Facing Homelessness was founded in 2017 by Nichole Gardner in Antioch, California. She started the organization out of her home where she cooked delicious meals and collected clothing donations from her family members and friends to take out in her party bus and distributed to the homeless community around the city.  

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Fast forward 5 years and she and her team of family members, friends, volunteers, and other non-profits have served close to 8,400 meals to the homeless community in Antioch. They have built strong relationships with the homeless community and with other non-profits and local organizations that assist the unhoused in the city.  

 

We strive to make our homeless community feel that we care about them, and every outreach is like a big family gathering. At the end of our outreach, we hold raffles, and they are given tickets and they get prizes, we joke, laugh listen to music and have a great time. We have held many events to celebrate the holidays. Bringing out personalized gifts that kids have made. We celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with some of Nichole's favorite food like gumbo, turkey, ham, greens, baked mac-n-cheese, and sweet potato pie. We pass out roses and chocolate on Mother's Day and Valentine's Day. We have had couple's go on dates to the movies for their birthday. Even getting them limousine rides to the movies. We bring out cake and cupcakes and sing happy birthday on birthdays and have had outings with the unhoused and team members to go bowling. 

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Outside of assisting the unhoused with basic resources and services, our mission is to remind them that they are human beings and that they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and to make them feel like they did before they became homeless and so that it will bring them hope and make them want to fight harder and hang in there to get back on their feet. 

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In 2019 we started advocating more for our homeless brothers and sisters on our streets. Attending city council meetings and asking our elected officials for porta-potties, dumpsters, showers and laundry services around the city. We have asked for a safe place for homeless individuals to sleep and park at night. Our advocacy has paid off as the city of Antioch formed a Homeless Encampment Taskforce. They placed porta potties and dumpsters around the city. They are working with our team so that we can all do what is right by our homeless residents and to get the services that they need and temporary and permanent housing to get them off of our streets.