but we have more homeless people per capita than they do.”

Hissim was one of the 61 homeless people who died in Santa Clara County this year. When the roll of the dead was solemnly called at Thursday’s Homeless Memorial, Hissim finally found a permanent home. His name was inscribed on a gravestone and read aloud by one of the local officials continually struggling to solve the scourge of homelessness.

The memorial was installed in 1999 at EHC LifeBuilders Boccardo Reception Center, and with more than 600 of the dead enshrined on its dozen stone tablets, the hard ground beneath that somber plot has become the most fertile in the garden. It was created by Loving, who considered “unacceptable” that so many lives ended, unmarked and unmourned.

Click Image to read story from SJ Mercury News

Says Loving, “We just walk by people living on the streets every day.”

On any given night, according to the 2011 Santa Clara County Homeless Census and Survey, in one of the wealthiest counties in the nation, 7,045 people are homeless.

That number is virtually unchanged from 2009, but the number of chronically homeless — people who require about 70 percent of the system’s resources — has increased 11 percent in the same period. Rules on sobriety and health often determine who is admitted to shelters or who gets left out in the cold.

We somehow have decided,” says Loving, “it’s OK to ask if people have the right to be housed.”

Troubled soul

Studies have shown permanent supportive housing — basically, an apartment with a working caseworker — to be notably cheaper than emergency shelters, with attendant complications like emergency room health care, inpatient psychiatric services and possibly a few nights in jail.

Using the Housing First model, San Francisco has reduced the cost of services from $61,000 a year per unhoused person to $16,000 for those who come inside. Santa Clara County’s costs are about the same, Loving said. “We estimate on average that the guy under the bridge costs $60,000 a year to keep outside,” she said. “Crazy, right?”

Under the new system, in the most recent fiscal year, Santa Clara County moved 734 of the chronically homeless into permanent housing.

What kept Roger Hissim living under a bridge was schizophrenia, diagnosed when he was a young man. His mother took him to a psychiatrist who prescribed medications. “But Roger would throw it in the toilet,” recalls his father, Marlin Hissim, now 85 and living in Boise, Idaho. “He just would not take it.”

Instead, he chose to self-medicate with alcohol. “Drinking didn’t work for him,” says Roger’s friend Bill (who preferred not to give his last name). “He got in a lot of fights, got in trouble and lost everything he owned. So he quit that and got sober.” For the last 20 years of his life, according to friends, he became so paranoid that he renounced illicit drugs — except for an occasional toot of marijuana — and alcohol, because he didn’t want “foreign things” in his body.

Food was a different matter. “Roger usually ate out of garbage cans,” Bill says. “He would go out to the Safeway on Pollard Road, or behind Lunardi’s, and he would find cake or ice cream. When you get hungry enough, it doesn’t matter. As long as it smells good and it won’t kill you, you’ll eat it.”

Roger graduated from Los Gatos High School in 1965. In his yearbook picture he is wearing horn-rimmed glasses, a bow tie and an upswept pompadour that would be out of style a year later. “He lived a normal life,” says his dad. “He enjoyed himself, and he was intelligent.”

After a year of junior college, during which he made the dean’s list, he enlisted in the Air Force. But a mere year and a half later, he returned to Los Gatos with a discharge.

“When he got out of the service, he had no use for material things,” Marlin Hissim remembers. “He had enough money to buy a brand new motorcycle, and when he ran out of gas on his way to Oakland, he just dumped it by the freeway. I had a truck, and he ran it until it ran out of gas, then abandoned it.”

They look away

Roger’s parents kept him at home for most of the next 17 years, although he was already sampling life on the streets. Eventually, his mental illness became too much for his mother, who died last year. “My wife got afraid of him,” Marlin says. “He could get a temper sometimes.”

They visited him occasionally in his favorite Los Gatos downtown park. “He’d grown a full beard and his teeth had gone bad, so he didn’t look like the Roger we raised,” his father says. “He told me he traveled throughout the country on freight trains. But there was nothing I could do to bring him back home. He just refused to take a shower. You couldn’t get near him. It was very sad.”

