!

Friends of La Posada Formerly Caring Residents

of Carlsbad

September 2014

The metamorphosis that is the new and expanded La Posada is complete! The old modular buildings that were ‘temporary” when placed on a site in Carlsbad owned by Catholic Charities of San Diego more than 20 years ago have been replaced with the beautiful Spanish style permanent buildings you can see in pictures throughout this newsletter. The new buildings include a state of the art kitchen, a large dining room, new offices, and expanded bathrooms and laundry facilities. Most importantly, the capacity of La Posada to provide services to homeless men in North County San Diego (including veterans) has been doubled, with 2 dorms that can sleep 50 men each, including one dorm that is available for the farm workers who toil so hard in our beautiful strawberry fields, flower fields, and elsewhere in our community. With major funding from the City of Carlsbad; along with grants from the State of California and private foundations, and numerous donations from local businesses, churches and individuals, construction of the new La Posada has truly been a collaborative effort to meet a critical housing need in Carlsbad and beyond.!

I was a strangerand you

welcomed me

La Posada 1990

Name_______________________________________!

Address_____________________________________!

City___________________State___Zip______-_____!

Phone_________________ Cell_________________!

Email_______________________________________!

Make check payable to:!

Friends of La Posada !

and Mail to:!

Friends of La Posada!

PO Box 2194, Carlsbad,Ca 92018!

760-602-7933

Individual! ! ! ! $35.00!

Family! ! ! ! ! $50.00!

Business/Organization! ! $100.00!

Lifetime!! ! ! $500.00!

Other Donations in any amount are welcome!

I am interested in the following:!

Serving on the board! ! ! ___!

Serving as receptionist at the shelter! ___!

Planning special events for the men! ___!

Help with mailings! ! ! ___!

Public outreach!! ! ! ___!

Other! _____________________________

A Letter From Our President

Dear Friends,

La Posada has changed, and so have we! On May 12, 2014 Caring Residents of Carlsbad officially changed its name to “Friends of La Posada”. We are the same non-profit organization that has supported La Posada for more than 20 years, but we are now even better aligned and more focused on providing community and financial support for homeless men’s services at the new and expanded La Posada. That is what we do year in and year out.

This year we are kicking off a major “friendship drive” as our exclusive fundraising effort for 2014. You may have noticed that we did not send you any raffle tickets this year for purchase, nor will we be having our annual benefit dinner. The friendship drive is it! Okay, you may receive an invitation to an event from La Posada’s owner (Catholic Charities of San Diego), but Friends of La Posada has no plans to request any further donations from you this year.

Instead, we hope you will show your commitment and care for La Posada, and their great staff and programs, by signing up as an official “friend” at one of the levels described in the application below. As you probably know, the new La Posada has doubled in size (going from 50 beds to 100, including 50 beds for farm workers), and naturally operating expenses have doubled as well. Please show your support for the only home of its kind in North County San Diego by completing the application and sending your donation today!

Finally, on behalf of our entire Board, I would like to give special thanks to all who have done so much to support Caring Residents of Carlsbad and the original La Posada throughout these many years. We are confident that with your help the new La Posada will continue to flourish as an example of how Carlsbad and its surrounding communities care for their homeless.

Best regards and with much gratitude,

Tom Maddox, President, Friends of La Posada

MEET FRANCISCO !A hard worker and a loyal, supportive husband and father describe Francisco, one of the farm worker residents at La Posada de Guadalupe. Unable to adequately support his wife and 10 children, Francisco arrived in this country in 1972 from Jalisco, Mexico, looking for work. !He has always been able to find work, and for most of his years in North County, he has done seasonal work in the fields. At 71 years old, a short and wiry man, he walks 45 minutes, 7 days a week, to the tomato and squash fields, picking the vegetables, trimming the vines, and clearing the fields after the harvest. Recently, he has been able to rest every other weekend at his two daughters in Long Beach. Francisco keeps a yearly promise every Valentine’s Day to return to Mexico to be with his wife and children who have remained there. Francisco is proud that he and his fellow Mexicans are willing to do the hard work that others do not want to do. !Francisco has lived at times in the “old” La Posada and now lives in the new one, where he pays $30 a week for room and board. Living at La Posada helps him a lot because he can send more money home and save for his own retirement. He says that La Posada, with its new buildings, is like a nice residence where he can live comfortably and focus on his work and family. He enjoys the rooms set aside for migrant workers, which are divided into sections according to the states of Mexico. The buildings are very clean and the food is very good!

