baby registry: Celebrations all-around

Celebrations all-around

Sunday, May 28, 2006
By Melissa Flores


Shelter volunteer celebrates 80th birthday by giving to others


Along Monterey Road, on the outskirts of Gilroy, the first batch of tenants have made themselves at home in a newly constructed transitional living center. The peach-colored buildings, home to 56 families, look like any other apartment complex in town with dark green grass surrounding a brightly colored children's playground and a basketball court.


But when Maria Skoczylas looks around the spic-and-span landscape she sees much more than apartments.


"How many people can say they have had a dream come true?" she asked. "I can truly say that."


Skoczylas, who turned 80 this week, has been an outspoken advocate for the homeless in Gilroy and a transitional living center for years. She got involved with a homeless taskforce at least eight years ago to promote the idea of a facility that would offer more than a place to get out of the cold.


With the help of the Gilroy City Council, Supervisor Don Gage, South County Housing, a non-profit affordable housing developer, and EHC Lifebuilders, a non-profit that offers social services, Skoczylas' dream is a reality at last.


The first phase of the project included 13 single-family homes that sold at market rate to help raise some of the needed funds. The second phase is the recently completed apartments that opened to residents in April. The last phase is an emergency shelter with 140 beds, which should be completed next fall.


Though things seem close to completion, Skoczylas still has another plan afoot to make the lives of residents even better. To celebrate her 80th birthday, she has asked friends and family members to buy gifts that can be used by the families at Sobrato.


"Instead of giving me presents, people can bring something for the families," Skoczylas said.


The families are still in need of many minor and major household items. Many of the residents are without bed frames or with mismatched bed sets. Bunk beds are desired for children's rooms. The families are also short on pots and pans, kitchen tables and chairs, along with other items.


Skoczylas' daughter registered her on a baby gift registry with some of the most needed items for the residents. A search for Maria Skoczylas under the baby registry online at www.target.com or at a local store will bring up the list of gifts. While the 80th birthday party was celebrated May 27, donations of new or slightly used goods will be accepted at the shelter office during the coming weeks.


"Most people moved in with no furniture," said Jaime Martinez, the program manager with EHC Lifebuilders. "We had funds to furnish eight apartments, but we have 59 to furnish."


One single mother, Marina Melendez, one of the first residents to move in, has no bed frame for her 12-year-old daughter. The girl sleeps on a mattress that is smaller than the box spring. Her 7-year-old son has a bed frame, but without a box frame, his mattress lies below the frame on the floor beneath a faded Spiderman blanket.


The family had been living in San Martin, in another property run by South County Housing, but with Melendez on disability with arthritis, she needed some more time to get back to work.


"It's very nice. It's larger than the old apartment," she said of Sobrato.


Martinez is one of two case managers who works with the families like Melendez'.


"Once we get everyone settled in, we will provide training," he said. "We'll get her trained in another job or refer her to an employment center."


The goal of the transitional living center is that families can live there for two years, paying a small amount of rent, while gaining job skills and savings to move out on their own. Caseworkers, such as Martinez, will work with the residents on issues from managing their personal finances to applying for jobs. Volunteers, such as Skoczylas, can help along the way and will be needed when the emergency shelter opens later in the year.


Despite Skoczylas' graying hair, she remains vibrant when she talks about the transitional living center and her latest plan to help the residents.


She has been involved with helping the homeless in Gilroy for 19 years and her passion has grown over the years.


"I heard in church at St. Mary that they needed blankets because they were going to open a homeless shelter," Skoczylas said, in an interview in December.


The National Guard Armory had opened to serve as an emergency shelter to the homeless during winter months. Her daughter persuaded her to bring blankets to the Wren Avenue shelter on Christmas Eve.


"We saw the people. We met them," she said. "It's something I got hooked on."


Over the years, she has organized cookie donations around the holidays, served food to the guests, as they are called by volunteers, and talked to those who needed a friend.


"The reality is that they are just people down on their luck who need a helping hand," Skoczylas said.


Gifts for the residents of the Sobrato Apartments will be accepted during office hours at 9369 Monterey Road, Mon.-Thu. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon. For more information on what items are needed, or donating money, gifts or time, call Jaime Martinez at 408-842-4072 or Josefa Nava at 408-848-6400.