Salt + Light Works

Salt + Light is located in the San Joaquin Valley in California. We serve over 1,500 unique individuals who are currently experiencing homelessness and living on the streets of The Central Valley. The people we serve are our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, children, and friends. They are our neighbors living in our community. Their identities are complex and intersect many other issues. They are often times people who have survived systems of oppression, marginalization, imprisonment, trauma, addiction, violence, and abuse in addition to homelessness. 

For the past 3 years, we have increased our outreach efforts developing relationships with the people who have been cast into the margins of our society. Our organization looks beyond the label of homeless and into the faces and hearts of the people this crisis affects every day. We see and develop relationships with a diverse group of people living on our streets. They are majority men, about 57%, a little over 40% women, and a small portion non-binary and transgender. They are of all races, predominantly white, and Latinx, with a slightly smaller population of Black and Asian individuals. Most of them are between the ages of 25-50. We also see children and elderly people, people with all different abilities, and many with addictions and trauma from surviving on our streets. There are families and there are people alone. The diversity of our community is mirrored in those experiencing homelessness. Their starkest difference is where they sleep at night. 

Our most significant outcome is the acquisition of property, partnership, and funding to support the building of The Neighborhood Village. The project is supported by individuals, organizations, foundations, corporations, and the government. TNV will be located on 6.5 acres next to Self-Help Enterprises’ Sequoia Commons multifamily housing project, at Road 76 and Avenue 310 in Goshen, adjacent to the City of Visalia. There will be 31 11x30’ one-bedroom homes, and 23 two-bedroom units, all of which include a kitchen, restroom, and either one or two bedrooms depending on whether the residents are unaccompanied or families. Each unit is capable of housing at least two individuals. However, only people in relationships will live together by choice, which will result in longer residency and more healing due to less conflict. The Neighborhood Village is expected to begin construction in August 2022 with a move-in date of Spring 2023.

The way our organization has had the privilege of developing relationships with people experiencing homelessness is through our Everyone Eats Today, Many Hands Make Light Work, and Social Enterprise programs. We have been successful in developing a food truck outreach program, "Everyone Eats Today." Through this program and the continued support of our dedicated volunteers involved in “Many Hands Make Light Work,” generous donors, and caring staff, 800+ meals get delivered each week to people who need them most, resulting in over 21,000 meals in the first year. Beyond the food and supplies, our food truck outreach has given our staff and volunteers the opportunity to meet with unhoused individuals, hear their stories and needs, and become a conduit between them and other service providers. Through these experiences, our team also identifies individuals who will be ideally suited as future residents of The Neighborhood Village. 

The Cultivating Community Campaign is a kick-off for the fundraising efforts that go directly toward our efforts in building The Neighborhood Village. While we have many of the funds needed for the build, we have to fundraise our portion of $4 million dollars for this beautiful neighborhood.

Community is one of our central values. Our organization cultivates community and radically accepts everyone into the fold of our organization. 

We believe in love, compassion, and dignity. We see people fully and recognize we are each part of OUR community. When we have the privilege of seeing people heal and begin to thrive after the trauma they faced for so long, we see people who are talented, worthy, and included. Through our work, they begin to return to themselves and re-learn to harness their talents and abilities. By doing the work we do, we know we are cultivating the community we want to see, the community we want to live in, and the community we are proud of. We are community building. 

(Renderings of The Neighborhood Village)