AACFC Meeting Minutes

ARDEN ARCADE CARMICHAEL FAITH COMMUNITIES  Meeting Minutes,  

February 27, 2025, 1:00 p.m. (via Zoom) 

Attendees: Jason Bense, Tom Tortora, John McCormack, Julie Linderman, Katie Heffelfinger, Judy Stoeltzing, Grant Bakewell, Doug Smith (NAMI), Mykel Gayent (NAMI). 

NAMI – Doug Smith, Peer Programs Manager at NAMI Sacramento, the local chapter  of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, attended this Zoom meeting. Web address shown here https://namisacramento.org/. Mykel Gayent, a regular member of AACFC, also attended for NAMI. Doug gave a detailed overview of the work and programs of NAMI, which is the “Gold  Standard” in the U.S. now for addressing many family and personal mental health and substance abuse issues outside the formal health care and psychiatric care system. Discussion occurred regarding Doug doing a presentation at a public event for the Arden Arcade and Carmichael community. 

Doug noted that we are in a national mental health crisis, due to a number of causative factors, including lack of adequate resources to identify and treat mental illness, post-Covid 19 pandemic chaos, drug and alcohol addiction, social media distortions and political conflict. NAMI has specific programs to address these causes.  Tom and John had noted earlier that members of their churches have serious mental illness problems and need support. Each faith based organization can open its own NAMI support group. 

Mental health support is needed for many demographics, including youth, college students, the elderly, those with chronic illnesses and physical disabilities, caretakers, overworked employees, active duty military and veterans, law enforcement and first responders, family members dealing with mental ill relatives, health care professionals, etc.  Doug noted that NAMI has effective programs targeted to each of these groups. 

Discussion occurred re. law enforcement training. Sacramento Sheriff’s officers and Sacramento City Police officers have received 40 formal hours of training from NAMI on responding to mental illness situations to avoid escalation that can lead to violence.  A 2024 Supreme Court ruling (Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson) ruled that law enforcement may take aggressive action (including criminal citations) against homeless persons without violating their rights even if there is no shelter. Though this ruling does not address mental illness directly, it has implications for homeless mentally ill persons. The ruling does not mandate local law enforcement to respond to mental health-related incidents (5150’s) but it is not restricted from responding and each jurisdiction may set its own policy. The Sacramento Sheriff’s office has a Critical Response Team (CRT) but as if January, 2025, will not respond to non-criminal mental health calls. This policy avoids criminal liability for sheriff’s officers. The Sacramento County Sheriff is the only sheriff’s office in the state to not respond to all 911 calls. They are working with the County Board of Supervisors to revise their policy but the Sheriff does not answer directly to the board and can direct its own policies and actions.  

However, the City of Sacramento Police Department will respond to similar incidents. Mykel Gayent noted that since the sheriff has stopped responding to non-criminal mental health calls, the focus has shifted to the relatively new national 988 call number, the Suicide and Crisis Hotline. This hotline is not widely known by the public but is an alternative to law enforcement (using 911) for mental health and substance abuse incidents. The county’s Department of Behavioral Health Services (DBHS) has recently launched a Community Wellness Response Team (CWRT) <https://dhs.saccounty.gov/BHS/Pages/CWRT/Community-Wellness-Response-Team.aspx> under a contract with Wellspace Health. This team is distinct from the NAMI teams but work together. Law enforcement issues are one of many that NAMI has to deal with. 

Decisions regarding the Public Meeting are needed soon for the following:

  1. Host venue for public meeting (large enough to host 100 + people) ?
  2. Date in May ?
  3. Best day of week to maximize attendance ?
  4. Time of day ?
  5. Audio visual and refreshment details ?

One Community Health  <onecommunityhealth.com> – Will be opening a new headquarters in the old ATT building site at Watt Avenue and Kings Way in the next few months, leaving the old location at Hurley Way by Cal-Expo. It will be a full service mental health and critical care clinic complete with showers, a laundry and other amenities. Progress is currently slowed due to permitting issues, since clinics must meet the same standards as in-patient hospitals. Footnote: This facility should be added to our “Street Sheet” when opened. 

