Shepherds Gate

I was the child of a person who went to this program. I won't speak on my mother's behalf, Im not too fully sure of her experience. But I'm now an adult, and looking back? This was a cult. At least the one I went to. I remember hating it there. I remember it being messy, me being confused and uncomfortable often, other mothers hating it there. My family dont talk about it, but the few times they have they would say notably that it was a cult, and that mothers they met where also having a bad experience... There's certainly other far less sketchy nonprofits to donate to. For context, my family is still deeply, bible-researched, God devoted Christians. So us thinking its bad isn't us not being Christian enough. Don't donate, and dont bring your kids here. The experience was so bad that only a friend and my therapist know the details.

Shepard's Gate was very cruel to me, the director told me my depression which from a very traumatic experience was a choice and that I was not a strong believer. This is a form of spiritual abuse. The organization exits a lot of people and they often have no money or place to go since they are not allowed to work or have contact with friends. The Shepard's Gate in Brentwood was very disorganized and the staff that it employed lack the experience or education. They were not qualified to understand what the residents were going thru and often would say and do things to humiliate the residents. Shephard's Gate donors need to be aware what is going on and need to do an investigation. Its true that most of the staff at the Brentwood campus have left however the damage they did to the residents was very painful.

They at times did more harm then good.

My name is Carol Patterson and I am the CEO of Shepherd's Gate. I have been in the role since January 2018. If anyone has questions or would like a tour of our campus, please email me at cpatterson@shepherdsgate.org. We have two campuses - Livermore and Brentwood. We help women and children suffering from homelessness, addiction or domestic violence. We provide a 12-16 month program, so women can find help in all different aspects of their lives.

We are grateful to volunteers, individual donors, local businesses and churches who support us our program.

Over the past 7 years I have had numerous opportunities to work with this organization. I can attest to the standard of excellence that runs throughout every branch of Shepherd's Gate. From the back stockroom of the Thrift Store, to the house in Brentwood, to the home office in Livermore and those who travel to speak on their behalf, the people who work tirelessly to sustain this ministry have integrity to spare. Also, I have watched first hand, the impact Shepherd's Gate has on individual lives. It is not just a safe house for frightened women and children but also a place of restoration. You would never know that they depend fully on the donations of generous givers. There is never any pressure to give. Prayers alone are a coveted commodity. They succeed in restoring lives one compassionate step at a time.
I fully recommend devoting time and funds to Shepherd's Gate. The life you change may be your own!

Because Shepherd's Gate is my favorite charity and my passion, I am so sorry to see that this beautiful donor was disillusioned with them. It has been 21 years this month that I have been volunteering and donating to this amazing work. Through volunteering in many ways, including as a Board member the first five years, I regularly see remarkable life changes of the women and kids there. In amazing numbers, the women and their kids go on with their lives sharing with others how they can escape their abuser and/or completely rid themselves of drug and alcohol. Many go on to start their own Ministries.

The success rate of the women who complete the Shepherd's Gate program is over 90 percent!

The residents there tell me of the transformation from what their lives have been, which are often beyond my comprehension, and what they are accomplishing today.

As a monthly donor, I receive the updates of the miracles of what happens to the women. Like every charity, they do come regularly. Many donors appreciate this; however, the staff will ALWAYS remove donors from the mailing list if they request.

I am very grateful for the devotion that the loving staff and large number of volunteers show to the precious women and kids who are in their care. Shepherd's Gate receives NO GOVERNMENT FUNDS.

After making a fairly substantial donation, I began to get absolutely bombarded with direct mail. I was disappointed to think that this is how they are spending their donors money. I was also getting lots of e-mail marketing from them, until I wrote them back asking them to please take me off their list, which they did - Bottom line is I refuse to donate any more money to an organization that uses its donors money to fund their marketing budget.