Foothill Unity Center, Inc.

Foothill Unity Center is the region’s primary provider of integrated services that focus on homelessness prevention and homeless services to help the disadvantaged, low-income individuals and families who are underserved to move out of poverty and achieve economic stability. The Center has the following more specific goals:

1) Provide low-income families and individuals sufficient food and nutrition education to maintain good health and stabilize their finances;

2) Help families in crisis, with emphasis on women and children or those new to homelessness, to remain housed or to transition out of homelessness.

3) Furnish low-income families and children with reliable access to health care services and health education;

4) Improve the economic lives of low-income and homeless individuals with hands on assistance to gain employment for those unemployed and underemployed.

5) Educate the community on various poverty, health and community well-being issues, including the importance of volunteerism and giving back.

1) Be a one-stop service provider with integrated services that complete a continuum of care
To ensure that the Center’s offerings align with best practices, Foothill Unity Center compares itself to the elements identified in the Social Determinants of Health Model -- to provide wrap-around services that complete a continuum of care.

2) Collaborate with the community to ensure capacity
The Center collaborates with more than 100 agencies. Just a few examples include the following. Most of the nutritious food distributed to clients is donated. The Center’s trucks pick up food from the LA Regional Food Bank and local grocery stores and bakeries. The Cal State Los Angeles Nursing Program and the Asuza Pacific Nursing Program both provide interns who administer health care screenings on-site at the Center. Tzu Chi Medical Foundation provides vision and dental care with their mobile units, on-site. Huntington Hospital provides blood pressure and glucose screenings and pop-up health clinics at the Center. The Center's staff works with the Coordinated Entry System (CES) network to enable rental assistance and rapid rehousing.

Staff recruited and managed nearly 6,000 volunteers in 2018.

This past year, the Center served as a placement/training site for 6 interns in social work and public health, 69 nursing students, and for government-funded workforce programs that provided paid on-the-job training to 39 work experience trainees. The benefits extend beyond the work experience and the training that the students, interns, and participants receive. The benefits also impact our community with the expanded staff capacity they provide to our organization to serve more clients.

3) Provide education along with basic services to improve sustainability
For example, the Center provides exercise groups and nutrition education & recipes during food distributions. The Center provides basic financial literacy workshops. Similarly, the Center provides the means for clients to monitor their health, to take some control over their well-being.

Foothill Unity Center plays a unique role in the community by leveraging its food pantry to be a one-stop service center. When a family first comes to the Center for help with food, they find a safe and welcoming environment where health and social services case managers are available to help develop a plan and provide advocacy, resources and referrals. Current programs address the following needs as defined in the Social Deterimants of Health Model: housing & transit, family& social support, employment, education, access to care, diet & exercise.

Foothill Unity Center’s Community Action Agency (CAA) designation and the requirements attached to the designation have helped to shape the Center. We involve the participation of the whole community in the goal to reduce and eliminate poverty, which includes elected public officials, private sector representatives, and particularly low-income residents to assess the needs and address the causes of poverty. As an agency, we have always responded to the needs of our community and ensured that we found resources to meet their needs, never turning anyone away. The Center is led by a tripartite Board of Directors, with one-third who are elected officials or representatives, one-third who are among our organization’s low-income clients, or representatives, and one-third who are local community or business members.

The Center is committed to maintaining a highly regarded professional staff (24 employees) that can attract and lead the community partners, volunteers and interns needed.

In 2018, Foothill Unity Center moved into a new 28,000 sq ft location in Monrovia. with private spaces for more community partners to work with clients – and spacious rooms to be a venue for workshops in nutrition, disease prevention and financial literacy. The Center continues to also operate from its second location in Pasadena.

In 2018, Foothill Unity Center served 3,200 low income families representing more than 6,500 unduplicated individuals. The Center provided 52,000 services that included 21,482 food orders, 10,773 health services, and 6,114 case management services.

We continuously assess and enhance our programs to address feedback and the needs of the community. For example, this past year, in response to the growing need in the community, the Center prioritized the development of its Job Development Program. We hired a full-time Job Development Manager to build employer relations and to increase the effectiveness of our job development offerings. Our program addresses job readiness with academic and vocational counseling, resume assistance, certifications, mentoring, and financial literacy workshops. We provide assistance with job search and employment placement and referrals to community agencies for training. At each of our sites, we have information for job leads, offer vouchers for those who need appropriate clothing for job interviews, and provide bus tokens and taxi vouchers to remove transportation barriers. We host sessions where clients can meet and interview with staffing agencies at our sites for potential job opportunities. These services are particularly effective because they are available at the Center where people are picking up food. We are now preparing a 10 week course in Career Readiness and are planning a Career Fair for 2020.

With these opportunities to learn marketable skills, gain good work habits and career specific knowledge, skills, and experiences, our clients will be able to increase household income and gain economic security. This program directly addresses the community's need for homelessness prevention and homeless services.

Foothill Unity Center’s Board of Directors and staff are dedicated and committed to sustain our services and as a result have focused on expanding the capacity of our fundraising efforts. This includes the development of the Development Department Team with staffing, infrastructure, and processes that will support the growing needs in funds to sustain our programs and organization. Our fundraising includes government grants, foundations, businesses, corporations, faith-based organizations, service clubs and other organizations, individuals, and special events. Our diversified revenue sources help to assure that services are not disrupted due to discontinuation of funding from any one source.

What’s Next? Build capacity & enhance services by leading Community teams to provide critical services where people can most easily find them.