Right around the time on Thanksgiving morning when you pop your turkey into that fancy oven, just after you tune the television in your cozy living room to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from New York, volunteers affiliated with a Healdsburg-based nonprofit will fan out into the community and inspire gratitude of an entirely different kind.
The organization, Reach for Home, aims to provide housing for the area’s homeless population, which at recent estimates is about 70 people who currently live between Windsor and Cloverdale. On Thanksgiving, however, its mission is more specific: To distribute free turkey and trimmings.
Reach for Home Executive Director Colleen Carmichael is particularly proud of this seasonal program. She boasts that John Hallgrimson, the chef at Healdsburg Bar & Grill, and his kitchen staff cook all the meals for free. She brags that volunteers distribute the food at three different locations around North County. She marvels that those who make this happen prioritize this selflessness over their own holiday celebrations.
“Homelessness is never easy, but particularly around the holidays, when people gather to celebrate together, it’s especially hard,” Carmichael says. “There always are lots of tears and joy when we do this; people really are touched knowing that others in the community care about them at this time of year.”
The Thanksgiving meal drive is only one of the ways Reach for Home serves local homeless. The group, which was formally established in 2014 and grew out of a homeless assistance program at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, provides much-needed food, access to medical services, and supplies for homeless individuals and others on the cusp of homelessness.
According to Carmichael, the group sponsors programs that include building trust with the local homeless by visiting with them regularly; connecting local homeless with social workers who help them develop financial know-how, build resumes, practice effective parenting and advance other essential life skills; and providing transitional housing in the form of free and reduced-rent apartments where local homeless can live for up to a year while they establish steady income.
In particular, the nonprofit targets homeless families, providing sober-living apartments for mothers, fathers, and couples with children.
Reach for Home operates other programs around the community as well, such as shower services and drop-in art classes. The organization even gets others involved in the cause; this year, Reach for Home is partnering with Healdsburg Charter School students on a community service project that will result in “Birthday Baskets” full of streamers, confetti, and other celebratory items to give as gifts to children in the program.
While homelessness itself is a formidable challenge, Carmichael says that particularly in the wake of the recent wildfires, one of her organization’s toughest tasks is changing the perception of what causes homelessness, that it’s not a choice.
“In many cases people become homeless after a traumatic event in their lives that changed the course for them — molestation, domestic violence, or something like that,” says Carmichael. “These types of events, in conjunction with mental health issues, often create the perfect storm, and prove why it’s so important to work with these people to get them back on their feet.”
The bottom line: Homeless people are part of our community. They matter. They deserve compassion.
Yes, Thanksgiving is a time to appreciate what we have. It’s also a time to show gratitude toward Reach for Home and those among us who are doing everything they can to provide for the less fortunate.
Matt Villano writes about good people doing great things in the Healdsburg community. For more information about Reach for Home, visit reachforhome.org.
