• – SMUM, as an agency affiliated with the Second Harvest Food Bank, distributes food to 1800 people a month, half of whom are children. Second Harvest delivers food once a month. They used to deliver food twice a month, but they don’t have enough food now to do that. This is a prime example of the trickle-down effect of our current economic problems. Donations are down significantly. The goods from Second Harvest are supplemented by donations from Martha’s Kitchen. Martha’s Kitchen is a downtown ministry that provides cooked meals. Their leftover fresh vegetables, bread, etc. are taken to SMUM daily. Clients have to meet certain qualifications, they can’t just be walk-ins with no documentation. SMUM serves 8 zip codes. The food tends to supplement what the families are able to buy with food stamps. Some families qualify for receiving federal government commodities.
• – prepares children ages 3-5 for kindergarten by working on Academics, Behavior and Creativity. Most of the children come from Spanish-speaking homes, so this ministry provides some English immersion that prepares the children to cope when they enter the public school system. Spanish is only used to provide meanings of words, otherwise all conversation is in English.
• – provides free clothing for some 300 needy persons a month.
• – Provides emergency transportation and food deliveries to seniors as well as donation pick-ups.
• – An after school program for youth aged 6-17 which gives the students access to computers and homework assistance. Additionally, the participants are allowed free time on the computer – supervised to keep the kids from going to inappropriate web sites, especially those with sexual or violent content. SMUM is now looking at starting an evening program for adults, to help them with computing skills. More and more, ability to be computer-literate and internet-literate is vital for many jobs. The State of California now requires people receiving unemployment compensation to search their on-line job listings on a regular basis. You login with an ID and password so that they know you are diligently checking job listings.
  
  
  
  
  
   
• ESL – English as a Second Language is provided for adults. SMUM is also exploring an offering of Spanish as a Second Language, which would be helpful to those who wish to serve the Latino community
• Pastoral Counseling Available upon request.

Seasonal Programs

• Giving Day - There is a local dentist who opens her office approximately a quarter to offer free emergency dental care to uninsured clients.
• – The program provides new clothing, backpacks and school supplies to children and youth at the start of the school year.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
• Christmas Gift Packages – New toys, new clothing and gift certificates are provided to the needed, as well as special Christmas food packages. 1225 clients were served during December 2003.
• – Volunteer Income Tax Assistance is provided to low and moderate income families from February through April. The service includes free e-filing of tax forms.
• – This winter-time ministry provides homeless clients with clean, serviceable sleeping bags, blankets, and warm clothing.

Other Services and Programs Offered As-Needed

• Sewing classes
• Assistance obtaining medical insurance for children
• Referrals for other needs to community agencies
• Halloween and Easter parties for kids

Future Programs

• – Not operational at the moment because SMUM is in the process of obtaining state licensing. Many of SMUM’s clients are afraid to seek health care due to fear that they might get deported, so one of the advantages of having a health care service at SMUM is that it is a designated sanctuary where the clients can come without fear. SMUM also provides referrals to dental facilities that accept Medi-Cal and Healthy Kids, Healthy Families insurance, and offer sliding scale/reduced fees.

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