Saint Marks Wellness Center – John noted that Saint Marks United Methodist Church Pastor Quintesha Davis-Wiles is planning to open a wellness center at the former library at Saint Mark’s which will include a NAMI resource center to connect people in the community with mental health services.  The center could also host training sessions and informational programs, including referrals to formal mental health and substance abuse mitigation services. The target date for standing up this NAMI wellness center is June of this year and planning including room renovation, has now begun. The Wellness Center is a separate but related issue to the public meeting. 

God’s Helping Hand Laundry –  Julie noted that some of the younger guests at the laundry are not following the rules and there was a recent confrontation between a male guest and the laundry manager. Julie was advised she can make the rules clear to all guests or violators will be excluded from the service. Jason will work on setting up training for the laundry process. Also, AACFC volunteers are switching from laundry powder to pods. We are still in need of more monthly volunteers. We can publicize the laundry at the NAMI public program. 

AACFC Budget – No report

Next Meeting – March 27, 2025, 1:00 p.m. via Zoom. The agenda for the next AACFC meeting will be to continue our plan for a public event featuring NAMI in May 2025, with Doug Smith as keynote speaker.  Subcommittees may meet at any time to plan publicity, etc,

John McCormack

AACFC Secretary

ARDEN ARCADE CARMICHAEL FAITH COMMUNITIES  Board Meeting,  

January 23, 2025, 1:00 to 1:40 pm.

Attendees: Jason Bense, Tom Tortora, John McCormack (Since only officers were present, this event was designated by John as a board meeting. No other members will receive this meeting summary except Grant Bakewell who was interested in this meeting but had a conflict). 

Mercy Pedalers’ Issue – John discussed a meeting of St Mark’s representatives with County Supervisor Rich Desmond happening today. Tom noted that his Monday SVCC Food team has been asked to stay away from the Arcade Library. There are also serious concerns about Afghan or other immigrants without citizenship being cited by the sheriff or city police and this could lead to deportation. 

New Respite Center – The new Arden Arcade HART Respite Center opened on the morning of Saturday, January 11th  at Grace Cafe at Saint  Mark’s United Methodist. In addition to homeless invitees some of the people at the Saint Marks  food closet joined in for a meal. Tom noted that Hope, cooperative and other providers of mental health services need to connect to the respite centers, but the problem is always transportation. John noted that Mike Grace has recently opened a respite center at Central Seventh Day Adventist Church in River Park, which will provide  day shelter every Thursday morning. We are hoping these two respite centers will serve as a model  and lead to opening more centers at other faith group or NGO locations.

NAMI – Tom talked recently to Doug Smith at NAMI, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. Doug is willing to do a presentation at our site. They are the standard in the US now for addressing many family and personal mental health and substance abuse issues outside the formal health care system. They’re open to doing a presentation for an hour and a half for our groups. Tom also noted that his church has five families with serious mental illness problems who need support. John noted that Saint Marks Pastor Quintesha Davis-Wiles is planning to open a wellness center at the former library at St Mark’s which will include a NAMI resource center to connect people in the community with mental health services. The target date for standing up this NAMI wellness center is June of this year. Planning has now begun. 

Volunteer issues – Jason noted that Jeannie Anderson-West lost her daughter recently so she will not be involved in AA HART work for a while. Prayers to her and her family. She also has personal health issues. Tom will fill in for her when possible. 

It was noted that Grant Bakewell worked at the God’s Helping Hands Laundry this month. He is available for volunteer positions having finished his full-time work at Saint Matthews Center. Also, Ann Cole sent a large check to support the laundry recently. 

Noted that Carol Wuebker is no longer AACFC treasurer. She is now assisting a close friend with cancer. 

Next Meeting – The agenda for the next AACFC (February 27th  at 1:00 p.m.)  meeting will be to plan an event with Doug Smith and NAMI. We should also invite Pastor Q since she is promoting the NAMI  center at the Saint Mark’s library.

