Help Lift Spirits with Food and Essentials

FRONT DOOR COMMUNITIES MISSION:

Front Door Communities is committed to feeding vulnerable, low-income, and at-risk men, women, and families in downtown San Jose regardless of their circumstances by providing nutritious meals and basic essentials for survival. We are dedicated to restoring dignity to the people we serve while improving the health and well-being of our community.

Since 2017, Front Door Communities (FDC) has been on a mission to serve the most vulnerable individuals in downtown San Jose. Our flagship program, Lifted Spirits, provides the only daytime respite program for unhoused and at-risk women in San Jose. We are seeking your support to serve the women of Lifted Spirits. Our vision is to create a safe space where women can park their carts or suitcases, gather for a hot lunch, apply for jobs, check and send email, print documents, charge their cell phones, and shop for food and essentials in an inviting, clean, and well-organized environment. For unhoused women, this will provide their only opportunity for a safe space to rest each day. For housed and at-risk women, it will offer access to computers, clothing, and pantry food items to feed themselves and their families. Currently operating on Wednesdays and Fridays, our goal is to expand the program to a third day of the week. Our clients receive lunch, clothing, hygiene kits, and groceries from our Food Pantry, stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables, non-perishable items, and healthy drinks. Our clients also have access to sleeping bags, tarps, blankets, towels, and small rolling suitcases. On the first and third Wednesdays of the month, we welcome housed women and provide basic home essentials. On Fridays, our clients can shower and do laundry through the Dignity on Wheels program, often the only opportunity these women receive to bathe and do laundry.

In addition to Lifted Spirits, Front Door Communities operates the Lunch Bag program, which provides hot bag lunches three days a week to unhoused, low-income, and at-risk individuals and families. We also distribute men’s clothing, hygiene items, underwear, socks, and shoes. Since relocating to Trinity Episcopal, we have tripled the number of lunches we provide.

We recently remodeled the space in which we host our Lifted Spirits program for women, creating a small kitchen and some furniture. Our funding comes almost entirely from private donations, foundations, and community-driven events. FDC needs your financial support to expand and improve our much-needed respite program for unhoused women in Santa Clara, as well as support housed women with food, clothing, and household items. As our program grows each week, your ongoing support is crucial for providing food, clothing, and other essentials.

Front Door Communities is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation; Tax ID#82-1690553. Donations can be made online at www.fdcsj.org or by check made payable to Front Door Communities and mailed to 81 N. 2nd Street, San Jose, CA 95113.

Thank you for considering a donation to support our mission. Together, we can lift the spirits of the most vulnerable women in our community.