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Community The Riversider | December 2021
Path Of Life WORDS: SOFIA MILLA PHOTOS: ZACH CORDNER
Path of Life Community Shelter
It’s no doubt that we’re in a housing crisis, and many of our neighbors in the Riverside community are without homes. But one organization is providing emergency aid, as well as hope. Path Of Life is a homeless outreach organization providing emergency shelter and programs to help our homeless neighbors get back on their feet and work toward self-reliance. Path Of Life started in Riverside as a church of the same name. In 1998, they decided to venture into homeless services through pastor Raul Diaz. Raul offered to work with the city of Riverside to provide homeless services during cold weather. The first cold weather shelter was located in the armory in Fairmont park, allowing those in need to arrive at dinner time, eat a warm meal, and stay in an overnight shelter. It eventually became much more in 2005 when Path Of Life began to expand their services into what they are today. Today, there are two shelters in Riverside—the Community Shelter and the Family Shelter. The Family Shelter only provides shelter to families, The Riversider Magazine
including minors and their parents, as well as significant relatives. In order to stay in the Family Shelter, someone has to have children connected to him or her. It currently provides 50 beds to families. In contrast, the Community Shelter is eighteen-plus, and separated into men and women dorms with a common room in between. The community shelter currently houses up to 54 men and 36 women. “A lot of time people think shelters are scary awful places, and that’s a fair assessment. However, it’s also fair to say there are groups who care to make it clean and provide as much new food and resources to guests as possible,” said Casey Jackson, interim CEO for Path of Life. The community shelter has recently been remodeled with help from a grant from the state of California. Another generous group recently brought new life to the Community Shelter common room with a fresh paint job. “We had to increase our services through the pandemic,” explained Casey. “While everyone else was slowing down, we were speeding up.” With more
people in need of their services, they quickly changed from an overnight shelter to a 24-hour shelter, and raced to create more space for beds. The Community Shelter has now expanded to 135 beds. Path Of Life provides far more than shelter, as they’re also providing education, wrap-around services, and compassion. One of Path Of Life’s largest efforts is their housing placement program. Finding an apartment or house for guests to rent and providing them with suppor t through the process. They also of fer employment pipeline services, and mental health assistance. Path Of Life offers many ways for Riverside residents to get involved in making the city a better place, and making a difference in people’s lives. Their Guest Chef program allows volunteers to visit the shelter and serve guests with a warm meal. The community is also able to volunteer to sort out donated goods. They welcome all volunteers with open arms. “We look forward to seeing more community members become a part of what we are doing,” said Casey.