John McCormack

AACFC Secretary

NOTE: After the meeting, John learned from ACT representative Howard Lawrence  of the short meetingon 1/23  with supervisor Rich Desmond, who agreed to send his staff back to research the plat map for the land around the Arcade library to determine  the exact location of the public space and  private space. Also, there will be a future meeting with the sheriff. Resolving this issue could take two more months. 

Arden Arcade Carmichael Faith Communities

Planning Retreat Summary (DRAFT)

Thursday, August 8, 2024 (10:00 a.m. to noon) 

In person – LDS Stake, 2745 Eastern Avenue

Attendees: Jason Bense, Tom Tortora, Judy Stoeltzing, Katie Heffelfinger, John McCormack, Bryce Holladay, Stacie Giles,  Julie Linderman, Carol Wuebker, Clarissa Alva.

Introductions:  

Jason Bense – Pastor at Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer (LCOR) and Gethsemane Lutheran, Reserve USAF Chaplain at Travis AFB. President  of AACFC since 2011. 

Clarissa Alva – Works for San Juan Unified School District, attends AA HART meetings, employee of Mira Loma H.S.  Believes in breaking down silos, leveraging resources and bringing people into faith-based organizations (FBOs) to share commonalities and work. 

Judy Stoeltzing – Works with Just Serve online, stresses volunteerism for those who cannot give money. Cited winter and summer blood drives as examples of volunteerism. 

Bryce Holladay – LDS member. Belongs to Sacramento East Stake on Eastern Avenue. Works for a company supporting public schools. Wants to learn more about local “Day of Service” process.

John McCormack – Member of St. Marks United Methodist, which has supported County Winter Sanctuary, a Community Breakfast in Grace Café, Durable Medical Equipment (DME) loans and currently supports a Food Closet, Mercy Pedaler’s street donations every Wednesday, Sacramento Habitat for Humanity and Loaves and Fishes meals (one day a month). Kevin Jenkins, former St. Marks’ Facilities Manager, was an original officer of AACFC and is now retired. John attempts to identify and connect all FBOs and NGOs in the local area performing humanitarian work.

Julie Linderman – Member St. Michael’s Episcopal.  Lead for “God’s Helping Hands” Laundry, which started at St. Michaels’ and is now a program of AACFC. Posed the question if the laundry is sustainable now. All agreed it is but without money and people,  it cannot be sustained. Also Julie noted that we need to expand the laundry service to folks in Carmichael but Carmichael and AA HART do not have the bandwidth to support it. Julie also noted that if AACFC could provide funding to Carmichael HART, Carmichael Presbyterian could manage a laundry in their area. In the early years of AACFC, there was only Elk Grove HART then Carmichael HART and Arden Arcade HART were formed and participation in AACFC waned. St. Matthews’ Episcopal was an original FBO in AACFC, with support from St. Michaels Episcopal and the diocese. The St. Matthew’s building began serving the River City Food Bank (the second largest food bank in the metro area) as a distribution center at that site. The building now belongs to the Episcopal Diocese. Jim Schaal, who developed the Center at St. Matthews providing shelter with AA HART, the food bank and ESL programs for refugees, has moved on and the Center has fallen apart. St. Matthews’ Church still meets without a priest in one of the classrooms and there is a charter school on the site. St. Matthews is a good project to consider supporting. Also, St. Michaels does street food donations in AA HART each 3rd Saturday. 

Stacie Giles – Member of Carmichael LDS Stake. She loves interfaith work and enjoyed the recent AACFC public meeting presentations. Would like to see our AACFC programs expanded to Fair Oaks since there are many FBOs there, including Ukrainian churches, Sunrise Community Church, etc. Fair Oaks also has an LDS stake center. 

Naomi Harper – Attended the AACFC HOPE Cooperative event and is a friend of Stacie. Has a strong interest in housing. Naomi is the housing coordinator of her LDS congregation and stresses self-reliance and personal discipline. Assists other LDS members in meeting income guidelines and obtaining housing. Involved with HART winter shelters and San Juan Unified School District work. Naomi is also familiar with the work of Christ Community Church in Carmichael. Her bishop promotes her work. Naomi will share her LDS housing presentation with AACFC by email. She also noted that Josh Hoover, 7th District Assemblyman, did a survey on homelessness and she knows County Supervisor Rich Desmond. She was not award of HOPE Cooperative until our public meeting. 

