San Mateo County nonprofits seek extra aid with holiday giving

At One Life Counseling, about 150 community members access a weekly food distribution but this week’s event saw more than 250 children and families receive gift bags and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus.

But Hughes said the biggest need the center has seen this year is for financial support in accessing therapy. One Life has seen a substantial uptick in the number of people requesting services during the pandemic and is expecting another surge in the new year when people seek major changes in their lives.

Hughes noted that finding a therapist is harder than ever now and many are underinsured, forcing them to call center after center to no avail. And unlike previous holiday seasons when requests typically hit a lull, the inquiries have only continued to pour in, requiring the agency to consider another big hiring push to add to its nearly 90-person team.

“This year it’s going to be worse and we’re trying to hire as many amazing therapists as we can,” Hughes said, noting her greatest fear would be to turn people away.

About 70% of One Life Counseling clients are considered low-income and are therefore eligible for subsidies therapy appointments, paying fees as low as $50. The remaining 30% of clients who can afford to pay full price help support the program and typically, the agency looks to large donors to cover the rest.

But this year, Hughes said One Life is going more public with the program in hopes that generous community members will offer to cover sessions as well. Ideally, the agency would like to see gifts of 10 sessions at $500 which would provide the client with a good base of treatment.

Recognizing $500 is a big ask, Hughes said she and her team would be happy to accept smaller donations that could be combined to create a fuller package or to extend a client’s treatment after 10 sessions.

As for why the gift of therapy is so impactful, Hughes said the opportunity can be a matter of life or death.

“You’re giving a gift that could be life-changing. It could persuade someone to not choose suicide,” Hughes said.

Samaritan House, a nonprofit based in San Mateo, substantially ramped up its services during the pandemic as well, providing prepared food, groceries and other necessities to thousands of people a week while also managing a number of fund programs for the county and various agencies.

Despite some improvements to health conditions and access to vaccines, Jessica Mitchell, director of Development and Communications, said demand for service is still near peak levels.

“We’ve only been able to meet the dramatic surge in services because of our incredibly generous community,” Mitchell said.

During the holidays, the nonprofit does what it can to support families through its annual toy and gift drive. Roughly 3,000 children received toys and gift cards over the weekend, and families are receiving frozen turkeys, chickens and hams during food distributions through the rest of the week, Mitchell said.

Samaritan House is still offering toys to those who registered by Wednesday, Dec. 22, and its online campaign for gift card donations remain active until Friday, Dec. 24. But its main need is for children and teen coats which are in even higher demand as cooler weather takes over.

Regardless of what is donated, Mitchell said the support is vital now more than ever given that many are still facing pandemic-related hardships. She anticipates demand will be sustained into the new year especially after the expiration of some federal support programs.

“This is far from over and for people living in poverty who faced job loss or the loss of a loved one or many other hardships over the past two years, there’s still a long way to go for them,” Mitchell said. “We’re going to be here and we’re only able to be here because of the community.”

Visit weblink.donorperfect.com/TheGiftofTherapy to donate toward One Life Counseling Service’s therapy gift program and to learn more about their services. To make a donation with Samaritan House, visit their gift card drive donation page at roonga.com/samaritanhouseholiday or email donationdrives@samaritanhousesanmateo.org to schedule a drop off time. Those interested in registering for a toy for their children may call (650) 347-3648.

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 106