I volunteered w/ them from 2010-2011. I am sure my license is invalid now due to the need to get recertified but I was a traine...  Read More

I volunteered w/ them from 2010-2011. I am sure my license is invalid now due to the need to get recertified but I was a trained and state licensed ombudsman. What is that, you ask? An ombudsman investigates any mistreatments or any wrongdoings in facilities/organizations and mediates for settlement. The training is extensive - it took a few weeks, coming in 3-4 days a week to fulfill the sufficient hours needed to become an ombudsman. You will need to get your fingerprint scanned at the police station as well. I went around various nursing care facilities, both long and short term and hospice facilities. Each time I go, I go unannounced so that I can see how these patients/residents get treated. I also am the one to help settle conflicts on legal issues such as Power of Attorney, Living Will, etc. It was very stressful when dealing w/ these because you need to see and feel if what is declared is what the patient/resident want, not because of outside influence. Patients/residents in need that can push the call button but never got a response also go to me. I go room to room and got to know these people. When issues like this come up, I get furious because the call button was pushed because they need help. I got into this after my grandma was admitted in a short term care facility. I would visit her 2-3 times a day and I would notice hours would go by w/o anyone checking on her. I still get sad when I think about her being in there but she needed assistance around the clock. I've always enjoyed helping others. I volunteered at Laneview Elementary when I was in 6th grade, I volunteered at the San Jose Family Shelter way before I had kids, I volunteered at Toyon Elementary when I was laid off. I made and press sandwiches and passed them out to the homeless in San Francisco once a month (most recent volunteer experience). Even now as I am typing this, I am hoping Catholic Chariries have that opportunity for me to volunteer w/ them again but this time, my kiddo will join, too. Aside from my personal experience, Catholic Charities is a nonprofit organization. If you need help obtaining citizenship, they can assist. If you need help filing your income tax for cheap, they can help. If you need to apply for government assistance, they can help. The people that work here are all empathetic, accommodating, and caring.... they follow policies and protocols but make exceptions for those in dire need. If you need to get rid of clothes, books, etc., call this place because there's a high probability that it's needed and greatly appreciated. If you have spare time, look up volunteer opportunities because I guarantee you, that experience will enrich you. Everybody needs help at certain stages in their life. Do good and try your best; sooner or later, someone will help you. I believe in karma but I also believe that in life, sh!t happens, more often than not, nothing can be done however, reaching out does not hurt.  Read Less

I've been going to Focus For Work (FFW), a branch of Catholic Charities which is for job and employment assistance services for...  Read More

I've been going to Focus For Work (FFW), a branch of Catholic Charities which is for job and employment assistance services for those with a disability, for more than 1 and 1/2 years now.  I can only speak about this branch of Catholic Charities as I have not explored the other departments.  I have found some trends in which is worth noting for a review based on my opinion.Pros:- The staff is very cheerful and friendly when you meet them in person or talk on the phone.- They have access to benefits for their clients and are supportive for reaching out to get accommodations.  I was able to get interview attire through them in which one of their counselors went with me to Sears and generously spent time to help me pick out attire and shop along since I did not know my way around the store and how to do any of that.  - If you show serious commitment in your job search, they will try to work with you and get aid as much as possible with the time that they have, but they expect you to come to them regularly.- I've been appreciative of, Albert, the job developer, I'm assigned to who has driven me around to places like job fairs and events because I do not know my way around the area out of his own working schedule and time, which has generated good leads and information that I would've have been able to get without him.  He has done before many times, picked up and driven people to job interviews.Cons:- It's very hard to work remotely with them.  Unless you physically go to FFW onsite, you're not likely going to be to get anything reasonably productive done trying to work with them by phone or e-mail.  The people I've worked with there including the job developer have been very hard to get a hold of to get a timely response by e-mail or return calls back in which it can be very frustrating.- There are about 4 computers available in the computer lab for job searching and 1 printer to get things printed out.  The problem is that it can get really crowded there so 4 computers is not enough to cater to the average number of clients coming in to visit at a given time of day.  They really need to use other areas of the building to expand their computer lab so that more people can comfortably use it to job search, apply to positions, and work on their resumes.- I have gotten since I've gone there last year many incidents in which I have received a late cancellation notice of an appointment that was scheduled 2 weeks out in which there have even been times in which I get a random e-mail the afternoon and day before the morning of the appointment and it throws off my schedule for the originally assigned appointment day because I'm left with an opening that I wasn't expecting and cannot fill with anything else in the meantime.  It can be frustrating to anticipate on discussing something for an appointment and get a cancellation or rescheduling request within less than 24 hours notice.  Sometimes I don't find out until the night before from not checking my phone or e-mail that day from going out or doing something away from the desk.- The job developer I'm working with there is nice and supportive, but has a short attention span when it comes to reading e-mails that you send to him.  If it's descriptive or long in the form of a letter and not a couple of sentences, he will not read it and want you to just explain it in person the next time you meet with him onsite.  So if you spend time articulating and explaining something of a particular topic out to a couple of paragraphs to make the most with working with him while you're not onsite, it's going to be a waste of time on your part to develop all that content and be a frustrating experience.  I do not have this problem with my counselor at NOVA. Conclusion:This place is better than job searching and assistance at Work2Future.  I'm in a mixed opinion about if this place is better than NOVA.  Both have friendly staff.  I think that when it comes to reliability, you'll find working with NOVA staff is better, but the distance traveled from home to one of the two is something to consider.  If you can come regularly onsite early in the day, you will not have too much problems as I have pointed out.  But if you try to work and communicate remotely or utilize their services outside of the facility, expect long delays in communication or relying on having to make a physical return trip back onsite sooner than expected.  I'm the type of person who occasionally meets physically in person with people when I need to show something or discuss something physically or have to fill out paperwork or attend workshops, but generally, I try to save time and convenience for everyone by communicating by e-mail and phone.  So this is review is coming from that type of perspective.  Read Less

Looks like they've closed their "donation station", which is really unfortunate.  I now mostly give items through Hope Charities.

Looks like they've closed their "donation station", which is really unfortunate.  I now mostly give items through Hope Charities.  Read Less