Carol Huston
Kappa Omicron began a one year fundraising effort to support the Esplanade House in May 2011. The Esplanade House provides transitional supportive housing program for homeless families with children in Chico, California. The mission statement for this organization is to provide a safe, healthy and nurturing environment for homeless families while implementing a goal-oriented program designed to help homeless parents and children move from crisis to self-sufficiency.
The Esplanade House began in an old motel on The Esplanade in 1991, and due to demand, has since grown to 60 apartments and administrative buildings located off north Esplanade and East Shasta Ave. The majority of parents in the program are recovering from a lifestyle of poverty and addiction that eventually led to a downward spiral into homelessness. Many lost their children to a relative or Foster Care, and were reunited because of the safe and supportive environment provided by the Esplanade House.
When families are accepted into the two-phase (18-24 month) Esplanade House program, they are given everything they need to start over: a furnished apartment, food, clothes, supplies, case manager, counselor, and child care. They are surrounded by other families who all have the same challenge and rules to follow, including curfews and housekeeping.
In the first phase, families live in apartments on the east side, and are fully engaged in a required daily program. Most families are overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of what is required to get their life on track, and need maximum support. In phase two, families move to apartments on the west side of the property for up to an additional year, and attend school or look for employment. It is supportive housing that offers participants the opportunity to “live what they have learned” in a safe, supportive environment that helps prevent relapse and keep friendships with other families who are committed to a healthy lifestyle. Currently, more than 70 adults with over 100 children live at the Esplanade.
Kappa Omicron’s first fundraising efforts, held as part of the spring 2011 induction
ceremony, included a silent auction and raffle. More than $1100 was raised from these efforts. Gloria Rodgers, Program Operations Director for the Esplanade House, was on hand to tell inductees and their significant more about the agency funds were being raised for. Additional silent auctions, raffles, and fundraising events are planned for fall 2011 events.
