Reflections: As we transition from summer into fall, we are afforded the opportunity to reflect on our work and the impact it has on our community. Summer kept us busy serving a high volume of community members across our programing. We increased hours and staffing in our five offices to provide in-person services as safely as possibly. Since the start of COVID-19, we have provided over 540,000 meals and over $700,000 in rental and utility assistance, keeping our community sheltered and food secure. And while these numbers are impressive, they do not tell the whole story of what we do. They do not reflect the individuals who have been participating in programming like Parent Café, Zumba or various pop-up vaccine clinics. They do not reflect the fact that our Safe House has been full for months with individuals and families fleeing violence, and they do not reflect the hundreds of youth engaging with our Prevention Program around issues like healthy relationships, consent, mental health, and bullying prevention. The depth of our programming cannot be captured in a few sentences; the ways in which we interact and connect with the community are many.
As Sierra Community House enters year three of consolidation, our focus has been on serving the community, rarely coming up for air to see the life-changing impact of our services. We are grateful to our community partners for recognizing the core services provided by Sierra Community House. We were recently a finalist for the Truckee Resiliency Award from Truckee Chamber of Commerce, both for our organization as a whole and for our Promotora Team, providing culturally specific public and mental health education in our community. This recognition is inspiring as it demonstrates our community’s belief and support in our mission: to connect and empower our community through family strengthening, crisis intervention, hunger relief, and legal services.
It is an honor to serve with all of you,
Paul Bancroft, MA
Executive Director