Tom Tortora – Member of Sierra Vista Community Church at Morse and Hurley which was formerly Sierra Arden UCC, which merged with University Presbyterian. Original member of AACFC and was president. He noted the seed for AACFC was a Jesuit priest in training who noted we need to set aside the “tribalism” in our culture. There was no Just Serve when AACFC began, to promote volunteerism. Tom’s church does a weekly Monday food donation run in Arden Arcade with AA HART. Tom was raised Catholic. Tom reviewed our history of once a month meetings and more recent quarterly public educational events. AACFC has also promoted NAMI – National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and heard their presentations. Tom also noted that AA HART meets on the second Thursday of the month from noon to 1 pm by Zoom and  AACFC meets the 4th Thursday, by Zoom from 1:00 to 2:00 pm for  now.  

Carol Wuebker – Member of Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer and current Treasurer of AACFC. She also updates the Resource Guide and “Street Sheet” which changes routinely. John pointed out there are many Resource Guides for different geographic areas and different needs.  Naomi noted that she can create a bar code for each non-profit listed in the “Street Sheet” to avoid lots of text.  She will also send the pertinent LDS organizational information to Carol for the “Street Sheet”. Jason noted that AACFC has legitimacy as a source for information about non-profits and FBOs that provide resources and we published one of the first local resource guides. It was also noted that listing LDS stakes in the “Street Sheet” is not helpful since the LDS organizational structure does not refer people in need through listings of this nature. It was noted that each LDS stake has a designated bishop managing all activities and LDS lay ministries follow strict organizational rules, with a coordinating council managing projects for the stakes. Project partnerships with NGOs must be approved by the council. Carol noted that AACFC receives stronger sub-committees to relieve Jason and other board members. Separate sub-groups should be formed for volunteer recruitment, public relations and fundraising. To do this, we need more people involved and more structure to identify best practices.

Long-term planning discussion (1 hour, 15 minutes)- Discussion re. need for rebranding. Should we change our name and if so, what would a new name be to better reflect our mission ?  We need younger people involved but most work full time and may not be available for daytime meetings. Katie noted that the Sacramento East LDS Stake has expertise in communications.  Clarissa asked what FBOs are not currently represented in AACFC.  Also, it was noted that our current membership represents the larger white middle-class and many retired volunteers. How do we develop broader relationships and bring in more diverse faith communities ? Katie noted that there is a Muslim community in her LDS stake area. Jason noted the monthly Zoom meetings promotes resource sharing and we have had 4 public meetings in the last few years: 

  1. Interfaith Refugee Service, meal and tabling at SVCC
  2. IRC (International Rescue Committee) presentation at Carmichael Presbyterian
  3. Sacramento Sheriff’s presentation at SVCC
  4. HOPE Cooperative Shelter presentation at LDS Sacramento East.

Jason followed up with all attendees at these events. Also, short discussion on the issue of combining AACFC and AA HART. To date, no efforts are being made to do this and both are licensed 501©3 non-profits. 

Also, brief discussion of AACFC’s relationship with other interfaith groups in the area. Jason is a member of the ICGS – Interfaith Council of Greater Sacramento and John noted another group, Sacramento Area Congregations Together (Sacramento-ACT) <sacact.org> which lobbies the city, county and other bureaucracies for solutions to homelessness but does not typically provide resources. St. Marks is currently developing a relationship with two new FBOs – the Ba Ha’I Fellowship and the Pacifica Institute, a Turkish Muslim sect. 

Discussion on how to get new congregations involved in the “Day of Service” which typically occurs yearly around 9/11. Also, discussion on how to increase involvement of Carmichael Presbyterian Church in AACFC. They are currently strongly involved in Carmichael HART’s shelter respite work.  Plans are needed to increase support for our work in the Carmichael area. 

