Cindy Pasco, Executive Director of the Living Room
Our speaker for the May 30th meeting was Cindy Pasko, the Executive Director of the Living Room. Cindy is a relatively new addition to the Living Room but has over 15 years of executive leadership experience addressing homelessness at all levels. The Living Room, which our Club has supported regularly, serves women and children of all ages and backgrounds experiencing homelessness. It is the ‘entry gate’ for women and children needing emergency assistance due to homelessness. It provides day services for the homeless, including hot meals, laundry, showering, resting/napping, reading, mail, first aid and supplies. It also provides licensed therapy, group and art therapy, pet services, financial literacy, help with the maze of social services and domestic violence services. The Living Room also can provide a care advocate if needed.
The Living Room was founded in 1993 at the Church of the Incarnation. It was run by 37 women and is a women-only campus. It now resides on Cleveland Avenue in a newly refurbished building. It operates at least three houses for women in the vicinity. It has a full kitchen and serves 110 meals per day! The Living Room sees an average of 64 women and 6 children each day, with increases in the summer.
Cindy gave us some alarming statistics about homelessness. There were 2,835 reported homeless people in Sonoma County in 2017. 2018 is worse, with a reported 2,996 homeless. Experts believe the actual homeless population is 3 times those numbers. 39% of homeless in Sonoma County are women. 64% of homeless are unsheltered. 409 of the reported homeless are over age 60. Cindy told us that 90% of the women who show up at the Living Room are traumatized by their homelessness. They are injured, starved, disassociative, and/or reactive. Homeless living is a non-stop series of traumatic events. As she says, there are always “predators at the gates” for these women, the Living Room is a safe place for women to spend parts of their day, and to eat, rest, clean up, and speak with advisors and other volunteers.
Homelessness in Sonoma County has many causes. The average cost of a 2-bedroom apartment is $1,900/month. Women become homeless due to a variety of problems, including a deceased or separated partner, unsafe family conditions, injuries or ill health, inadequate retirement, mental illness, alcohol and drugs, and unemployability (including among seniors). Women sometimes become homeless with no warning and are completely unprepared for the event.
Thank you, Cindy, for the fantastic and informative discussion of the homeless problem and the services provided by the Living Room. And thank you for all your work in the community for the homeless and others. Well done and we will be seeing you!
