Page 7 - Mid Valley Times 10-24-19 E-edition

HOPE SANGER
Continued from page A1
the outskirts of Sanger. According to Miguel, they received a big surprise early in the lease when they received their first electricity bill.
Unbeknownst to Miguel or Brandi, part of their lease included paying for the property’s well water – the same well water that fed into the property’s cattle trough. On top of that, the elec- tricity to operate the well in order to provide water to the property’s 40 to 50 cattle sent their PG&E bill skyrocketing.
With Miguel being the only provider in the fam- ily and high water costs, the family soon fell be- hind. Subsequently, the family was evicted. And though they fought the eviction on the grounds they felt mislead in the lease agreement, the fam- ily was ultimately evicted from their residence and lost the case in court. The judge ordered a garnish- ment on his check that left the family with 25 percent less income. All together, with attorney fees, the family was in the hole about $11,000.
Depleted and defeat- ed and nowhere left to go, Miguel turned to his brother in Fresno who of- fered the family a spare room in his home.
“We moved into a room with by brother in Fresno,” said Miguel. “All six of us, in one room, it was hard.”
While living in Fresno, the three eldest children, Brianna, Mariyah and Miguel Jr. remained en- rolled in Sanger schools – with Miguel and Brandi not wanting to disrupt their schooling.
“I was driving to Sanger six times a day for nine months,” said Brandi.
Using the only ve- hicle they had, Brandi would driver Miguel to work in Del Rey, go back to Fresno and drive the kids to school and then come back and get them after their after-school programs.
Living in Fresno, Miguel and Brandi soon realized, was not sus- tainable. They needed to somehow come back home and find a place in Sanger.
“That’s when we found Julie,” said Brandi of Hope Sanger’s chief operator Julie Mendoza. “She is such a blessing.”
Miguel said the two of them grew up just down the street from Hope Sanger, both of them at- tending Wilson Elemen-
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Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
The Rios family, made up of (left to right) Mireya, Miguel Jr., Miguel, Brandi, Roman and Briana are moving for- ward despite a recent set back. The family said Hope Sanger has been a blessing in their life and has brought them closer together.
Governor signs trio of bills authored by Hurtado
MVT Staff Report
Among the bills that were recently signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom were three bills au- thored by state Sen. Melissa Hurtado of Sanger.
In a press release issued Oct. 14, the Hurtado's office an- nounced that Newsom had signed Senate Bills 260, 453 and 490, all of which were authored by the new senator.
Her bills focused on health care, funding to help support elderly with disabilities and not holding CalFresh recipients accountable for county errors.
“Today, the south- ern Central Valley faces some of the most limited access to healthcare services as well as an underrep- resentation through- out California,” said Hurtado, who repre- sents the 14th State Senate district that in- cludes Sanger, Reed- ley and Dinuba.
In an effort to im- prove health care, Hurtado authored Sen- ate Bill 260. The bill helps to ensure that Californians maintain health coverage by requiring health plans and insurers to give consumers who lose their coverage for any reason notices of avail- ability for Medi-Cal and Covered Califor- nia coverage.
Senate Bill 453 will make it easier for old- er adults and people living with disabilities, as well as their fami- lies, to access support through additional funding facilitated by the Aging and Disabil- ity Resource Connec- tion Program.
Meanwhile, Senate Bill 490 will ensure that CalFresh recipi- ents are not forced to pay back over-issued food stamps that were the result of a county error.
The bills, now signed into law, will take effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
tary School as children. They had driven by Hope Sanger plenty of times. Now they realized they would be driving to it.
“She definitely helped us out,” Brandi added. “Everyone here is our ex- tended family.”
It took only two days to get the family into a unit. They were first placed into a smaller unit before Mendoza was able to get them into a bigger one.
That was nearly a year ago. The family now stays in a kitchenette room at Hope Sanger.
Since moving there, the youngest, Roman, has started transitional kindergarten. With all the kids in school now, Brandi has started work- ing fulltime through a temp agency. Miguel is in his tenth year at the POM Wonderful plant in Del Rey, where he was re- cently named shift leader. He has also paid off more than half of his court or- dered amount.
The family, thanks to a former grounds keeper, now has two vehicles to get around, as opposed to just one. And the two ve- hicles come in handy for the active family. With Miguel often working weekends, Brandi is able to take the children to soc- cer games on Saturdays – all four of them.
And when both par- ents are at work and little Roman needs a ride to or from school, the family has extended family to help with that. Mendoza provides the transporta-
tion. That transportation now comes in the form a newly renovated blue Ford Astro Van, donated by the family of Aurora Mata of Sanger.
Mendoza is now part of Miguel and Brandi’s and their four children’s family, as are many at Hope Sanger.
“We are like one big family,” said Brandi of liv- ing at Hope Sanger. “We look out for one another. We make sure that every- one is taken care of.”
Miguel and Brandi said they don’t honestly know where they would be if it weren’t for Hope Sanger. What they do know now is that their life is currently heading in a much better direc- tion. And though living in a small space can be challenging, especially with two teenage girls – Miguel admitted – the family says they have actually grown closer over the past year.
“We’re tight,” said Miguel. “But we make the best of it.”
“It’s brought us closer together,” added Miguel
Jr.
His father agreed, add-
ing, “We are so blessed to be here.”
Asked what they would tell other fami- lies who might be facing displacement or having no place to go, Brandi said she would tell them, “There is hope here.”
“The people who work here are loving,” Miguel added. “It’s just a bless- ing.”
Brandi said, “I tell me kids to ‘never say never’. Be good to people, be- cause you never know what they might be going through.”
Hope Sanger began in 2010 after Mendoza saw the need after she found herself suddenly without a place for her and her family after a house fire displaced them.
“There are so many reasons why people might become home- less,” said Mendoza.
As for the Rios family, Mendoza said, “They’re such a joy. And the kids are thriving in spite of their situation. They are taking care of business.”
Starting as a way to serve the homeless through Saturday lunch- es, Mendoza soon found herself utilizing Hope Sanger to find places for displaced families. In 2011, Hope Sanger became a non-profit or- ganization and contin- ued serving the public in various locations.
In 2016 an opportu- nity came up to manage the Rose Motel on 5th And L streets. And so be- gan the recent chapter of Hope Sanger.
On top of providing a place to stay for those going through a difficult transition, Hope Fam- ily also takes the time to continue to feed the homeless and transients on the streets, providing a lunch to them Monday through Thursday and Saturdays.
Mendoza now runs
the former motel as a refuge for families who have no other place to go, offering as much as a 60 percent discount off the rate of rooms, with some families paying as little as $20 a day.
Though a small amount to pay, the mini- mal rate helps maintain the cost of running the home and holds each family accountable for contributing to their own rehabilitation.
“Everybody is re- sponsible for their own rooms,” said Mendoza. “You’ve got to keep it clean, throw out your own trash. You’ve got to volunteer. You’ve got to be with social services and there is a certain guideline and structure that we give them.”
The rest of the home’s revenue comes from do- nations and fundraisers held throughout the year.
A recent coin drive through Sanger Unified School District brought in approximately $3,800.
And once a year, Hope Sanger teams up with the Interact and Hope Sanger Youth Club from Sanger High School, along with Mid Valley Publishing, to conduct a paper-drive. If you live in the community of Sanger and happened to pur- chase a paper from one of the many students sta- tioned throughout town, know that you just con- tributed to Hope Sanger. You just helped offer hope to another family.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
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