Homeless East Bay residents rolled out sleeping bags Monday night across the hardwood floors of the gymnasium on the First Presbyterian Church of Hayward's Castro Valley Shelter — a refuge for those with no proverbial place within the inn.
First Presbyterian's commitment to providing shelter for the East Bay's homeless population this Christmas touches the vacation season for Pastor Aaron Horner, the outreach director who oversees the church's homeless program. He linked the church's efforts to accommodate the homeless to the Christian Christmas story, wherein Mary and Joseph are turned away from the shelter because “there is no room in the inn” and Jesus is born in a stable as an alternative.
“As a Christian, as a pastor, as a father, I believe we are called to support people in need,” Horner said. “Today I cannot imagine people who are more needy and more excluded from our society than people who are homeless.”
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Since 2019, First Presbyterian Church of Hayward has welcomed shelter-seeking residents into its doors in a time-honored tradition of giving to those less fortunate on the darkest, coldest days of the 12 months. In Alameda County, Trinity Lutheran Church at 1323 Central Avenue within the City of Alameda is offering services for the homeless on Christmas (through January 4). In Contra Costa County, City Life Church has partnered with Love-A-Child Missions Homeless Recovery Center at 2279 Willow Pass Road, Bay Point. Catholic Worker Hospitality House of San Mateo County offers accommodations at St. Bruno's Catholic Church, 555 San Bruno Ave W, San Bruno. Santa Clara County's Office of Supportive Housing was unable to discover any churches within the county that provide shelter for the homeless.
At First Presbyterian, greater than 70 homeless people spend each night in the neighborhood's two shelters at 2490 Grove Way in Castro Valley and 27287 Patrick Avenue in Hayward. One of those customers is Tanya Jackson, 73, who has been coming to Grove Way for 18 months to flee the winter nighttime temperatures for herself and her dogs Mimi and Blue.
“I love Christmas,” Jackson said, but added that she is going to not be along with her sisters and brothers this 12 months due to her poor health. “So it’s still been pretty difficult this year.”
In this fashion, First Presbyterian Church is sort of a modern-day nativity scene for the East Bay's homeless population. Residents huddled en masse around a television playing “Godzilla vs. Kong,” while others wrapped themselves in blankets on the ground. Muffled barks echoed through the gym as Jackson grabbed a plate of pasta from the kitchen and shuffled into the yard, closely followed by Blue and Mimi. First Presbyterian is certainly one of the few animal shelters that permits clients to stick with their pets.
“You don’t turn people away,” Jackson said, “unless they start behaving.”
Jackson said she hasn't felt connected to her faith currently — greater than a 12 months of homelessness “makes you mean,” she said. But right now of 12 months, she said she desires to reconnect along with her faith and pass it on to others.
But conversion isn't certainly one of Horner's goals. He said he sees the shelter's mission as giving dignity to those that are mistreated, misjudged and blamed for his or her homelessness, which he attributes to a bigger societal problem. Horner said his “closeness” to the people who find themselves hurting – like lots of the shelter's clients – has led him to be more compassionate and to call on others to assist marginalized communities like First Presbyterian's overnight congregation.
“Given that our system can mistreat people, I believe it is our calling as people of faith to right this wrong by reaching out to the margins,” Horner said. “As Father Greg Boyle (founder of Homeboy Industries) says, 'Stand on the edges until the edges no longer exist.'”
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