The second annual Bowls of Hope Project, which brings attention to and raises funds for Many Mansions, an organization that provides affordable housing and service to low-income people, will take place Sunday.
By Carley Dryden / Special to The Malibu Times
Terri Reinhard found herself without direction, without affordable housing and without a job or employment opportunities before Many Mansions entered her life.
Reinhard learned the hard way about living with a “past record.” With no high school diploma, a teenaged daughter to take care of and a lack of confidence, she turned her life around at Many Mansions and now her future looks much brighter.
“They have given so much to me,” she said. “They gave me back my self esteem and my sense of self worth.”
Many Mansions is a non-profit organization that provides affordable, well-managed housing and life-enriching services to low-income residents of Ventura County and surrounding areas.
In an effort to spread awareness about the need for affordable housing and as a fundraiser for Many Mansions, the second annual Bowls of Hope Project will take place at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu on Sunday.
Local artists, civic leaders, celebrities and volunteers have created more than 500 ceramic bowls to display at the event this year. Guests will pick out a bowl of their choice and will then proceed to a soup and bread line that simulates a food shelter, Vanessa Berlinsky, the event coordinator, said.
“It hits home for them on why they’re here,” Berlinsky said. “Many of the people Many Mansions helps have had to rely on soup lines in the past.”
The soup and bread will be donated by local restaurants.
Many Mansions has more than 400 units in nine apartment complexes and serves more than 1,200 residents, said Secret Winbush, public relations coordinator for the Bowls of Hope Project.
Since 1979, Many Mansions has been changing lives through their adult and children services. Case managers help adults become self-sufficient through financial education, case management and job training. Several services for children are offered including an after-school homework literacy program, a teen club that helps build leadership skills and a seven-week summer camp which children can attend for free.
Supportive housing, which provides special services for those with mental and physical disabilities, is offered at four of the properties, although case managers are on site at all of the properties.
Winbush said the services and support the organization provides is what brought her to Many Mansions in the first place.
“It’s heart-wrenching to know people are living in their cars with children, and need shelter and resources,” she said. “I always felt a need to give back and working here is very rewarding. A lot of potential residents say, ‘You treated me like a person.'”
Winbush said Reinhard is the epitome of a success story.
Reinhard lives in Many Mansion’s transitional living facility, which is a one- to two-year program that helps single mothers get their lives in order by giving them the resources and support to find a job and eventually get more permanent housing.
In order to stay at a Many Mansions’ facility there are strict requirements including a curfew, staying clean and sober, and looking for job employment, schooling or another activity to keep moving in the right direction, Winbush said.
“It’s hard for someone like a parolee to get their life back together,” she said. “Some can change their lives and some can’t. Reinhard is one person that says she wants her life to change.”
Since Reinhard has been at Many Mansions, she has earned her GED, been accepted into a program for further schooling and has been volunteering at the organization, oftentimes assisting Winbush with daily activities.
“When you have a past record it is hard to gain employment,” Reinhard said. “My case manager asked me to do volunteer work so I can start getting comfortable again.
“Some people come in and don’t do anything. It’s important to keep myself busy. I have my focus on my future but a lot of people don’t want to change,” she said.
Although there are people like Reinhard who have successfully reaped the benefits of Many Mansions’ services, there are more than 500 families still on the waiting list for the organization’s affordable housing and many more fighting to survive the high cost of living, Winbush said.
The Bowls of Hope Project fundraiser takes place Sunday, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Calamigos Ranch, 327 S. Latigo Canyon Rd. Malibu. Guests will also have the opportunity to bid on silent auction items as part of the Merchant Market, which will resemble a flea market. There will also be an art show for children and live performances by Michael Meros of the Beach Boys, Country Gone Awry and the Conejo Community Drum Circle.
The cost is $25. More information can be obtained by calling 805.496.4948 or at the Web Site, manymansions.org