Union Station Homeless Services announced today the organization’s new
Board of Directors Officers effective July 1, 2020 and the election of five new members since the last
officer installation. Serving as Chair will be Kevin Trieber, Senior Vice President, Bank of America, with
Maxine Harris, Vice President and Senior Trust Officer, Bank of the West, continuing her role as Vice
Chair. Eric “Tony” Gronroos, CPA, Hinton, Kreditor & Gronroos, LLP, has been installed as Treasurer
while Jesse Torres, Principal, ArroyoWest, LLC, will serve as Secretary.
New Board Members elected since the last Officer installation include:
Vinayak Bharne, Adjunct Associate Professor, USC School of Architecture
Lori Bondar, VP, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer at Avery Dennison
Angela Serranzana, Hackler Flynn and Associates
Lisa Smith, Manager Director/Public Finance Group MUFG
Jay Walters, Chief Information Officer and Vice President, Ellen McDonald MD, Inc.
The stature and experience of the new Board of Directors is remarkable,” states Anne Miskey, CEO
Union Station Homeless Services. “We are looking forward to the Board’s contribution to help us
navigate these difficult times and continue our mission to end homelessness and rebuild lives in the San
Gabriel Valley.”
Rotating off the Board after years of service and commitment to the organization are Rob Levy, Arnie
Sigel, Cathy Simms, Jim McCarthy and Brittany Duke-Noblin.
High Res Photos at https://unionstationhs.org/our-board/
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Union Station Homeless Services is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is committed to providing permanent
solutions to end homelessness and rebuild lives. Headquartered in Pasadena, CA, Union Station is the San Gabriel
Valley’s largest social service agency assisting homeless and very low-income adults and families. Union Station
believes every person deserves a life of dignity and a safe place to call home. With more than 45 years of
experience, Union Station proudly offers a holistic continuum of programs throughout the San Gabriel Valley
including street outreach, intake assessments, bridge and permanent housing, care coordination, employment,
and community integration services. For more information, visit www.unionstationhs.org.
CONTACT:
Brenda Lynch
blynch@unionstationhs.org
626.977.4350
Beyond Talk: Providing Clear Action Steps to Address Systemic Racism San Gabriel Valley Housing Crisis
The housing crisis in the San Gabriel Valley is the result of decades of broken and racist systems — housing discrimination, income inequality, disparities in the justice system, generational poverty and lack of access to opportunity — have led us to this unacceptable truth: Black people are 4 times more likely to experience homelessness than other groups.
Finally, these vital conversations are happening. But how do we go beyond talking to action? How can we make a difference in the San Gabriel Valley?
Join us for the inaugural Webinar for the Changing the Narrative Series: Systemic Racism and the Housing Crisis to be held on Tuesday, July 7, 2020 at 5:30 to 6:30 pm on Zoom and Facebook Live.
Panel of experts will hold an open discussion with a question and answer session on “ What can you do as a community member to be a catalyst for change?”
Va Lecia Adams Kellum, Ph.D., President & CEO, St. Joseph Center will overview the disproportionate representation of People of Color experiencing homelessness
Dominick Correy, District Representative, Senator Anthony J. Portantino will address housing issues specific to SGV from a political perspective
Veronica Gentry, Chair, Union Station Black Diversity Network and member of the Multi-Disciplinary Outreach Team will discuss what is happening at the street level to promote equity
Anne Miskey CEO, Union Station Homeless Services will moderate the webinar
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Union Station Homeless Servicesis a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is committed to providing permanent solutions to end homelessness and rebuild lives. Headquartered in Pasadena, Ca, Union Station is the San Gabriel Valley’s largest social service agency assisting homeless and very low-income adults and families. Union Station believes every person deserves a life of dignity and a safe place to call home. With more than 45 years of experience, Union Station proudly offers a holistic continuum of programs throughout the San Gabriel Valley including street outreach, intake assessments, bridge and permanent housing, care coordination, employment, and community integration services. For more information, visit www.unionstationhs.org.
