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Goodbye 2020, bring on 2021
All of us can share stories of this past year: fires, COVID-19, elections, social distancing, home schooling and on and on. What we all can embrace is hope for a great new year. Yes, we have had a number of challenges, some more than others. In the midst of many hardships, what we do know…
ROTARIANS DELIVER MUCH-NEEDED RESOURCES, SHOW THEIR COMMITMENT
It’s Monday morning and our Rotarian friends from Studio City-Sherman Oaks arrive at the Valley Food Bank with two vehicles filled with the food resources we had been needing. I quickly did the Four-Way test (part of the Rotarian moral code): Is it true? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and…
After a challenging and rewarding year, we look forward
It is a privilege to be reaching out to you today as the Valley Food Bank director. While we navigated one of the most unpredictable and challenging years in our history I am so humbled to be surrounded by such a diverse and passionate organization. One with such a rich legacy of serving our community…
Veronica has felt wounds open and heal at Lighthouse
Veronica was born in Mexico, but was brought to the United States when she was 8 months old. She was raised in Los Angeles until she was 11, when her family moved to Thousand Oaks. She grew up with two younger brothers and parents who were “hard working, striving to give us a better life…
Ide commits to recovery and restoration with her daughters
Ide’s parents were well respected leaders in Piru, where the family lived, so when they split, it was a surprise to many. “I was 8 when my mom left,” Ide said. “It was humiliating. She took off to the San Fernando Valley. There were long periods of time where I didn’t see her at all.”…
Harry is ready to go ‘100 percent in’ to Christ
Harry, now 35, spent his whole life in the Westchester area of Los Angeles until he got to the Mission last year. His dad raised him and his three sisters after his parents divorced when he was 4 years old. When Harry started growing up, particularly in middle school, he made new friends, and got…
Lives changed for good: Esteban
Esteban was in a dark place when he first experienced Jesus Christ. Struggling with anxiety and depression, Esteban was in the hospital. “I was having these intense panic attacks, like really, really bad,” he said. “The pastor at New Life Church, he met me there. And he laid his hand on me and prayed. And…
Lives changed for good: Gary
After suddenly losing his wife, and struggling with his twin boys—both with special needs—Gary turned to drinking. “I took to drinking pretty quickly,” Gary said. “As my boys became more difficult when they were approaching puberty, I started drinking more and more and more. I got myself into a place way over my head.” Gary…
Jonathan gets stronger, spiritually and mentally, for his daughter
Jonathan is from Los Angeles—the Westlake/McArthur Park area— where the streets were rough. His mother and father were from Guatemala and came to the United States when they were young. They had Jonathan, along with his older brother and two younger sisters. “We grew up poor,” Jonathan said. “With both of them coming to a…
After two years on the street, Jesus enters program, finds hope
When Jesus’ father came to the United States from Mexico, he had to work two jobs. He secured a visa for his family to join him. Jesus’ mom didn’t read or write English, but learned while raising Jesus, just 2 at the time they arrived in the U.S., and his three siblings. The family settled…
Newly Graduated Jose Calls Renewed Hope Program a ‘Big Blessing’
When Jose was facing charges at the beginning of last year, he asked for a drug program. “I knew if I wasn’t ordered, I wouldn’t go,” he said. “I kept asking myself, ‘If I can do it on my own, why haven’t I?’ My life was spiraling out of control.” Now, a year later, he…
Joel pauses high-pressure life to recover, reconnect
Both sets of Joel’s grandparents struggled with addiction, so he and his sisters were often warned about the danger of drugs and alcohol. “They all had heavy abuse issues,” Joel said. “It skipped my parents’ generation. They told me not to touch it, not to touch anything.” The warnings worked for a while. “I didn’t…