Bryce noted that while we acknowledge our theological differences, how can we better instill basic spiritual values and faith in the clients we serve ?  

Jason handed out a document summarizing the history of AACFC and read the original mission statement – “Because no one should be hungry and with the knowledge that we can do so much more together than we can in isolation, the members of the Arden Arcade Carmichael Faith Community have joined hands to share knowledge, information and pool our energies as we combat hunger in our neighborhood communities and provide assistance to those most in need of aid with transportation, housing, and education”. It was noted that this statement is 11 years out of date and does not reflect current local realities of hunger, food insecurity, health needs, etc. Attendees were also referred to the poster John provided listing some historical programs and events. Three sub-committees were formed to drive planning. 

  1. Mission/Vision Statement Re-draft team
  2. Recruitment team for new FBOs and NGOs
  3. “God’s Helping Hand” Laundry team

Action Items: 

  1. Redraft Mission Statement by date of regular 4th Thursday meeting, September 26, 2024. Team members are Judy, Katie, Stacie and possibly Clarissa. 
  2. Begin recruitment of new members and report back at each meeting. Team members are Jason, John, Stacie and Julie and possibly Bryce. 
  3. Laundry Team – Continue work and recruit new volunteers. Julie is lead and Tom, Carol and others work with her. 

Vitalant Blood Drive: Judy noted this will be August 29th at Eastern Avenue LDS Stake from 2 to 6 p.m. Grocery coupons and movie tickets will be given to all donors. It was noted that some persons due to physical limitations cannot donate. 

Next Regular Meeting: Thursday, August 22nd  at 1 p.m. via Zoom.

September Meeting:  Thursday September 26th at 1 p.m. via Zoom. Review Mission Statement. 

 John McCormack, AACFC Secretary

Arden Arcade Carmichael Faith Communities

General Meeting

Thursday, June 27, 2024 (1:00 p.m, via Zoom) 

Attendees: Jason Bense, Tom Tortora, Megan Brooks, Judy Stoeltzing, Martin Ross, John McCormack

Review of HOPE Cooperative public meeting on June 13th: Judy Stoeltzing and members of the Sacramento East stake on Eastern Avenue were gracious hosts for the meeting and provided an excellent venue.  The presentation by Bob Herne and Joe Smith was excellent and informative. Many towels were received for use at showers at the 3 HOPE centers, which provide service for the unsheltered. Tom Tortora noted that many homeless persons still have problems with transport to the shelters. Tom Tortora knows of one wheelchair-bound man on his food donation route who has trouble getting to day shelters. John McCormack noted that persons living in licensed group homes cannot be transported to medical and other appointments by group home staff so their transportation is also problematic. The number of attendees at the HOPE meeting was approximately the same as the February meeting with IRC (International Rescue Committee) but some new persons attended including a staffer for World Relief and someone from South Sacramento.  The week after the AACFC meeting with HOPE, John attended the regular Sacramento ACT meeting where Joe Smith spoke and went into additional detail on the complexities of Identifying, certifying and moving unsheltered persons into housing. 

AACFC Brainstorming Session: Jason stated we are having a retreat on Thursday, August 8th from 10 – noon at the Sacramento East LDS Stake at 2745 Eastern Avenue.  The meeting will be in the small conference room to the right of the main church entrance. All persons on the general AACFC contact list will be invited (over 200 names) and input will be requested regarding our future direction as a non-profit, both before and during the session. Jason also noted we need new leadership to move us forward. 

Proposal for musical event: Martin Ross noted that he has a friend who is a  gospel artist  on YouTube and a professor at UC Davis. He is willing to plan a community musical event that could be called “Praise Without Borders” that would involve the audience with simple, uniting songs.  Martin also performs with a steel drum band (with a drum line, percussion and singers) that received media attention and they can perform. The event could be marketed as a resource fair to attract attendees from many non-profits in the Arden Arcade and Carmichael areas (and other parts of the metro area)  serving people of color, the unsheltered, refugees and asylum seekers, and persons who are food-insufficient. We could also ask attendees to bring appropriate in-kind donations or money to support a worthy local cause. Martin also mentioned the need to support mental health and behavioral health services. 

