March 24, 2021
 
Dear Friends of Harbor House,
 
“I believe in the sun even when it is not shining, I believe in love even when I cannot feel it, I believe in God even when he is silent.” 
 
This is the first thing you see when you enter our Pi House. These words were found carved into the cellar wall of a concentration camp at the end of World War II in Cologne Germany.
 
As you know, we at Harbor House are in the midst of a wonderful new endeavor for the benefit of young men who are aging out of foster care. The excitement around this home is palpable at the moment.
 
In America today there are over 440,000 children living in foster care.  In California there are over 60,000. The trauma that these children experience in the midst of growing up is heartbreaking. The opportunity to make a small dent in these devastating numbers is a gift for which I am extremely grateful.
 
This beautiful house is only possible because of the generosity of so many of you. 
 
We hope you share the joy and excitement we feel at the hope of this home for young men who need a caring and nurturing home in which to learn some of life’s most important lessons around successful, independent living. We ask you to join with us in asking God’s blessings on this project and on the young people it will serve.
 
Denise Cortes
Executive Director
Harbor House
dcortes@harborhouseto.org
​

Dear Friends of Harbor House,
 
We are embarking on an exciting new program!
 
After several years in the trenches with those who struggle most in our community, it became clear to the staff that we needed to go deeper into the causes of homelessness. We discovered that an astounding 36% of California foster youth become homeless within 18 months of aging out of the system. 46% do not graduate from high school and less than 3% earn a college degree. 
 
In 2012 a new law was enacted enabling these youth to continue to receive benefits from the state until they are 21, as long as they are going to school and/or working. After they exit the foster care system, they can enter a transitional living house where they can continue to learn life skills and benefit from mentoring, while still receiving financial assistance. However, Ventura County tells us there is a dire need for adequate transitional houses run by people willing to help kids land on their feet after years of abandonment, trauma, and neglect. There are currently 187 youth that are eligible for this type of home in our county alone, but no space available. 
 
Harbor House would like to contribute to the lives of these young people. We have received the most generous gift from one of our largest donors, who bought a house that will become transitional housing for former foster youth. We will begin by housing six young men ages 18-21 and will open our doors to them on March 1, 2021.
 
At this transitional home with the help of our case managers, they can finish high school, begin college, get job experience, or get a driver’s license. They can learn how to create a budget, open a bank account and pay bills. These are skills that our average 40-year-old client has never acquired, and we find it is often these seemingly simple things that create the largest barriers for those we work with.
 
We hope you share the joy and excitement we feel at the hope of this home for young people who need a caring and nurturing home in which to learn some of life’s most important lessons
around successful, independent living. We ask you to join with us in asking God’s blessings on this project and on the young people it will serve.
 
Denise Cortes
Executive Director
Harbor House
 
“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river.  We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.”
                                                                                          Archbishop Desmond Tutu

​Dear Friends of Harbor House,
 
As 2020 winds down, our hearts are full. The pandemic has impacted all of us. Our hearts go out to all the families who have lost loved ones and those who work on the frontlines in our healthcare system and essential services that have kept us all going.
 
The needs in our community have grown exponentially during this very difficult time. Many families who struggled in poverty before are now facing eviction in 2021; those who were homeless are so much more vulnerable; the elderly who live alone are feeling very isolated. 
 
In the wake of this disastrous pandemic we, at Harbor House, feel called to live even more generously with a renewed hope of a better world, a more just world. We believe that what Harbor House does is surely the work of God’s people.
 
Although the needs this year have been staggering, your generosity has continued to bless us. As this difficult year comes to a close and we celebrate the holidays, I pray that you will continue to support us as the needs grow and more and more families find themselves on the brink of disaster.
 
The staff at Harbor House is grateful for all you do and for all the ways that you help to lift the heavy burdens that others bear. We thank you for lifting us in prayer and for your unfailing support. 
 
We pray that God will bless you and bring you peace. Happy holidays and may we all be blessed in 2021!
 
 
 
Denise Cortes
Executive Director
Harbor House
 

Dear Friends of Harbor House,
 
On any given night here, in America, there are more than half a million people living on the streets.  At Harbor House we meet kids who have aged out of foster care and aged directly into homelessness.  We meet lots of grown children who have experienced trauma in their childhood living on the streets.  Young adults who are struggling with mental health issues and don’t want help find freedom on the streets. 
 
Elderly men and women who are living on minimum social security because they made minimum wage in their working years struggle every day to stay afloat.  They are one broken car, or expensive medical bill away from disaster.  Widows and widowers and others whose lives have capsized are living in cars all around us.
 
Parents who used to work full time jobs in restaurants or motels have lost their jobs and are struggling to put food on the table for their children.
 
There is so much we don’t know about humanity, but at Harbor House we are certain that these people belong to us.  Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries says, “We are sent to the margins not to make a difference but so the folks on the margins will make us different.”
 
