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In this interview, Noozhawk spoke with Erica Jane Flores, Director of Development and Communications at Santa Ynez Valley People Helping People to learn more about how the nonprofit is dedicated to improving the lives of adults and children in the Santa Ynez Valley, Los Alamos, and surrounding communities.
Santa Ynez Valley People Helping People
Question: What is the name & mission of your nonprofit?
Answer: Santa Ynez Valley People Helping People. People Helping People is dedicated to improving the lives of adults and children in the Santa Ynez Valley, Los Alamos, and surrounding communities by addressing emergency and basic needs, furnishing comprehensive
Q: How long has your nonprofit been in service and whom was it started by?
A: We are celebrating 30 years of service! PHP was founded in 1992 by local volunteer leaders who saw the need to supply emergency and short-term social services.
Q: What was the inspiration behind your nonprofit?
A: Food insecurity was the main inspiration for those in need in the Valley, with an effort to distribute food locally, People Helping People operated that one program with a budget of $45,000.
Q: How is your nonprofit primarily funded and what are your greatest needs?
A: We are fortunate to live in such a giving, wonderful community. Alongside gifts from donors, we are funded by government grants, as well as revenue from PHP owned thrift store, Thriftology.
Our greatest needs continue to be food insecurity as well as homelessness.
Q: What types of fundraisers and/or programs does your nonprofit run?
A: Annually, we hold two signature fundraisers that have become banner community events.
This year, we celebrated the 10th Annual Santa Ynez Valley Polo Classic, presented by Happy Canyon Vineyard benefiting People Helping People hosting over 1,000 attendees and featuring three exhibition polo matches including, youth, women, and a high-goal feature match.
This year we also relaunched Vino de Sueños, “Wine of Dreams,” which is a wine brand conceived by PHP and select premium Santa Barbara County vintners. 100% of wine sales supports services for vineyard and farm workers. Becky Barieau of Foxen Winery and Kros Andrade of UVA Design Studio have built the signature fundraiser since its inception. The dedicated wine is debuted at a wine release party that includes a showcase of local chefs, Jeff Olssen, Jake Francis, and Brett Stephen, and an art auction from over ten local artists curated by Art Director Sharon Tate Kline and Jim Farnum.
Q: Describe your organizations staffing models and internal operations. Has anything changed since the start of your nonprofit?
A: Our organizational model includes a network of Family Resources Centers at each of our area elementary schools including Los Alamos, a teen mentoring center at the high school known as the Pirate’s Cove, a PHP thrift store, Thriftology, and our service agency headquarters in downtown Solvang.
Our physical offices and staffing are fully immersed in each neighborhood that comprises the Santa Ynez and Los Alamos Valleys. At the inception of our organization we strived to be the “one stop shop” for wrap around services which has grown to replicate that model within each of the local valley towns.
Q: How do people get involved/volunteer for your nonprofit?
A: There are many volunteer opportunities at PHP and for every age and ability. Whether it’s helping organize canned goods in our food pantry or stocking our outdoor food pantry.
We also do a weekly food distribution every Thursday at Mission Santa Ines from 10:00am to 12:00 pm which consists of unloading, sorting, and bagging groceries.
Volunteer at one of our special fundraisers by passing out flyers, soliciting silent auction items or helping organize at the event.
Q: What makes your nonprofit different from others?
A: In addition to providing our own programs, PHP delivers contracted services of other governmental and non-profit organizations conveniently available “Under One Roof” at our Solvang Service Center. When we need to refer to a service outside of our agency, it is a warm introduction, so a client never feels alone while navigating services.
Q: What is one best kept secret or fun fact about your nonprofit that not everyone knows?
A: A fun and meaningful fact is that we have former and existing clients that serve as staff and board members, bring our mission to life to give a hand up, not a hand out, in reaching self-sustainability.
Q: Can you share one or two stories of individuals whose lives have been changed because of your organization?
A: During the holidays we were approached by a single father with cancer who was needing chemotherapy in a different county. They didn’t have the financial capacity to pay for his hotel stay due to needing to stay in isolation for one week in the midst of the pandemic. PHP was able to pay for the hotel stay, sign them up for our annual Fulfill-A-Wish Holiday Boutique and community-wide Breakfast with Santa. We were also able to provide counseling services to their young son and continue to provide case management to the family.
Q: How does the work of your nonprofit get communicated to the public?
A: On the day to day we rely on social media to communicate to the public.
Q: Why should donors trust your organization and are there other ways to help outside of donations?
A: For thirty years, People Helping People has been a flagship non-profit for the community and throughout the pandemic rose to meet the ever-changing needs of our most vulnerable neighbors.
Q: Can you tell us one short-term goal AND one long-term goal that your nonprofit has for the next year?
A: We know that when basic needs are not met, your mental health suffers. Annually, we provide 1,400 free counseling sessions to 100 individuals, couples, and families. We have 50 clients on our waitlist for mental health and wellness services. It is our goal to expand our capacity by hiring additional therapists to meet the unmet needs of our community.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about your nonprofit that has not been mentioned above?
A: PHP has grown from a single program, food and emergency services, into a unique multi-program organization that has developed a comprehensive system of care. Services for infants, children, and adults are integrated into a “one-stop” shop with multiple access points (Family Resource Centers) located throughout the Santa Ynez and Los Alamos Valleys at neighborhood schools.
This system minimizes costs, especially overhead, and maximizes getting help to those who need it.Major programs include Food, Homelessness Prevention, Healthcare Access, Children’s and Adult (Seniors) Dental Funds, Mental Health Wellness Counseling, Los Alamos After-School Youth Program, Youth (Drug-Free Prevention) Coalition, High School Student Mentoring, Life Skills Training (Junior High), Family Strengthening, Domestic Violence Prevention, Child Abuse Prevention, Parent Education, Advocacy, and Christmas Fulfill-A-Wish.
Click here to support Santa Ynez People Helping People’s mission to improve the lives of adults and children in the Santa Ynez Valley, Los Alamos, and surrounding communities by addressing emergency and basic needs, furnishing comprehensive.
Check out Noozhawk’s Guide to Giving for a full list of nonprofits to donate to this giving season.