Treasurer’s Report: Carol Wuebker provided the current treasurer’s report by e-mail prior to the meeting. Current balance is $6186.56. Carol withdrew $400 in quarters from the account for use at the laundry but only $150.25 was spent in June.  

“God’s Helping Hand” Laundry: Tom noted that SVCC received $75 recently for the laundry. Also, he has located a young couple, married last week, that speaks 5 Middle Eastern languages. Most of the clients are from the Middle East so they can help them during laundry day. 

Announcements: 

Microlending project: Martin Ross is preparing to conduct a microlending project in the fall or early winter of this year with his employer, the Health Education Council https://healthedcouncil.org/ . They will do equity outreach to individuals and families that need access to capital for short term no-interest loans of from $1000 to $2500. Lender will be Self Help Federal Credit Union https://www.self-helpfcu.org/.  Interest will be 4.3% and borrower gets a rebate after a 12 month loan.  Up to 15 loans are available and Martin would like the names and contact information for any eligible persons or families that could benefit from these small loans.  The for-profit payday loan companies are predatory and lock borrowers into endless debt cycles. 

Youth Grant: Martin  is also working on a ½ million dollar grant under the Community Reinvestment Act (Title 1) to provide opportunities for youth aged 16 to 24 in foster care. After a 1 – 2 year apprenticeship, selectees are certified as Community Health Workers (ChWs) leading to professional certification as Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs). 

Workforce Development Conference – Martin noted this event will be held at Midtown Church https://midtownchurch.org/outreach/  (19th and W streets)  in Midtown Sacramento  from 9 – 5 p.m. on Friday, September 13th with a job fair offered from 3 – 5 p.m.  Adults who have become disconnected due to incarceration, parole issues, homelessness, veteran’s needs, etc. are encouraged to attend. Peer support specialists and CHWs will be present to work with attendees and refer them to appropriate government and private services. Martin will email a flyer with specifics on this event. Martin’s contact is Efram Smith, Co-Pastor at Midtown Church.

Central Valley Holocaust Educator’s Network event: Website https://www.cvhen.com/  Jason noted that this organization will hold a series event at Mosaic Law Congregation Library @2300 Sierra Boulevard on August 6th. Title will be “Antisemitism  101”. https://www.cvhen.com/events

New LDS representative: Tim Karley will replace Stacie Giles as East Sacramento LDS stake mission director. His email address is being added to the AACFC contact list. 

Next Regular Meeting: Thursday, July 25th at 1 p.m. via Zoom. Will finalize plans for Planning Retreat on August 8th at this meeting. 

John McCormack, AACFC Secretary

Arden Arcade Carmichael Faith Communities Minutes

General Meeting, May 23, 2024 (1:00 p.m., via Zoom)

Attendees: Jason Bense, Judy Stoeltzing, John McCormack, Carol Wuebker, Bob Herne, Katie Heffelfinger, Megan Brooks, Stacie Giles, Maureen White

