Our Clients' Stories
KC and her family have visited the St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda County Free Dining Room to get a hot meal when times are tight. She knew about the Dining Room because she remembered visiting as a child – her mom was raising a family of eight on her own and when times were tough, the family would eat at the Dining Room. The Dining Room offers a hot noon meal every day, and also serves as the gateway to other services for those in need. Through the Dining Room, KC originally heard about SVdP’s Visitation Center for Women & Children. She would visit the Center to do her laundry or get clothes and gifts for her kids at holidays.
One day last year, KC was eating lunch in the Dining Room and asked someone about all the people in the kitchen wearing white chef’s coats. When she learned they were students in SVdP’s Kitchen of Champions Culinary Training Academy, KC made an appointment to find out about the program. She enrolled in the 12-week training program and gained confidence in her cooking abilities and a measure of self esteem. And she gained a pathway forward.
After graduation from the program, KC applied for and was admitted into the Culinary Arts program at Laney College – the first of her family to attend college. It all started with a hot meal ... and people who care.
Originally from Tulsa, Kevin moved to Oakland in 1978. He completed vocational training and worked in the cable field for about a year. He took that experience with him when he entered the US Air Force as a cable technician. With an honorable discharge six years later, Kevin went to work for the Hayward school district as a maintenance worker. Four years later, he took a series of jobs with construction companies and dabbled in recreational drugs. It wasn’t long before he had a full-blown drug addiction. Kevin spent 10 years in and out of San Quentin, North Kern, Jamestown, Santa Rita, and North County, and enrolled in numerous rehab programs but couldn’t kick drugs. In 1992, Kevin was back in prison, where he realized the problem wasn’t with the programs he had tried. “I went down on my knees, praying for help,” he says.
In 1996, when he was released, Kevin made up his mind that it was time to leave drugs alone. He got a stable job as a recycling technician at a paper company for four years, then moved on to construction work. In January 2008, the economy slowed and he lost his construction job. The bills started piling up for a year and Kevin began to once again lose hope. One day he walked into SVdP to apply for the Kitchen of Champions program. SVdP has helped him stay out of trouble and has helped him stay on his feet. “But mostly, it’s given me hope to create a brighter future for myself and my family,” he said.
Maria, 26, was born in Mexico. She finished high school and completed technical preparatory school where she was certified in Secretarial Sciences and in Sewing. Maria moved to California with her husband and two children in December of 2005. Her husband was able to get seasonal contractor’s employment but during the down times things were very hard for their family. In 2006, her family was unable to meet some of the children’s basic needs. Maria’s sister in-law introduced her to the SVdP Visitation Center. At the Visitation Center she was greeted with “love and respect” and she says she didn’t feel embarrassed about speaking little English. Someone was always there who could understand her and help her. Maria says she is grateful for the existence of the Visitation Center because they provide clothes, diapers, formula, shoes, laundry facilities and family hygiene packets. She says that the Center takes care of her body, mind and soul. She has benefitted from the sewing classes, knitting classes, English conversation and bingo, and when she feels depressed or sad she knows that just coming to the Center will cheer her up. Maria said, “At the Center I feel valued and respected and there is hope for me to become self-sufficient one day. The classes have helped me to move forward and I am looking forward to taking additional sewing classes and ESL classes.” “En estos tiempos que no hay tiempo para la confianza, me da esperanza para saber que ahí todavía hay personas buenas en este mundo tan difícil. Gracias.”