Roger didn’t associate with “street trash,” and staunchly referred to himself as a hobo. “He didn’t want to mingle with people of this class at all,” says Patrick Lynn, sexton at St. Luke’s Church in Los Gatos, where a Christmas party for the homeless was taking place this week. “If you wanted a conversation with him, all you had to do was listen. He would talk.”

His friends suspect Hissim would never have moved inside from the encampment where he died, but he did take part in the Housing 1000 registry last summer, a first step in identifying the most vulnerable members of a growing army that remains largely invisible. Bill, who received one of the first vouchers to move into an apartment, knows the reason many people rarely see the homeless. They simply look away.

“A lot of people would jump off the Golden Gate Bridge before they’d become homeless,” he said. “But I became homeless in a heartbeat. I didn’t give it a second thought. It was easier. I didn’t have to pay rent, and I didn’t have to share a house with anybody.”

Thursday he shared another friend’s name with the gravestone garden, the 22nd inscribed there in his 21 years on the street. He said he misses Roger. But there is something else, too. He wasn’t there when his friend’s heart seized and his time finally ran out.

Nobody was.

KTVU covers the memorial for the homeless who have died on the streets in Santa Clara County.

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EHC’s 16^th Annual Rivers of Chocolate, April 29th

Please join us for an afternoon of fine wine, chocolate, and savory tastings while enjoying live music, bidding on live and silent auction items, and helping a good cause.  On April 29, 1:00 pm until 5:00 pm at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA  for Rivers of Chocolate, the premier wine, chocolate and savory tasting event.

Rivers of Chocolate  benefits the programs of EHC LifeBuilders—one of the leading provider of shelter and services for homeless adults, families and children, and transition foster youth in Santa Clara County. Please CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS and please click here to go to the Rivers of Chocolate Festival website.

Rivers of Chocolate 16th Annual CLICK IMAGE TO BUY TICKETS

About Rivers of Chocolate

• Chocolatiers, restaurateurs, confectioners, vintners, spirit makers, and other vendors
• 125 volunteers from local companies giving their time and expertise
• High-end silent auction
• Live auction with extraordinary items
• Live music.

 Tickets are on sale now! CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS 

Follow Rivers of Chocolate on Facebook!

For Driving Directions to Mountain Winery CLICK HERE.

November is National Runaway & Homeless Youth Awareness Month

There are thousands of homeless youth in California. We don’t know exactly how many and estimates vary widely becausehomeless youth are hard to find and hard to count.

Homeless youth are often invisible.

Even a kid who is couch surfing is technically homeless. Couch surfing is not stable.

What we do know is that during 2008-09, about 81,000 services, ranging from shelter beds to street outreach contacts, were provided to homeless youth in California. Many more homeless youth do not receive any services. It is likely that 200,000 youth ages 12 to17, along with thousands of 18 to 24 year-olds, experience homelessness over the course of a year in California.

Runaways are homeless, too.

For kids who run away from home, there is no question of returning home; for them, the streets are more welcoming than the home they fled. These kids are our kids. We have a collective responsibility to assist California’s homeless youth.

November has been officially recognized as National Runaway & Homeless Youth Awareness Month by the United States Congress since 2007. It is also National Runaway Prevention Month.  For the past several years, the California Coalition for Youth (CCY) has participated in the national planning committee for National Runaway Prevention Month, and has made efforts to do activities in Sacramento and throughout the state to raise awareness about runaway and homeless youth in California. We continue to build a coalition of individual, organizational and legislative supporters for the annual recognition of California Runaway & Homeless Youth Month. We are planning, supporting, and implementing a range of activities throughout the state to increase awareness, advocacy, and action on behalf of homeless youth in California; we hope to capitalize on the recent traction the issue of youth homelessness has gained and work to coordinate a better and broader action agenda.

