Client Stories
Frank’s StoryCar Donation Helps with Commuting and Housing Search!
Local Resident Protects a UEO Client’s Piano!
Frank’s Story
"Eight years ago I was feeling very lost. I turned to alcohol, which numbed me but did not help. I was homeless, sleeping wherever I could - park benches, doorways, you name it. I didn’t know how to stop the cycle or how to access services. I ended up in jail (Elmwood Correctional Facility). Let me take a step back though. Before going to jail, the United Effort Organization ((UEO;[ www.theunitedeffort.org](http://www.theunitedeffort.org/)) helped me call the shelter hotline, access food (CalFresh), fill out Caltrans applications, and encouraged me to see a doctor who gave me patches to stop smoking. Thanks to volunteers at UEO, along with Officer Janleah McPherson with the Mountain View Police Department, I also got into LifeMoves temporary housing. Then, in April 2022, The United Effort Organization heard that I had been incarcerated and stepped forward to help. Wei, a volunteer at UEO, visited me in Elmwood to learn about my goals: I wanted to stay clean and sober, find a job and a place to live. Volunteers at the UEO gathered information about rehabilitation programs, and Wei visited me in Elmwood several more times. Meanwhile, I did psychoeducation classes to learn how to stop drinking (alcohol abstinence). When I was released in late June, I enrolled in a program in San Jose but after several weeks I felt that it just wasn’t working for me, and, though I was grateful, I decided to leave and went back to sleeping outside in Mountain View. I really wanted to get back on my feet, stay sober and find work and a place to live. On July 12, 2022, I started the City Team Renew Program’s 10-month training and rehab classes and graduated on May 12, 2023. I was grateful to also be hired as a truck driver for City Team, which I really enjoyed. I regularly attended AA and anger management classes, and even took a financial literacy class and opened a bank account. While driving for City Team, I took construction readiness classes through Goodwill to get into a trade, since I wanted to develop a long-term career plan. I heard about the Plumbing Union, applied, and just started their 5-year apprenticeship program on May 1, 2023. I am grateful for the help I got from UEO, and especially to Wei for sticking with me, being a mentor, and believing in me. While I’m still working on getting permanent housing with help from the UEO and City Team, which offers transitional housing ($500/mo. for up to 2 years), becoming a plumber will lead to a better income to help keep me self-sufficient.” Wei said “We are so happy for Frank! By following the City Team program, working for them, and maintaining responsibility for his own apartment, Frank gives hope to us and others. It’s really great that he now helps at UEO, ‘paying it forward’ by helping others who are struggling, as he was less than a year ago.” **While Frank is doing well now, relapse is always a concern: It remains very important for him to have a support network as a positive influence and to give him moral support. UEO is hopeful to remain a big part of that for Frank! ** **Visit [www.theunitedeffort.org](http://www.theunitedeffort.org) to learn more about how you can support our mission to help unhoused people in our community move towards self-sufficiency and a safe home. **
Back to TopCar Donation Helps with Commuting and Housing Search!
Hi, I’m Katie. I have been unhoused for about four and half years. I currently work part-time at a local law firm, saving money and trying to get housed again in the near future. The United Effort Organization helped me in many ways. Specifically I was amazed that they were able to find a local resident to donate a car! This greatly helps me with transportation to and from work, and, until I find safe housing, it gives me a safer place to sleep, rather than on the streets. A car also makes finding a place to live easier, because not having to look only at housing that is on the bus line really increases my search area, giving me a better chance of finding something affordable. Thank you to The United Effort Organization!!
Back to TopLocal Resident Protects a UEO Client’s Piano!
After losing her rental cottage, a UEO client needed help finding shelter not only for herself but also for her most prized possession and memory from her parents: A Grand Piano! “This was a new challenge for us!” said Claire, a founding volunteer at the UEO. “While our first priority is finding safe housing for our unhoused clients, we understood how important her piano was to her and desperately wanted to help find proper storage for it. We reached out to the community, and a UEO donor/volunteer forwarded our message to a neighbor in Mountain View. That’s when Lisa stepped forward!” Lisa, a wife, and mother of two, said “When I learned that an unhoused person needed a place for her piano, I just had to help. In my experience, when I help others, I’m also helping myself and my community! We all face challenges, and I just know that, deep down, there is little difference between me and those who find themselves homeless. I also wanted to show my own kids that there are many ways, sometimes unusual, to help. I often tell them that if an issue is too big - like solving homelessness - just start in small ways. I learned more about the UEO, and their client’s need to keep her piano, and we were happy to offer the space in our home, until she is able to take her piano back!” Wei, a volunteer at the UEO, emphasizes “There are many ways to help our unhoused friends, and it truly is a united effort! It is the generosity of families in our community, like Lisa’s, that strengthens UEO to help chip away at homelessness.”
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