The Salvation Army Monterey Peninsula Corps » GS

Success Stories: Rick Jacobs

admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:16:42 +0000

Rick Jacobs is a focused man. Despite being homeless and living a life he once thought was “going nowhere,” he managed to do something a lot of people in his shoes haven’t done. He graduated from college. On June 6, 2009, Rick graduated from Monterey Peninsula College with an Associates Degree and is continuing to take classes toward a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture, something he already has experience doing. A Vietnam Vet, Rick was given the opportunity to return to school through a Veterans grant and started taking just one class at a time. He has three remaining semesters at MPC and hopes to move on to Cuesta College to study graphics and design and eventually transfer to Cal Poly.

Rick is a client of our Good Samaritan Center and admits that he made some mistakes with drugs and alcohol that led to him being homeless. Not anymore though. He’s still homeless, but clean and sober. However, he says it’s not so bad because he at least has a truck to sleep in. “I’m happy.” Coming to the Good Samaritan Center has kept him encouraged and helped him to stay focused on the most important things. For him right now that is finishing school. When he’s done with school he hopes to become licensed and go to work for a firm, design some nice buildings and make a decent living.

In addition to accomplishing his own goals, he’s also helping to inspire others to get back on their feet and get an education in hopes of a good job. “If it inspires someone else, more power to it. Hopefully they’ll see me and say ‘If this guy can do it, I can too’.”

KidLead

admin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:23:58 +0000

This week The Salvation Army Monterey Peninsula Corps was privileged to have a group from KidLead organize a food drive for us. The students, all enrolled in KidLead’s LeadNow leadership program, came up with the idea for the food drive themselves and contacted local businesses about collecting donations. They collected 3/4 ton food–nearly 1500 lbs! Once they delivered the food to our Good Samaritan Center, they helped hand out food boxes for local families and Senior Citizens.

“KidLead is a non-profit, educational organization committed to raising effective, ethical leaders, by focusing on them when they are still pliable.” For more information, visit their website http://kidlead.com.

Here is an article from the Monterey County Herald.

Below are some pictures and video taken at our Good Samaritan Center.

KidLead visits The Salvation Army

Homeless numbers rise 71% in Monterey County

admin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:59:06 +0000

Homeless numbers up 71 percent in Monterey County (via The Salinas Californian)

The number of homeless people tallied in Monterey County has increased 71 percent over the past two years, according to a census released this week.

Call or email us today to find out how you can help fight homelessness on the Monterey Peninsula!

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Our Appreciation

admin — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:09:16 +0000

The Good Samaritan Center spent the week of Valentine’s Day showing appreciation for our seniors and veterans! Below is a some pictures from those days and a video.

Valentine’s Day & Veterans