Hilary Barroga, Director of Programs/EHC LifeBuilders.

Hilary Borraga 40 under 40

Barroga, 34, is a leader in the goal to end homeless and an advocate for the rights of the unhoused. She joined Milpitas-based EHC LifeBuilders, a nonprofit that provides homeless services to Santa Clara County, in the volunteer program in 1999. She moved on to run the program, then oversaw the development, compliance and communications departments. Thirteen years later, she’s now director of programs where she oversees 20 programs for the nonprofit at eight locations, which serve about 13,000 people each year. Barroga focuses on homelessness outside her 9-to-5 job as well. She volunteers with Destination:Home, a public-private partnership dedicated to ending homelessness. She also works with Housing 1000, an initiative to house 1,000 homeless individuals by 2013. Also, she serves as chair of the Santa Clara County Collaborative on Homelessness and Affordable Housing.

Education: BS in psychology, Santa Clara University.

Marital status/family: In a relationship.

First website you check each day:Facebook.

After hours, where would we find you?You’d probably still find me at work! But after that, I’d be home recharging for the next day.

If you weren’t in your career, what would you be doing? Before I found EHC LifeBuilders, I was on a path to law school, so I’d probably be a public interest attorney, though my dad would have been thrilled if I’d gone into corporate law. I also think it would be fun to be a travel writer. It would be more likely, and equally fun, that I’d be working at a university in student leadership development.

What accessory are you never without? A cup of coffee, a burnt orange purse, or jewelry handmade by my friend Patricia.

Click HERE to read the whole article at BizJournals

Veteran's Services

The Veteran Drop-In Service Center – The Vets Service Center is EHC’s long-time community partnership with the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. The Service Center is part of the BRC’s One-Stop Center Homeless Prevention Center, which co-locates various social service providers at one central location. The Service Center is an outreach program designed to provide homeless and at-risk vets in Santa Clara County with workshops and drop-in assistance to build community, manage mental and physical health issues, and achieve overall stability. Services include counseling, health care, employment assistance, and connection to mainstream benefits.

The Veterans Transitional Housing Program – The Veterans THP provides 10 transitional housing apartments and supportive services for veterans who are seeking stability. With up to 24 months of housing, the on-site apartment complex and courtyard creates a community where vets can socialize and support one another. As a result of the above services, 80% of vets in THP increased their self-sufficiency.

No one should be homeless – especially a child or youth

Today in Santa Clara County there are 762 unaccompanied children and youth who are homeless – 11% of our entire homeless population.  Many experts suspect these numbers grossly under estimate the actual number.

They are the least visible and the most vulnerable homeless.  Most have experienced serious upheaval in their lives.  Many have been abused.  The longer they are on the streets, the more at risk their lives become.  Yet they are hopeful.

You can make a difference.  EHC needs to raise $200,000 to operate its emergency shelter and outreach program for homeless youth this year.  By donating today, you will help get youth off our streets and into the care they deserve.

There is no time to wait.  Homeless youth have a harder time accessing services like shelter, medical care, and employment.  As the winter approaches, they need a roof over their head, a warm meal, and support more than ever.

You can help – donate today!

$30 – can provide a youth with transportation to an after-school job.

$82 – can provide a youth with a hot meal and a warm bed.

$150 – can help provide a youth with case management.

$300 – can connect a youth with counseling and support.

                        Tickets are no longer being sold for the Cirque Du Soleil event. Thank you for your support!

100% of proceeds purchased are donated to EHC Lifebuilders CLICK IMAGE TO BUY TICKETS

When you buy a ticket to Cirque du Soleil you support homeless youth, families, veterans and adults in Santa Clara County. The show is a benefit for EHC Lifebuilders and will be held on March 16 at 8:00 pm.

