Non-Profit Organizations Helping San Mateo County Residents and Businesses - July 06, 2016

Recently, I received several requests to summarize the programs of the non-profit organizations that requested funding from Foster City. The following information was taken directly from the non-profit organizations’ applications to the City and from the organizations’ websites. Listed here are those organizations to which we provided funding for this year in our budget. As always, if you have any comments or questions, please contact me at cmahanpour@fostercity.org.

  1. CALL Primrose provides grocery assistance to families and individuals in need. It operates out of Burlingame and is actively seeking to serve as many people as possible through outreach into the community and through its food pantry programs. It collaborates with local businesses, churches, schools, and other community groups to obtain the support to provide its services to the community. Its website iswww.callprimrose.org.
     
  2. Foster City Village provides services to assist Foster City’s senior residents in successfully aging in place independently and safely remaining in their homes to enjoy the highest possible quality of life. It provides social connections, practical assistance, and access to services, resources, and education opportunities by fostering active engagement in the community. Its website is www.fostercityvillage.org.
     
  3. The Hillbarn Theatre’s conservatory program has grown from a summer pilot program serving 50 children to an active, comprehensive, year-round program serving upwards of 400 San Mateo County children who attend programs at the Hillbarn Theatre, their local schools, and through community centers and recreation programs. Throughout the year, the program offers drama, voice, dance classes, and camps for children ages 4 to 18. The classes focus on ensemble performance, teamwork, and confident communication. Its website is www.hillbarntheatre.org.
     
  4. LifeMoves (formerly InnVision Shelter Network) provides homeless families and individuals with a rapid return to stable housing and long-term self-sufficiency through its innovative therapeutic service model, continuously proven to break the cycle of homelessness by driving transformation at the source of homelessness rather than treating the symptoms. LifeMoves provides a safe, clean, and modern interim shelter alongside rigorous educational and therapeutic case management plans for homeless Foster City individuals and families. Its website is www.lifemoves.org.
     
  5. The Mission Hospice and Home Care Transitions Program meets the growing needs of the aging and dying population in San Mateo County.  It is a community-funded program that supports individuals who are not ready for Hospice or Advanced Care or who may be in between those programs.  It is designed for patients with life-limiting illness who have some palliative needs but continue to receive treatment or are not yet physically or emotionally ready for hospice or palliative home care.  Its interdisciplinary teams provide end-of-life education, resources, care coordination/advocacy, and emotional support for patients and families.  For each patient, an interdisciplinary team collaborates with the patient and his or her medical providers to develop a comprehensive treatment plan that includes resource coordination, emotional and psychosocial support, and socialization with the goal of maximizing the patient’s quality of life and well-being. The program follows a case management model that provides the patient with ongoing medical social worker home visits, care coordination, chronic disease management, and individualized support from the professional team and volunteers.  Its website is www.missionhospice.org.
     
  6. Ombudsman Services of San Mateo County, Inc. (OSSMC) is committed to working with residents, families, facilities, and stakeholders to create a community dedicated to protecting the rights of all residents living in long term care in San Mateo County. OSSMC provides hands-on advocacy efforts addressing issues that range from quality of care issues to egregious abuse. OSSMC advocates for the health, safety, and dignity of these residents and broader changes in the system. In Foster City, OSSMC currently monitors 14 residential care facilities for the elderly (all of them small six bed homes located throughout the city) and four adult residential facilities for the developmentally disabled that together serve 102 people.  Its website is www.ossmc.org.
     
  7. Parca has been helping people with developmental disabilities live as independently as possible and enjoy all that life has to offer through a variety of programs and services. Parca has been enriching the lives of people with developmental disabilities since 1952. Its programs are designed to create a feeling of extended family to help people live as independently as possible and enjoy all that life has to offer. Parca provides residential programs, support for those living independently, respite care, before- and after-school childcare, and family support and advocacy services.
     