The staff at Harbor House knows that without you, we could not help those who need it most.  We are thankful for everything you do and for every dollar you donate. 
 
We wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and many reasons to give thanks.
 
Gratefully,
 
 
Denise Cortes
Executive Director
Harbor House
dcortes@harborhouseto.org
 
 

Dear Friends of Harbor House,
 
Staff and volunteers have been working hard to help families stay afloat in the midst of this global pandemic. We continue to feed the homeless and families in need, and the number of meals served continues to rise. We currently have more than 738 children signed up for our Adopt a Family program. Many of the households we have been serving have lost one or both incomes, leaving them unable to provide groceries or pay rent.
 
In the years that I have been working with this population, I have learned so many important things. I have heard hundreds of stories from people and have been moved by more of those stories than I can count.
 
The issue that has continued to haunt me is that of young people in foster care. Today, there are more than 437,000 children in foster care in America. Of those, 55,000 are in California. An astounding 36% of California foster youth become homeless within 18 months of aging out and 46% do not graduate from high school.  Less than 3% earn a college degree. So many of the saddest stories I know have come from children who aged out of foster care into homelessness.  
 
Because of the relationship between kids aging out of foster care and homelessness, we are working more closely with young adults aging out and entering independent living. We believe that one of the best ways Harbor House can have an impact on homelessness is by improving the success rate of these young people who are at risk.
 
In the midst of so much poverty and loss we remain hopeful in the work we do. We pray that you are well and staying safe.
 
“Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.”
                                                                                                                          - Victor Hugo
                                                                                                          
 
Peace, 
 
Denise 
Executive Director
Harbor House
dcortes@harborhouseto.org
​

Dear Friends of Harbor House,  

It is time for our Adopt-a-Family program again. We are hopeful you will volunteer to help make the holidays joyful for children in our community who might otherwise go without.  We all know what a difficult year 2020 has been, particularly to those who struggle in poverty. So many of our families who work in the hospitality and service industries have lost their jobs and are dealing with extreme hardships every day of this difficult pandemic. We currently have 500 children signed up and we have a waiting list of many others. I believe that with your help, we will be able to provide for all of these families. Our deadline for sign ups is September 30.
I hope that you will take part in this worthwhile effort to provide gifts for those we serve. These children have been trying to cope with the fact that many of their families are living in poverty worse than anything they’ve seen. We seek to offer a small measure of hope in an otherwise dark time, to all those who need it in our community.  If you are able to participate this year, please e-mail Sheri Groenveld (sgroenveld@harborhouseto.org) and please know how grateful we are for your support. 

“Are you willing to stoop down and consider the needs and the desires of little children; to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old; to stop asking how much your friends love you, and ask yourself whether you love them enough; to bear in mind the things that other people have to bear in their hearts; to try to understand what those who live in the same house with you really want, without waiting for them to tell you; to trim your lamp so that it will give more light and less smoke, and to carry it in front so that your shadow will fall behind you; to make a grave for your ugly thoughts, and a garden for your kindly feelings, with the gate open--are you willing to do these things even for a day? Then you can keep Christmas.”
Keeping Christmas by Henry Van Dyke

- Denise Cortes 

Dear Friends of Harbor House,
Who could have predicted the year we are experiencing?
The global pandemic has affected so many people in so many different ways. Our local homeless are struggling to survive the pandemic and the now the heat. The elderly and those who are medically compromised are being housed at a local motel and the County is covering the cost. We are very grateful to the State of California for the funds to do this.
In addition, Harbor House has been housing several other homeless who do not qualify for the County program but need a bed for a night or two due to the heat, illness, surgery, or if there are children involved.
I am sure many of you read about the local homeless woman who walked onto the 23 freeway in the early morning hours on Thursday, August 20. She posted on social media her intention to take her own life and she succeeded in killing herself that morning. Her sad death highlights for all of us the need for mental health services for those who are suffering. She was a tortured soul and many in our community tried for years to support her.
Another of the current needs in our community is for rental assistance for those families that have lost their employment and income and cannot pay their bills. The very first priority in fighting homelessness is keeping people who are housed in their homes. The families who have lost their jobs and their income are our neighbors. They have served us in restaurants, bagged our groceries, cleaned our houses, and babysat our children. Some owned businesses that have shut down.
These are troubled times. We pray for peace in our community and in our country. We pray for an end to hatred and racism. We pray for those who are suffering most in our world and for mercy on the part of those in leadership. No matter what the news tells us, or the polls, or homeless counts, I have no doubt that in God’s mind man is heading somewhere.
We need your contributions now more than ever. None of the important work we do every day could be done without the amazing support and unmatched generosity of this wonderful community.
Gratefully,
Denise Cortes
Director
Harbor House
dcortes@harborhouseto.org


“We seek a compassion that stands in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than stand in judgement at how they carry it.”                                                                                                Fr. Greg Boyle