CONTACT:
Brenda Lynch, blynch@unionstationhs.org, 626.977.4350
Across Los Angeles County, Project Roomkey is temporarily housing seniors and other vulnerable people who do not have COVID-19 stay safe as we work together to slow the spread of COVID-19 and reopen Los Angeles County.
Project Roomkey, which is securing hotels and motel rooms for vulnerable people experiencing homelessness, aims to not only protect high-risk individuals, but to also prevent the spread of the deadly virus in our communities and protect the capacity of our hospitals and healthcare system. As L.A. County moves toward reopening, one of the prerequisites is making sure vulnerable people are protected, and that is the goal of Project Roomkey.
“The individuals who are temporarily housed in Project Roomkey locations are not infected with COVID-19 but they risk serious complications if they were to become infected,” said Heidi Marston, interim executive director of LAHSA. “We must prevent as many vulnerable people as possible from contracting this virus and the safest and most effective way to do that for people experiencing homelessness is to provide temporary shelter. That way, they do not risk contracting the virus and spreading it to others.”
“The San Gabriel Valley has been a resource desert for too long, especially since the majority of residents are Asian and Latino who have a deep devotion to their elders. Project Roomkey is the perfect partnership with its prioritization to help seniors, collaboration with small business owners and emphasis on protecting the public health of the community,” said Calvin Chan, Major Gifts Officer, Union Station Homeless Services, and long-time San Gabriel Valley resident. Union Station is providing services at two Project Roomkey sites in the San Gabriel Valley.
There are 30 Project Roomkey sites temporarily housing nearly 2,000 vulnerable people.
To qualify to participate in Project Roomkey, individuals experiencing homelessness must be over 65 years old or have medical issues, such as cancer, that make them vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 and needing intensive medical care.
Every site has 24/7 security, food and services are provided on site and participants are monitored for symptoms of COVID-19.
Because Project Roomkey, a statewide initiative, is temporary, on-site service providers are working with each client individually to develop a plan with the goal of moving them to a situation that permanently resolves their homelessness.
Separate from Project Roomkey, the County has also set up quarantine and isolation locations for people who have been exposed to COVID-19.
Project Roomkey B-roll and Interviews Available for Download (clean versions available upon request, credit LA County):
Union Station Homeless Services has massively scaled up its food distribution to its clients in response food insecurity spreading in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic
Starting Friday, April 3, Union Station Homeless Services will be prepping and delivering 5,000 meals a week
Massive deployment is the result of staff and volunteers of Union Station Homeless Services partnering with the Patina Restaurant Group
Pasadena, CA April 1, 2020 –In response food insecurity spreading among the unsheltered and formerly unsheltered, Union Station Homeless Services has responded quickly by massively scaling up to deliver meals to its clients throughout the San Gabriel Valley.
Starting Friday, April 3, Union Station Homeless Services will be prepping and delivering 5,000 meals a week to its clients. It is anticipated that the need could grow rapidly to over 6,000 meals a week.
“Our vulnerable and at-risk clients, living in our bridge housing and supportive housing sites as well as hundreds of our clients staying in motels and apartments, now depend on us for food. With the help of our partners and amazing staff, we have swiftly responded and are delivering meals to their residences across the San Gabriel Valley,” states Anne Miskey, CEO of Union Station Homeless Services. “In this time of crisis, we are showing how we live our core philosophy of meeting our clients ‘where they are at’ –physically and emotionally.”
Union Station Homeless Services is meeting the urgent food needs of its clients in three ways.
Scheduled Meal Deliveries throughout the San Gabriel Valley
Residents at Centennial Place, a permanent supportive housing facility in Pasadena, and locations throughout the San Gabriel Valley will have scheduled deliveries of prepackaged meals and snacks to cover 2 to 3 days every Tuesday and Friday. This massive distribution of food is the coordinated effort of a dedicated Union Station kitchen staff, a small group of volunteers and community partners.
“We are honored to partner with Union Station Homeless Services, and be able to do our part in helping to feed our community’s most vulnerable,” said Joachim Splichal, Patina Restaurant Group Chef and Founder.
