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Shepherd’s Gate, a Tri-Valley-based shelter for homeless and abused women and children, has announced it needs to raise $150,000 by the end of the fiscal year, which is this coming Tuesday.
The money is needed to meet program, ministry and operational needs of the nonprofit, which receives no government funding.
“The community has been wonderful and generous, but we were finding that many people have been saying, ‘We didn’t know you had such a need,'” said Shepherd’s Gate associate director Carla McRee. “We wanted to raise awareness that the current summer situation is very urgent, and we need your help more than ever.”
Currently, the organization said the board of directors, McCree and executive director Steve McRee have drastically cut expenses, including cutbacks in staff salaries and have had to lay off some longtime staff members. So far, no women and children have been turned away due to lack of funding.
With facilities in Livermore and Brentwood, the shelter serves more than 650 battered and homeless women and children each year. Some arrive with just the clothes on their backs, seeking a fresh start. For more than 25 years, some 9,000 women and children have been served. Shepherd’s Gate provides Christ-centered housing and services such as professional counseling, drug and alcohol recovery, and job skills training to help women and children break cycles of abuse, addiction and homelessness.
A local group, which has asked to remain anonymous, has pledged to match dollar-for-dollar up to $50,000 for donations received through Tuesday, according to Shepherd’s Gate.
For information or to donate, contact Jennifer Harp at 443-4283, ext. 204. Donations can be sent to 1660 Portola Ave., Livermore, CA 94551 or made by going to www.shepherdsgate.org
Thank you so much for this article and the link to their website. I just donated. Hope it helps!
This is a deserving program. GOOD LUCK!