!This coming year when jobs slack off around February or March, he will return to Mexico again. This time he will retire. During the interview, Francisco said that he and his wife need to be together to support one another at this stage of life. !Francisco and his wife will celebrate their 50th Anniversary, February 14th, Valentine’s Day, which is the “Day of Love and Friendship” in Mexico. !

Felicitaciones, Francisco!

SERVICES OFFERED BY LA POSADA!

• Assistance with short time housing for 60 days. • Long term housing for farm workers • Case management services:

- Assistance with permanent housing search and referrals

- Assistance with employment leads and resources. - Assistance with job applications - Assistance with resumes - Translation and interpretation services -Assistance with setting medical and dental

appointments and acquiring medical screening tests

• Assessment and prioritizing immediate needs • Assistance setting and achieving short term goals. • Assistance with enrolling participants in

medical or other health programs. • Assistance with on-site and outside medical

services • Financial workshops on site • Nutrition education classes on site • Provide three meals a day and sack lunches for

farm workers • On-site self-help group meetings

During the fiscal year 2013-2014 La Posada provided services to 356 individual men. Through an outreach effort to farm worker camps and work fields sites we were able to increase the capacity of men served during this period by an additional 36 individual farm workers, providing an average of 28 beds per night in the La Posada farm worker housing and an average of 48 persons per night on the La Posada short time housing, total average of 76 beds per night.

Case managers were able to engage participants in support services; Over 35 % were referred and received medical services, more than 53 % were engaged and assisted in finding employment.

NON- PROFIT ORG.!

US POSTAGE PAID!

CARLSBAD, CA!

Permit No. 1519

Friends of! La Posada!

Board of Directors!!Tom Maddox, President !Socorro Anderson, !Vice President!Carol Bezanson, Treasurer!Margie Monroy, !Recording Secretary!Kate Bartels!Catherine Blecki!Stephanie Cannon!Eileen Ciganko!Judy de Gruy!Joan Horn!Laura Scarpelli!Marsha Solomon!Josephine Stoff!!!

Friends of La Posada. Inc.!

PO Box 2194!

Carlsbad Ca 92018!

Return Service Requested!

LISE!With a world-class chef father and 500 years of women in her family cooking for the nobility of Denmark, Lise de Bedts, the chef and kitchen manager at La Posada, feels at home preparing meals for the current residents. Lise has worked as a waitress, kitchen manager, restaurant owner, caterer, and cook and baker at a convent where the sisters showed her compassion at a

particularly difficult time, a trait that she now demonstrates towards the men she serves. Her first and best choice, though, was being a mom while her children were growing up. Lise and her daughter had wanted to open up a community kitchen, so when she discovered La Posada in a location where she had family, it was a perfect fit. After working a year, she loves doing something “of real value that makes a difference.” Lise is impressed by the staff who show concern for the men and “walk the walk”, caring for them and guiding them to follow the rules and accomplish their goals. Lise’s goal is to connect to a culinary company that would provide entry level cooking jobs for the men after she trains them. There are challenges involved, but she hopes to solve them because, as she firmly states, “I know this is home.”

Friends of La Posada (formerly Caring Residents of Carlsbad) is a publication of a not-for-profit corporation, PO Box 2194, Carlsbad, CA 92018, phone 760-602-7933. The primary mission of The Friends of La Posada is to provide emergency, temporary and transitional housing and related social services for those in need, primarily in the Carlsbad area, and to assist our guests in acquiring adequate permanent housing. La Posada de Guadalupe de Carlsbad is operated by Catholic Charities of San Diego in cooperation with the city of Carlsbad and Friends of La Posada.