Volunteers hand out tents, sleeping bags, toiletries, other necessities

Published in the December 19, 2018 – January 1, 2019

People loving people and dancing in the rain. That’s what happened at San Ysidro Park in Gilroy on a stormy Saturday when 30 South Valley residents gave a helping hand to about 150 people now living in tents in local creeks or finding warm shelter in the Armory.

Organized by Dori Prado and the Living Above the Influence nonprofit foundation she founded 12 years ago, the Dec. 1 Loving on the Homeless event encouraged residents to get into the true spirit of the holiday season by showing acts of kindness, love and compassion to those less fortunate.

Among them was Guadalupe Ruiz, a senior at Central High School in Morgan Hill, who for the past decade has been active in LATI’s “Chill Out” program for young people. Providing “blessing bags” to homeless people at the park — including some who were teenagers — she got an up-close-and-personal view of how many people every day must struggle if they don’t have the advantages so many others in society take for granted, she said.

“It just really gave me a sense of purpose,” she said. “It made me feel good to be out here and see people grab things that they needed whether or it was sweaters or products that we provided.”

During the four-hour event, the rain started to pour down and the volunteers started running around to provide jackets to keep the homeless people attending from getting cold. They were also given coffee to warm them up. It made Ruiz realize how the winter weather and other extreme climate conditions can worsen their quality of life.

“Even though they might have layers, nights out here in the cold can’t be good for them,” she said. “It’s a health and safety issue. Even just helping them out with one day, this can really make a big difference for them — and that’s what really matters to us.”

LATI helps young people and families deal with the challenges of drugs and other unhealthy influences. Over the years, Prado expanded the mission to create a South County Faith-based Community to encourage local religions to work together to make life better for others — and one of projects was the Loving on the Homeless event.

Various organizations helped out including Foothill Community Health Center, Discovery Counseling Center, the Healthier Kids Foundation, Rebekah Children’s Services, CARAS, and Second Harvest Food Bank. Playing a big role in helping put the event together were Danny Chavez from Star of David Church, David Whitaker from Morgan Hill Bible Church and Larry McElvain from Discovery Counseling.

The volunteers gave the homeless various clothing (socks, beanies and gloves) and toiletry items (including Chapstick, soap and women’s sanitary products) to help them in their daily life on the streets or in the creeks, Prado said.

One story told to her by a homeless teenager brought tears to her eyes.

“There was a really tiny young girl and one of the kids told me that she needs a sleeping bag,” she said. “Now I had a minimum of sleeping bags, maybe six or seven, and a few tents. So I went up to her and I said, ‘Hey, how you are doing? What’s your name?’ and she said she was Michelle and she said, ‘Thank you for doing this.’”

Prado gently placed her hand on the girl’s shoulder and told her she was a beautiful person. Michelle started crying.

“I don’t have anything,” the girl said.

Prado gave her a tent and a sleeping bag and asked how she became homeless.

“I just got caught up and I’m stuck,” Michelle told her.

Usually when people say that, there’s typically drugs involved, Prado said.

Prado asked Michelle if she needed help. She said she needed to go on a program. Prado promised to help her connect with resources to help her cope with the challenges life presented her.

After the event at the park ended, Prado realized they still had donuts and coffee and some blessing bags left over so they went to about five homeless camp sites in Gilroy. There they saw a lot of people who were not out at the event, she said.

“They’re afraid to leave their camp site because they’re afraid their stuff will be taken away by city staff or stolen,” she said.

At one location near the railroad tracks, she met a 26-year-old man named Raymond who has been living on the streets since he was 14 years old. He looked “clean” and he spoke intelligently. She gave him a pop-up tent in a small carry bag and he was truly grateful, she said.

She asked him why he was homeless.

“I just got comfortable out here,” he told her.

Prado said, “You know what, I don’t want to hear that. You’re a young guy and you don’t belong out here.”

Raymond told her that he doesn’t go to the resource centers for the homeless because he’s afraid to leave his site and have his stuff taken.

He told her how after his dad died, he fell into a deep depression. His mom started living with a guy who was abusive. She chose the boyfriend over him. That’s why he’s been on the streets.

“It just broke my heart to hear his story. I could not stop thinking about this kid named Raymond,” Prado said. “He’s the same age as my daughter and he’s out there living on the creek.”