530.345.2640 2255 Fair Street
Chico, CA 95928

News & Monthly Updates

December 2019 — Monthly Update: Hope.

My husband, Greg is a professor at Chico State. He is well trained, well prepared and really cares about his students’ learning. Yet, sometimes it seems his students just aren’t interested. Instead of reading the assignments, they get lazy with their preparation and simply “Google” a topic. The information they gather ends up in their…
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November 2019 — Monthly Update: We Were Made for This

Whenever someone asks me about something that happened in the last year, I apologize immediately and declare that I don’t remember any date since November 8, 2018. Yes, the Camp Fire here in Butte County changed everything. I do remember that day and the days of darkness that followed, when we would huddle each day,…
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October 2019 — Monthly Update: Deeply Rooted

I love trees. Their towering presence feels like protection, with their strong roots deeply planted into the ground that provide for them to stand sturdy, but with the amazing ability to flex and sway when needed. Trees are part of an elaborate system that we rely upon for clean, fresh air to breathe. And trees…
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September 2019 — Monthly Update: It Takes a Community

We continue to be in a season of both trauma and recovery from the largest fire in California history in our community. Sometimes the trauma can seem to be overwhelming and even discouraging, while people struggle to imagine a life on the other side. Even for service providers like the Jesus Center who for nearly…
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August 2019 — Monthly Update: Happy Birthday House of Hope

I am often asked to describe the work that is being done at the Jesus Center and there are lots of terms you’ve heard me use, evidence-based, person-centered, or best practices. But in a recent conversation about our staffs work, I was struck by the word nurture. As a verb, nurture means to care for…
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July 2019 — Monthly Update: The Complexity of Housing

Early on in my time as Executive Director, people routinely suggested that the best and only solution to homelessness was housing. Seems simple enough. And in fact, the federal government has invested a great deal of their funding into a method called Housing First. As a result, many exemplary programs nationwide are focused on getting…
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June 2019 — Monthly Update: The Disease of Addiction

At the Jesus Center, we serve a population whose rate of addiction—as high as 38% according to the National Coalition for the Homeless, a modest estimate in my opinion— is 25% higher than the estimated national average of 10%. Here, my staff and I hear stories from Jesus Center participants about how they first got…
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May 2019 — Monthly Update: March Showers Bring April flowers

How many times have we all heard the phrase, “April showers bring May flowers?” To be fair, the more accurate saying in Butte County this year would probably be “March showers bring April flowers.” Either chronology suggests a month of new life bursting forth, blooming in all directions; a month of fresh apricots, cherries, rhubarb,…
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April 2019 — Monthly Update: Kinship is Messy

Last week, as I was walking to my car in the parking lot of the Jesus Center at the end of the day, Nancy,* one of our longtime participants who uses a wheelchair, was being rolled out of the dining room doors into the parking lot by Kelly.* They were furiously screaming at one another…
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March 2019 — Monthly Update: Marching On!

More good news from the Jesus Center! This month, I’d like to tell you the stories of two men, both named Frank.  The first Frank was learning how to smoke cigarettes around the time most children are learning their ABC’s. In fourth grade, he began using meth after a family member taught him how to…
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February 2019 — Monthly Update: The Likes of Us

Take a minute to read the note to the right if you haven’t already. A Jesus Center participant wrote it on a napkin at breakfast and handed it to one of our meal volunteers last week. When I first read it, I was touched—and at the same time, I was heartbroken. “The likes of us.”…
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Walmart and the Walmart Foundation Increase Commitment to California Wildfire Relief and Announce Funding for Homeless Services

Walmart and Walmart Foundation commit a total $1 million in product and cash donations to support wildfire relief efforts, shelter services for evacuees and another $1 million to help address needs of area chronically homeless individuals CHICO, Calif., Nov. 29, 2018 – Walmart and the Walmart Foundation today increased to $1 million their commitment to…
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February 2016 – Monthly Update

Sharing our Vision: Being deliberate in the ways that we are helping the impoverished in our community We see poverty every day at the Jesus Center through our guests.  We see both the short-term effects with those who are struggling with the absence of something, as well as the long-term effects.  Short-term struggles often present…
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