At our staff meeting today we remembered Jesse and Kate.

Tuesday was Kate’s 58^th birthday.  It was also the day she was found dead in an alley.

Our office has been rocked by a series of crises and we barely had time to process Jesse’s death when we learned about Kate. Jesse, a chronically homeless veteran, was very sweet, but he had his struggles.  That he ultimately died in his apartment was testimony not only to the support our staff gave him, but to his own commitment to do better.

We knew Kate over a much longer period of time.  She was among the earliest chronically homeless people that we helped into housing and she remained housed for 2 ½ years.  What followed can only be described as a nightmare of unfolding events that resulted in her return to the streets and her progressive decline.  We remained committed to helping her, often pushing against her resistance, up until the day before she died.

Jesse was sweet.  Kate was salty.  Jesse was quiet.  Kate was loquacious.

Our lives were better for knowing them and they will be missed.

 
Registration is now OPEN for this exciting community event for the entire family!

1st Annual Jewel City Fun & Fitness Ride

Sunday, May 19th
Verdugo Park in Glendale
7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Ride the Gear Grinder, a challenging 33 mile route complete with a 2600 ft. elevation, the Ride and Glide for a relaxed 7 mile ride through Glendale, and specially for kids, join the FREE Bicycle Skills & Safety Course at Verdugo Park. Come for the ride! Stay for live music, food, vendors and plenty of activities throughout the event.

Click here to register today.

How Can I Support Team Ascencia?

(1) Register for the event. Proceeds from the event will benefit low-income and homeless families and adults served by Ascencia, Glendale Healthy Kids and Glendale Salvation Army.

(2) Join Team Ascencia when you register. Let’s ride together for a great cause!

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Jewel City Fun & Fitness Ride brought to you by Glendale Noon Rotary Club, a Glendale chapter of Rotary International, and Walk Bike Glendale, a regional chapter of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. Sponsored by Glendale Adventist Medical Center with Media Sponsor ABC7.

Catch all the latest news about the event on Facebook.

Today a client came by with flowers and this note.  We are so grateful to our Board, volunteers and donors who help us make these stories possible!

We hope you have a beautiful Thanksgiving.

- the staff at Ascencia.

Many offices are closed Monday in honor of Veterans Day. At Ascencia, the only people who get the day off are our veterans.  That would be Alfred (Marines) and Edward (Navy).  The rest of us will be at work because there is still much to do.

About a year and a half ago we committed to ending veteran homelessness in Glendale.  Because we periodically update our registry of homeless veterans, we find new homeless veterans just as we are getting the ones we first met into housing.

In honor of Veteran’s Day, the Glendale News Press is running an article about Lanny, our latest veteran placement.  We currently have just three more veterans on the list.  But that may change.  A recent Los Angeles Times article reported a 19% unemployment rate among post-9/11 veterans during the recession with a poverty rate increasing from 4% to 12% in 2010.

We are working to get the veterans we know into housing as soon as possible.

After that, we will continue to provide prevention services and to rapidly re-housing services the newly homeless veterans we meet.  Moreover, it is very likely there are homeless veterans we do not yet know in Burbank, Atwater Village, Glassell Park and Eagle Rock.

If you know a veteran who needs our help, please give us a call at (818) 246-7900.

To all veterans, whether you served us in war or in peace, thank you for your service to our country.  To veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, we are here for you.

At Ascencia we are having an amazing summer. Just as we were counting our blessings, two more amazing things happened when our “visiting” Guest Chefs came to serve dinner in the shelter.

The guest chef team was from Oakmont Country Club.

I guess anyone can overuse the word amazing, but I am going to take a chance and use it again. This night was amazing! First, our chefs set the stage by adorning the serving tables with white table covers, then presenting a colorful, crispy salad to start. Soon the main entrée(s) were revealed. Breast of chicken basking in a mildly spiced brown gravy, a magnificent lasagna that royalty would feast on and the wonderful aroma of hot out of the oven garlic bread.

The dining room had taken on a delightful ambiance; the only thing missing was candlelight.

Our guest chefs enjoyed the meal alongside our residents. I could hear conversations coming from all corners. I said two amazing things, right? Well, one such conversation lead to an opportunity for one of our clients, Felix, to interview for a job as “server” at the country club. What a night!

Drum roll please… As our guest chefs are preparing to leave, I was standing in the kitchen when suddenly I hear the swell of thundering applause coming from the dining area – the clients were saying “thank you!”

At Ascencia, we are fortunate to have wonderful friends who come to be of service to those who are facing hard times. We salute our friends from Oakmont Country Club for their kindness in giving.

Elizabeth Tismeer
Volunteer Coordinator