On Mondays and Thursdays, staff and volunteers receive, sort and label prepackaged meals into individual grocery bags for each resident. On Tuesdays and Fridays, two refrigerator delivery trucks, provided by the Patina Restaurant Group are loaded for deliveries. When the trucks arrive at each location, the on-site Union Station staff offload the trucks. They then deliver the packages to the right to the resident’s doorsteps and check-in to see how they are doing, while maintaining social distance.
Single deliveries to clients
On a case-by-case basis, Union Station Care Coordinators will also be making emergency deliveries of meals and needed necessities to their clients living in apartments and motels scattered across region. Many are at risk and cannot leave their places of dwelling and are in desperate need of supplies and food for themselves and their children.
Continuing meal service at the Bridge Housing locations
Three onsite meal services a day with enhanced social distancing protocols are continuing to be prepared and served at the Adult Center and Family Center. While in the past legions of long time volunteers have been a part of the Adopt-a-Meal program and packed sack lunches for residents, the kitchen staff has had to assume the preparation and serving of all three meals.
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the organization served 2,200 meals a week at its facilities with the help of hundreds of dedicated volunteers, many who had served dinners or made sack lunches at the facilities for years. With many long-time volunteers needing to stay at home and new social distancing protocols, the exponentially expanded kitchen work and food distribution is now being handled by a dedicated kitchen staff of only three people along with food services temps and a small number of volunteers under the direction of Marissa Gamboa, Food Services Manager.
Critical need for community help
To continue to meet the increasing demand for food and basic necessities for its clients, Union Station Homeless Services is in urgent need of the following donations from the community:
Monetary and in-kind donations to support additional meal service, including increased breakfast and lunch service for kids who are now home from school
Funds to support increased staffing needs in the kitchens and bridge housing in lieu of volunteer support, which during normal operations is the backbone of their community meals program
Anise Stevens was a self-taught painter, produced playwright, published essayist and contributing art critic to several publications including Artillery and AEQAI.
Anise was a true lover of the arts, but didn’t pursue painting with regularity until diagnosed with breast cancer just before her 43rd birthday. Anise found painting a therapeutic outlet and motivator to persevere with inspired resilience. For seven
years, she fought but ultimately lost a brave battle against cancer.
Her memory will be forever honored by the tremendous legacy that she left to Union Station Homeless Services. Her gift will allow Union Station’s life-saving work to continue for many years to come. We are inspired by her fearlessness, creativity, and commitment to those we serve.
Pasadena, CA November 4, 2019 – Building on a 20 year tradition of fun, entertainment and giving, Evening for the Station: A Night of Wonder, will be held this Thursday, November 7, 2019 at 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm at the Imperial Palace in Pasadena. The Little Brazil Trio will be providing the music for the evening to set the stage for an incredible Variety Show. Featured talent will include performances by ventriloquist and Tony Award Winning actor Jay Johnson, world class magician Christopher Hart, juggler extraordinaire Michael Rayner, the classic comedy duo of the Rumoli Brothers, and more.
The Silent auction is now live with bidding starting on more than 40 items, including a five-day Hawaiian getaway, a suite for 12 at an LA Clipper game and tickets to Death Cab for Cutie concert.
Admission includes hors d’oeuvres and the show. More information and tickets can be found at https://unionstationhs.org/events/. A 100% of the proceeds benefit Union Station Homeless Services. This is a night you will not want to miss.
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Union Station Homeless Services is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is committed to providing permanent solutions to end homelessness and rebuild lives. Headquartered in Pasadena, Ca, Union Station is the San Gabriel Valley’s largest social service agency assisting homeless and very low-income adults and families. believes every person deserves a life of dignity and a safe place to call home. With more than 45 years of experience, Union Station proudly offers a holistic continuum of programs throughout the San Gabriel Valley including street outreach, intake assessments, bridge and permanent housing, care coordination, employment,
and community integration services. For more information, visit www.unionstationhs.org.