100% of the proceeds from your tickets will go directly to helping those struggling with the crisis of homelessness in our community. CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS

Founded in 1980, EHC LifeBuilders is the leading provider of shelter and homeless prevention services in Santa Clara County. With 6 sites that serve over 10,000 individuals annually, the mission of EHC LifeBuilders is to champion the quality of life in our community and stability for people in need by providing housing, hope, and opportunity. Through a wide array of housing, shelter, and supportive services, the goal of our programs is to help people rebuild their lives and regain self-sufficiency.

Please know that we greatly appreciate your support. If you have any questions, email Paulette Platis Director of Development, or contact at 408.539.2103. We hope you enjoy the show CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS!

Seating for Cirque Du Soleil

Seating Chart for Cirque Du Soleil click to download

By Sharon Noguchi
snoguchi@mercurynews.com
Posted: 11/28/2011 06:59:09 AM PST
Updated: 11/28/2011 06:59:15 AM PST

Starting Monday, some homeless folks will have a chance at winning the lottery.

Not the California Lottery, but the random determination of who will get a bed inside the cold-weather shelter opening this week at the Boccardo Reception Center in San Jose.

Shelters will open for the season at Boccardo and also at the National Guard armories in Gilroy and Sunnyvale, making available 365 beds for adults.

It means that Paul Charleston, Boccardo’s chef, will prepare about 1,000 meals a day for the three shelters. On Sunday, he was putting spicy chicken legs and herbed potatoes into the industrial ovens, to feed 135 residents in the transitional-shelter program, which runs year-round. Starting Monday, with the addition of those seeking emergency shelter, the center’s nightly population will nearly double.

On the one hand, Boccardo resident James L. Vaughn is lucky. He’s in the transitional program and doesn’t have to depend on a lottery to get emergency shelter at night. On the other hand, he noted, he’s still searching for services and a home. “I’m not part of the 1 percent,” he noted wryly. “I’m part of the 99 percent.”

The 55-year-old military vet and former plasterer lived under a bridge and has bounced around. The veterans’ service program at Boccardo helped get his pension restarted, meaning he may soon be able to afford his own place.

Perilous weather

In Santa Clara County, emergency shelters offer about 1,000 beds during cold months. That doesn’t nearly cover the estimated 7,000 people officials believe are homeless at any given time in the county.

“It’s nowhere near enough,” said Jenny Niklaus, CEO of EHC LifeBuilders, a nonprofit that contracts with the county to run shelter programs. And for families, emergency shelter is even more scarce because cold-weather shelters do not accept anyone under 18.

The added shelters usually open the Monday after Thanksgiving, sometimes earlier if the weather is inclement. This year, temperatures are more forgiving, with nights expected to dip into the mid-40s early this week, and to the lower 40s from Thursday, National Weather Service forecaster Bob Benjamin said. But fortunately for those living on the streets, there is no rain in sight.

Wet weather is considered more perilous to homeless people for two reasons. Once soaked, those without shelter have a hard time warming up. And rain-swollen rivers wash away encampments and drown campers, Niklaus said. “In cold weather, nights become a more desperate situation.”

People are dying

In the larger picture, Niklaus and others hope that the need to run emergency shelters will diminish, by steering homeless people to appropriate care. “Unless they have jobs or skills or get help for mental illness,” said Jennifer Van Every of EHC LifeBuilders, “they will never get off the streets.”

Boccardo has become a one-stop homeless center, offering various services.

Santa Clara County, San Jose and nonprofits have launched Destination Home, an effort to coordinate care and services. Among its goals is getting 1,000 homeless people into housing by 2013.

“People are dying,” Niklaus said. “I will take no less than success.”

Every night, in the faces of those asking for shelter, and especially of those turned away because the inns are full, shelter workers are reminded of the hazards of street life in winter.

At 11 a.m. on Dec. 15, at a ceremony at the Boccardo Reception Center, EHC will honor the lives of homeless people who died in the past year. In 2010, the total was 52. The program hasn’t completed its tally for 2011. With stepped-up efforts to get people off the streets and into programs, she said, “My hope is it will be much less this year.”

Contact Sharon Noguchi at 408-271-3775.