LifeMoves

I volunteered with IVSN and had a thoroughly rewarding experience doing so. I helped out at their Opportunity Center in Palo Alto and was stunned to see the progressive techniques being used to help clients get back on their feet. I have never been to an opportunity center that engages such unique practices to incentivize clients into taking initiative. For example, all clients want to get to the Opportunity Center immediately after it opens to have the first pickings at breakfast and showers. However, only the people who are enrolled in their track system can arrive right when it opens--everyone else must wait an hour. This incentivizes people to be engaged in classes through their "track system" and thus learn skills to better overcome their situation.

I've been volunteering at InnVision/Shelter Network for the past 8 years. I tell people that their program is one of TOUGH LOVE. You have to want to return to permanent housing - and quickly - to be a client. In order to be at IVSN clients have to be working or actively looking for a job. The shelter provides lots of help including job placement, housing assistance, life skills workshops (budgeting, cleaning up your credit report, how to have a checking account) as well as classes on parenting skills and nutrition. They also provide interview clothing, help with resume and job applications, and practice sessions on how to interview.

And guess what? It WORKS! Over 90% of the families that complete the IVSN program are NEVER homeless again -- over 90% They have a cure for homelessness. And the biggest beneficiaries are the children who return to their own, permanent home, forever.

InnVision/Shelter Network has given me a hands-on way to help the most needy families in my local community. We need lots of volunteers - come join us!

IVSN gives the families that live in their shelters ALL the help they need

For two years in a row, InnVision has helped my group of volunteers get set up to contribute holiday dinner baskets for their holiday drive. It's helped us tremendously to have a group that can connect us with the closest shelters, and provide us with instructions on how to assemble the meals that would be great for families in need. Each time it's brought us closer together, and given us great opportunities to better our community with direction and resources.

This year, we hope to take advantage of more programs available and volunteer opportunities!

I began volunteering at CSI, the Commercial Street Inn women and children's shelter, because I had a bit of free time during my senior year of high school and wanted to make a difference in someone else's life. The staff and residents were friendly and welcoming; if anyone is looking for volunteering opportunities, I would definitely recommend volunteering for InnVision Shelter Network. When I volunteer, I generally watch the kids who live there for a few hours at the shelter in the afternoon/evening. Going to the shelter and seeing the children's faces when I came to play with them is great. I hope to continue doing this for a while!

The Shelter Network does a great job of providing interim relief to people who have lost homes and/or are trying to get their life back together. The facilities are clean, and the folks at the front office really want to help. I was there as a volunteer to serve a meal during the holiday season last year, and everyone who partook in the dinner was really appreciative! I even took my kids that evening and they got a different perspective on life that day.

I do Volunteer at haven Family House in Menlo Park and now I am on the support committee.i have been at this for two years now and I have learned so much.it's a joy to help out down there.Everyone really cares and you can see the difference it makes in other people's lives.

When I started at Shelter Network 2 months ago as a volunteer marketing intern I thought that this would be a way to gain experience in my college major, as well as be something nice to do over the summer. But it has turned into a learning and life experience that I will never forget. I have been privileged enough to be let into the inner workings of this organization, and let me tell you this place is a whirlwind of activity and a well-oiled machine all in one. The work it does changes lives every single day and every day I see greatness happen.
My time at Shelter Network has been more than designing webpages and making things look pretty. It has shown me the massive impact that one organization led by passionate and committed professionals can make. Shelter Network’s staff, volunteers, donors and clients make this an inspiring place, and I am honored that I could spend my summer here. It’s been an experience I will carry with me always.

