Turkey Trot 5k Fun Run Helps House the Homeless

"It's a heaven on earth for families," Juan Abregio, an Inland Temporary Homes client, said. Inland Temporary Homes of Loma Linda has provided countless families with hope and faith in times of despair, and as Abregio put it, has provided families with a heaven on earth. On Nov. 10, Inland Temporary Homes hosted its second annual Turkey Trot 5K Fun Run as a means to raise money to help the program continue to aid local families. Inland Temporary Homes is a non-profit organization located in Loma Linda and is focused on helping homeless families rebuild their lives and providing a safe haven for young children. Along with transitional housing, the organization also provides families with case management, children's programs, employment services, life skill classes and counseling for families who have no place to live. Jeff Little, CEO/Executive Director of Inland Temporary Homes of Loma Linda, said, "We are a local Loma Linda charity. It is a transitional housing program for homeless families. We take families off the street. We house them, provide case management, mental health services, employment services, (and) try to get them housing and jobs. The goal here is really to generate as much money as we can to go toward this cause." Just last year, Little felt there needed to be a public event that could help raise money for the organization and at the same time promote a healthy lifestyle for community residents. Little and his ITH staff began the Turkey Trot 5K Fun Run, which they found to be successful. According to Andria Innerbichler, Program Director of ITH, the event is gradually becoming more popular amongst Loma Linda residents; Innerbichler predicts it will end up being a long-lasting ITH annual tradition. "This year we [have] almost double the participants we had last year, so it's growing slowly but surely. [ITH] was motivated to create it because last year, when I did my research, there were no other local running turkey trot events in Loma Linda. That same year the University (of Loma Linda) actually did a healthcare 5K, but we didn't believe there were enough running events in Loma Linda. We thought it'd be really neat, promoting health in our community while generating money for ITH to continue providing homes and changing lives," said Little. ITH has to date served a total of 34 families and has provided a total number of 3,173 services. Furthermore, it has provided rental assistance to 71 households and utilities assistance to 54 households. The organization's goals are to help as many people as possible, set an example of service to the community and emphasize the idea that simple charitable actions can have a great impact on many people. "We wish to bring about community awareness of what we do for San Bernardno County. We help the poor and people who are homeless so they don't have to sit in their car the whole winter. We have the privilege of providing services, not only by finding homes for them, but also by teaching people who have lost all hope how to problem-solve and how to pull themselves out of drastic situations, including poverty. We help them find a job and raise their kids. The purpose is to really help people be happy again and get back into society on their own feet, to move on and to break the cycle of homelessness," Dr. Ebrahim Sadeghi of the ITH's Mental Health Department said. ITCH Program Director Innerbichler said, "The successes that you see in families of the community makes it all worth it. Every year it's new families, new issues and new barriers. Part of it is bringing awareness to the needs we have for the homeless community and raising the money to be able to help them." Client Juan Abregio said of the program, "It's unbelievable, so many doors have opened." Amy Drake, another ITH client, also expressed her gratitude for ITH. "If it wasn't for ITH and the house that was provided to us by the organization, my fiancé and I would not have been able to get our kids back. We actually partook of the parent coaching and life skills lessons the program has to offer." Betty Omlor is an intern with the ITH's mental health department. "I had never worked with this group of people. The homelessness is really rampant, and programs like these help all these people by showing them it's not too late to align themselves, that there is hope, and take away their desperation."