    Parca provides support to its clients and their families at all stages of their lives. Children’s services includes REACH, a unique inclusive child care program serving kids with and without developmental disabilities, and Raji House, a weekend respite care program for children and teens with developmental disabilities. These programs use positive learning and recreational activities that emphasize the similarities between each person rather than the differences. All Parca children’s programs are licensed by the Department of Social Services. Its website is www.parca.org.
     
  8. The Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center assists disputing people find a mutually satisfying resolution without requiring the intervention of city services such as police, code enforcement and planning. It provides outreach and education services to city staff, civic, and service organizations and other groups about its services, mediation, communication skills and conflict resolution. The Center provides free information services related to conflict resolution, mediation, and communication skills, including referrals to other resources. Its mediation case development services include one-on-one phone contact with both parties to a dispute, education about the mediation process, conflict coaching, and/or conciliation services to any resident or business. Its website is www.pcrcweb.org.
     
  9. PenTV is a community television station and website located in San Carlos, California. It is perhaps the only county-wide source of information, interviews, and issues unique to the people of our county. Its focus is on local issues and events to keep the residents of San Mateo County informed and engaged. It is the only media outlet devoted solely to the communities of the Peninsula and its programming is entirely local. Its primary mission is to produce, acquire, and broadcast programming that is both interesting and of value to the community. This includes a wide variety of shows ranging from government, to education, to kids, to lifestyles, to sports, to business. Its website is www.pentv.tv.
     
  10. Samaritan House provides a wide range of essential safety-net services for low-income families residing in Foster City. It assists to help low-income households increase their level of stability and self-sufficiency, thereby helping to prevent homelessness. Its programs include food and nutrition services, homelessness prevention, housing assistance, financial empowerment services, case management, benefits assistance, volunteer income tax assistance services, assistance services for veterans and their families, referral and connection to many community resources. It also provides a shelter at its Safe Harbor facility. Dental care is provided at its two free clinics that provide primary care and preventive services for the uninsured. Its website is www.samaritanhousesanmateo.org.
     
  11. The San Mateo County Jobs for Youth program aims to provide the county’s youth with employment services that will assist them in gaining necessary job skills to be successful in their employment goals. It works to create strong connections with local employers for job and internship opportunities for youth. Its website is www.smcgov.org.
     
  12. StarVista’s Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Center operates one of the only 24-hour crisis hotlines in the entire County of San Mateo. The Crisis Center also operates onyourmind.net, a website created to respond to the unique needs of youth.  The website allows youth to talk online via live chat sessions with trained volunteer peer mentors. The site is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide youth with access to information about suicide, self-harm, dating violence, bullying, drug and alcohol abuse, local counseling agencies, treatment programs, support groups, and other hotlines in a format that is approachable and geared to the specific needs of youth in crisis.  Its website is www.star-vista.org.
     
  13. Sustainable San Mateo County is a local grassroots non-profit that aims to inform and inspire local decision-makers and community members on sustainability issues. Its core program, the Indicators Report, compiles many interdependent issues into a single source for decision-makers and citizens to monitor progress toward or away from sustainability.  The goal of this objective report card is to provide fact-based information about our local economy, environment and social equity that can help make informed policy and program decisions that will improve the long-term health in our county.  The Report includes over 40 indicators of the County’s quality of life such as economic trends, community health, unemployment, poverty, land use, transportation, housing affordability, education funding, water quality, and others.  Its website is www.sustainablesanmateo.org.
     
  14. The Foster City Chamber of Commerce partners with more than 300 member business organizations and the City’s nearly 20,000 employees to support local business, promote commerce, and cultivate a vibrant economy. Chamber partners include businesses of every size, industry, and neighborhood across the city and region. The Chamber is organized for the purpose of protecting, maintaining, promoting and growing the economic and business resources in Foster City while enhancing the quality of life in the community and protecting its natural resources. Its website is www.fostercitychamber.com. 
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