I work at the Food Closet for only a few hours a week, but I really enjoy the work and the wonderful co-workers, and helping the people who come in for supplies. Everyone in need has their own individual story and we get to know them a bit. From the feedback I hear from many clients, the Food Closet is a very important resource for them. Some are mentally ill and homeless, others have lost jobs and are temporarily staying with a relative or sleeping in their car and hoping to get back on their feet quickly. The Food Closet is a place an individual or family can come, without shame, to get some extra food and nutrition to make it through the week. Clients may come and "shop" up to 2x per week and very often leave with a healthy delicious bag of groceries with a balanced nutritional make-up. Palo Alto is a generous community with many resources and the "larder" at Food Closet reflects that bounty. Very often we hand out cartons of whole, organic milk and yogurt, or bags of home-grown produce from neighborhood gardens. Restaurants often donate whole meals such as rice and beans or pasta with turkey sauce. We always try to keep on hand small servings of condiments such as sugar, salt, coffee, spices -- this can lend not just flavor to a homeless person's meal, but dignity as well. I've personally seen the results of this organization in... I've seen and heard the results of this organization from weekly testimony from clients. We get to know many of them and develop a friendly camaraderie as we help them make the best choices for their needs. We have one client who is pleased when we have food in jars with a certain type of screw-on lid because "the squirrels can open the others." Others are grateful for the reliability of Food Closet and the consistency of good food and groceries available. Some are diabetic and have to stay away from certain foods but still can get a full complement of groceries, while others love sweets and leave with a piece of pumpkin pie and a pastry with a smile on their face. (Entered by GreatNonprofits staff member on behalf of reviewer)

I came to the PA Food Closet 22 years ago as a volunteer working a weekly two hour shift. As years passed and the organization grew and changed, I agreed to become a part of the management team. I have managed for about two years with 4 other talented and committed women who have become my friends along with so many of our clients. (Entered by GreatNonprofits staff member on behalf of reviewer)

I volunteer with a fun, kind group of people who want to help out their community. (Entered by GreatNonprofits staff member on behalf of reviewer)

The need in our community is growing. I have worked here for several years and feel personally related to our group. We work well together, help each other with difficulties and leave feeling "a job well done!" (Entered by GreatNonprofits staff member on behalf of reviewer)

I have been volunteering at the Food Closet for the last year and a half. I have known about it and its service to the community since its inception. Before coming to the Food Closet - and continuing to the present - I have helped raise money for the Opportunity Center and am a coordinator for the Hotel de Zink, housed at my church during the month of March.

I have been volunteering here for over two years. It's a wonderful group of people to work with! Selfishly, my circle of friends has widened. Unselfishly, it makes a big difference to have a hands-on approach to the difficulties the homeless and mentally disabled face on a daily basis (lack of food, shelter, and maybe above all human warmth). (Entered by GreatNonprofits staff member on behalf of reviewer)

(Director) Lori became by savior during "stop" gave me the benefit of the doubt. The program keeps me safe, gives me support, above and beyond. Most staff is very empathic. Most fellow clients are very nice. (Entered by GreatNonprofits staff member on behalf of reviewer)

I have had a very hard time. For several months. Then i found out that Innvision could and would help me. They have and I am grateful. (Entered by GreatNonprofits staff member on behalf of reviewer)

