San Joaquin County Community Service & Support Digest

Central Valley District 9 Congressman Josh Harder announced $850,000 in federal funds towards construction of a new community center in Manteca for American Legion Post 249.

The April 27 Love Lodi event saw a turnout of nearly 1,000 volunteers completing 60 projects throughout the city.

The Lathrop Police Department announced the hiring of Gabrielle Johnson as a new Community Services Officer.

The San Joaquin Board of Supervisors approved a $10,000 grant to the Tracy Boys and Girls Club to support youth sports programs.

The Pathways Project homeless shelter is set to open in the fall to provide services to the city's estimated 900 homeless.

Located at Yosemite and Fremont Avenues in Manteca, the two-story 8,000 square foot building is being renovated to as a meeting and connection space for local teens and is expected to open with limited services summer of 2024.

The donation will help fund the club Teen Room Transformation Project.

The County is inviting residents, businesses and local organizations to participate in upcoming cleanup events to help clear refuse and debris from community locations and waterways.

Spending an early morning picking up parking lot trash only to return in a few days to it being just as litter-filled is a defeating feeling, according to 19-year-old clean-up participant Darius Jacobs.

The San Joaquin County Commission on the Status of Women will honor 10 women on Feb. 15. Honorees include Tracy Mayor Nancy Young and former Councilmember Rhodesia Ransom.

Tracy Community Connections Center, a nonprofit organization committed to aiding the homeless and those at risk of homelessness, recently appointed Caroline Grover as its new CEO.

In an effort to get more unsheltered individuals off the streets, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors approved the creation of a crisis response team to help homeless individuals.

Volunteers gathered before sunrise for the biennial Point In Time Count, an effort to collect data on how many unsheltered homeless people live in and around the city.

San Joaquin County will get more than $7.5 million for projects that provide housing assistance or supportive services to people experiencing homelessness.

Pet owners pulled up at Van Buskirk Park in Stockton as volunteers from the Stockton Animal Shelter distributed free pet food.

A car sharing program is a step toward making lives better for the folks in the Tracy Homes public housing neighborhood, and also boosts clean energy and transportation goals.

Two San Joaquin Valley counties played a big role in developing two free apps to address the state’s youth mental health crisis.

“Progress remains slow,” according to a recent report on faculty diversity at California’s community colleges. For Nikia Chaney, the sole full-time Black faculty member at Cabrillo College, the experience is personal.

Emery Unified took a targeted approach, including paying teachers extra to stay after school and tutor students.

The Van Buskirk Park renovation will include a new skate park, two full-size basketball courts, and BMX/bike trails with lights and landscaping.

The city of Tracy’s annual Community Development Block Grant and Home Investment Partnership Program application period is now open for projects beginning July 1.

As winter begins, Interfaith Ministries in Tracy is serving more families than ever—so much that the volunteer-run organization is looking to increase its efficiency.

State audits of the University of California and the California State University found both systems have failed to comply with decades-old state and federal laws mandating the return of Native ancestral remains and cultural artifacts. Only UCLA and Cal State Long Beach have returned a majority of their collections.

Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden and members of the Police Department visited businesses on Miracle Mile as part of their end-of-the year community walk event.

A posthumous award for life-saving was presented by the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office to the family of a man who died this year rescuing a woman and her five-year-old daughter from the San Joaquin River.

The financial aid application for undocumented students is cumbersome and confusing, and many students aren’t completing the forms. A new law streamlines the process.

Sharon Benninger walked into the Loads Of Hope site at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Stockon and was met with a gratifying surprise. The longtime nonprofit leader was named the 70th Stocktonian of the Year by the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce and Central Valley Association of Realtors Stockton Council.

Federal funding for domestic violence shelters and housing programs is declining. Advocates want the state to step in, but with a record projected deficit new spending is unlikely.

There are a few times a year that the Ripon Police Department will deploy drone technology.

All but two California counties are delaying their implementation of a new law that makes it easier for a court to place someone in involuntary confinement if they can’t care for their own medical needs or personal safety.

Organizers of Sacramento County’s next Point-In-Time Count say they need at least 500 volunteers to help survey the region’s homeless population in January. Survey results are used to determine state and federal funding for homeless services.

The California Faculty Association is seeking a 12 percent pay increase, while university officials counter with 5 percent in each of the next three years.