Family Supportive Housing, Inc

I never knew that the Family Supportive Housing shelter existed until my oldest son needed to put in some volunteer hours for a class project for school. Growing up, I had heard all about the food kitchens and homeless shelters for individuals in San Jose. But I had never heard about homeless shelters for families until I found the Family Supportive Housing website in March of 2009.

Volunteering for this organization wasn't a simple "walk-in" like I had always assumed volunteering would be. Both my son and I had to go through an application process before we were approved to come in and serve dinner to the families living in this shelter.

We were taken through the dining area and into the kitchen, where we were trained on how to prepare and serve the meals. My son and I enjoyed working in the kitchen. The staff was very friendly, as were the majority of the people we served. Everybody was treated equally by the staff, which made the shelter a nice place to work.

My son and I learned a lot by volunteering at this shelter. The biggest thing we learned is that it doesn't take much to find yourself living in your car. With rents being as high as they are, I wonder how people living on minimum wage survive in Silicon Valley. I'm glad this organization exists to help families out.

The Family Supportive Housing shelter doesn't limit its service to feeding and housing homeless families. They also provide educational programs for children and adults, family counseling, support groups, employment assistance, housing assistance and more.

You can find out more information about this shelter at www.sjfamilyshelter.org.