In April 2001 I was mourning the loss of one of my oldest and closest friends. I needed to get out of myself, and to connect with the community doing something useful for other people. I'd walked past the Food Closet often and one day saw a sign on the door saying that volunteers were needed. Almost on the spur of the moment I walked in. I've been glad I did so ever since. By pure chance it was Friday, between 2 and 4, and so I met the Friday day managers, Sandra Dhuey and Pat Keicher. I should state that most of what I saw applies to my experiences with them and my fellow volunteers on the shift. I've seen the results of this organization in... The Food closet provides food for cooking (not meals) as its basic service. There is no doubt this is needed in our community. People we serve have frequently expressed their appreciation for the food, and even those that don't testify to its essentiality indicate it because they come back and obviously rely on what we do. I have learned that we provide other, less tangible services. Our clientele are mostly pretty marginal in terms of social contacts. They value the Food Closet (at least the 2-4 Friday shift) because it is a place to go where they are treated with respect, where they are known, greeted, and asked after, and where they can get information on a wide range of other services e don't provide but to which we can refer them. I know this is true because of the way people act, because they return at the same time, and because on a questionnaire we asked several people said they liked to come to the Food Closet because "nobody treated them like they were low-lifes." Several clients have said that to me too. The staff were... I deeply admire Sandra and Pat for their qualities as excellent managers. Not every volunteer is equally good at every task, and Sandra and Pat do a very good job of making sure everyone can handle the variety of jobs needed by making best use of each of our particular abilities. When they go on vacation, we formally have a substitute manager, but I think they must find it an easy job because in fact all the long-term volunteers can work our shift with minimal oversight because we all have our jobs, can do others' if necessary, share the cleanup, and have confidence in making the decisions volunteers need to make, because we've had confidence put in us. We are a team. I bet these two women, Sandra and Pat, could be making good money somewhere, but their managerial skills wouldn't be either more needed or more appreciated! Even more important, I respect them for their relationship with our clients. They have decades-long acquaintance with some of them, and are regarded with respect and often affection. Skills usually considered part both of social work and psychological-social work are often necessary for dealing with our clients, for both volunteers and managers. The managers relate to our clients with humor, tact, patience, and compassion. The volunteers were...Long-term: I'd say all are doing good work and always to the best of their abilities, which range from good to superb, at various jobs, as is true in any organization I think. Some of the volunteers have actually blossomed remarkably themselves, in terms of their social abilities and developing skills to deal with a sometimes-difficult clientele. Mid-term (months to a year): I'd say generally well-meaning and reliable. We had one first-rate high school volunteer for a couple of years who had good organizational abilities and developed them during her time here. We also had one first-rate student volunteer from China. She was especially helpful in working with our numerous elderly Chinese clients with limited English. When she went home to Beijing she left us an array of hand-printed signs in Chinese to which I still direct my clients quite often. One thing I'd also say is... Occasionally, better communication from above-the-managers level to volunteers. My one irritation - which is pretty minor, and 1 in 8 years is pretty minimal- concerned a recent change in regulations. We put some in for hygienic reasons during swine-flu season, which our clients understood and appreciated. But we were also told to ask for identification from everybody. Neither they or I were told why - I asked and no one seemed to know - and some of the clients were offended and I found it embarrassing to demand ID from people I've known for 8 years. I'd have liked to see a more flexible policy where volunteers were asked to get ID from anyone they didn't know. As I volunteer I'd have liked a good explanation for the ID requirement, and one I could have given the clients, like the one about the swine flu regulations. (Entered by GreatNonprofits staff member on behalf of reviewer)

As someone who does a lot of research on poverty, I like coming here because it reminds me of the faces behind the statistics. (entered by GreatNonprofits staff member on behalf of reviewer)

My daughter and I have volunteered within the children's programs,including Summer Camp, Family Bingo Nite, etc. We've also provided donations of warm clothing, new toys and teen gifts for the Holiday Toy & Teen Shoppe, where we volunteered thru the National Charity League. We've loved helping InnVision the Way Home and always feel appreciated! It's truly a wonderful organizatiopn!

I am a regular, weekly volunteer at Innvision's Food Closet in downtown Palo Alto. I hand out food to clients, register clients and prepare and organize food for distribution. I enjoy interacting with clients and the challenge of trying to be a bright spot in what can be a very discouraging time in their lives. It is great to be part of an organization which maintains enough structure and rules to make it sustainable both in terms of serving clients and getting donations and yet still realizes the support role its people can playin interacting with the clients

InnVision serves approximately 19,000 homeless and extremely low-income people on an annual basis at twenty sites throughout Silicon Valley, CA.

Shelter Network helped me to get my life back on track. My children were comfortable with the staff and loved the program. I was able to work and save enough money to afford the move-in costs for an apartment. After we moved into our own apartment, my children still wanted to "go home" to the shelter. The value received for my family is priceless. Because of that, I now volunteer and donate regularly to the shelter community. I am also part of the Alumni Association.

Shelter Network is a special and unique organization that helps people who truly want to help themselves. It is amazing that the Shelter Network is able to provide on an annual basis, shelter for 3,500 homeless children, parents, and individuals and comprehensive programs to ensure they are able to thrive after leaving the shelters. I had heard a little of the story from friends in the Burlingame area, but I decided to walk-in and offer my help. I was met with immediate good will and direction to a suitable place to help. I was working within ten minutes of walking through the door for the first time in November 2007.

Shelter Network is an amazing organization. They truly care about ending homelessness! I am very passionate about this nonprofit and I will always support Shelter Network.