Final planning for June 13th HOPE Cooperative Event: Bob Herne of HOPE Cooperative attended this meeting. HOPE’s 2 key missions, behavioral health services and housing will be covered.  He asked that his name be removed from the event flyer since his CEO may do the presentation. Also, the HOPE logo should be moved up to the top of the flyer since their presentation is the main focus of this meeting. Carol Wuebker is finalizing the flyer and will include an appeal for new and gently used bath towels for use by clients going into shelter and permanent housing. Bob noted there are 3 shower sites (one shelter and 2 wellness centers) that need towels. Katie noted that she dropped off a load of towels at the HOPE CORE Clinic at Fair Oaks and Howe last week.  Bob noted that HOPE is opening 257 units of permanent supportive housing (PSH) this year and one home site will have 75 units for seniors. Once the flyer is finalized, we can begin general publicity to all media. Jason Bense’s official e-mail contact list now has 202 names. He will also publicize the event on our Facebook page and web site <aacfc.us>. John has additional names of persons attending the sheriff’s meeting in February and Jason, as a member of the ICGS – Interfaith Council Board, can publicize the event with them. Also, Jason will publicize with Rich Desmond’s Sacramento County D-4 office and a contact with the City of Sacramento DCR – Dept.of Community Response should be identified. Bob also asked if he should bring HOPE marketing materials (pens, bags, etc.) to the event.  Yes, FBO’s can use them to inform their members about HOPE. Schedule will include snacks and check in from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m., HOPE presentation and Q. and A. from 6:30 to 7:20 p.m. and a 10 minute shout out for the work of AACFC from 7:20 to 7:30. Katie asked what audiovisuals are needed at her stake for the presentation.  Katie will arrange what is needed for audiovisuals (microphone, TV screen, laptop, etc.) and Bob will bring  his own laptop. Judy will check with Little Caeser’s Pizza re. finger food and water and snack veggies can be provided.  In addition to an attendee sign-in sheet, there should be a sign-up sheet for small group tours. Bob can arrange tours at a later date for those interested. 

Other Resource Sharing:

Family Promise Dinner – John and Miriam McCormack attended the annual fundraising dinner in May. A large amount of money was raised from pledges and ransom prizes. Sister Libby attended. 

Gun Buyback: Jason noted he participated in the City of Sacramento Police Department annual gun buyback at the Kinney Police Headquarters. Gift cards for $50 were given out for each gun surrendered. A blacksmith will convert these guns into garden tools. 

First Step Communities (FSC): A question was asked if this NGO is the same as HOPE.  No, but FSC and HOPE both partner together and work to mitigate substance abuse and provide shelter.  The CEO of FSC is Steve Watters. They promote tiny homes as a shelter model and manage several shelters in the Sacramento area. They were also the last contractor for the County Winter Sanctuary rotating FBO/church shelter program in the 2010’s. 

Street Sheet Update: Jason received the current Mercy Pedalers’ Street Sheet from Sister Libby and some information needs updating. Carol and her sister are working on the AACFC Street Sheet and have updated the food section. Now they are revising the shelter section. It was noted that River City Food Bank is now donating only on Wednesdays and Fridays and not on Saturdays. Each update of our Street Sheet should contain a revised date since constant changes are being made. Carol noted she is not getting Mercy Pedalers’ updates from Jan Dell but John will contact Jan to add her to the list. Trash accumulation after meal donations at Fulton and Marconi continue to be a problem. When available, Jan Dell’s team hands out large trash bags so unsheltered persons can self-police after leaving a site. 

“God’s Helping Hand’s Laundry”: Julie reported 18 families were helped in May. English translation is still an issue. Carol and Julie manage clients to ensure all get serviced and Tom has 2 new volunteers for the laundry from SVCC. Next Laundry day is Saturday, June 15th. 

St. Michael’s Episcopal Indoor Yard Sale: Julie noted this will be Saturday, June 15th from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. After the sale, unsold goods can be given to non-profits. In 2023, Family Promise and other groups received free shoes and baby furniture. If donating items for this sale, they can be brought to the church hall during work hours, the week before the sale.  It was also noted that Good Shepherd Lutheran has done yard sales in the past. 

AACFC Retreat: Jason and Julie noted the need for a mid-year in-person meeting to assess where we have been and what our future looks like. Do we need a hiatus ? What is our mission to be, moving forward ? Also, we need to review current leadership, find additional leadership and re-activate lapsed members. Jason noted that over the last few years, our focus has changed and new NGOs (HART and Mercy Pedalers) have become involved in related work.   A decision was made to meet on Thursday, August 8th from 10 to noon at the LDS Stake at 2745 Eastern Avenue, Sacramento, 95821. Friday and Saturday of that week were ruled out due to conflicts with Jewish, Muslim and 7th Day Adventist services. 

Next General Meeting: Thursday, June 27th, 1:00 p.m. 

Respectfully submitted: John McCormack, Secretary