Stacks of boxes crowded the professor’s porch. The boxes, filled with food and hygiene supplies, had been assembled into care packages for unhoused individuals in Sacramento.

City College Communications Professor Kim Church knew during the initial shutdown in the spring that the pandemic was deeply impacting the unhoused of Sacramento and felt she had to do something more to continue helping them. Church, founder of Engaging Neighbors to Generate Action via Grassroots Efforts, Inc., or E.N.G.A.G.E. Inc., started the nonprofit organization in 2016 to aid unhoused people from ages 18–30.

“I was home because of the pandemic, so it was easy for me to use my front porch and do non-contact delivery and drop off,” said Church. “We were all being super responsible. Everybody had gloves and masks on.”

The organization distributed approximately 5,000 care packages to over 40 neighborhoods between March and June to help during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to distribute these care packages and receive donations, Church used Facebook Groups to recruit volunteers and ended up with 20-25 individuals.

E.N.G.A.G.E. Inc. partners with various organizations in Sacramento including St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Sutter Health Street Nurse and The Creation District. According to the group’s website, it provides access to food, clothing, hygiene products, tents and other necessities..

As advocates for social justice for homelessness, E.N.G.A.G.E. Inc. operates locally and provides resources to the unhoused. Its goal is also to hold elected officials accountable for their actions towards unhoused citizens and create awareness.

“[E.N.G.A.G.E.] was born out of the anger and frustration at the local officials who are completely ignorant about what needs to happen in order for people to be treated humanely,” said Church. “Homelessness was something that was flying way under the radar for my comfort–my piece of mind.”

Even before the pandemic, E.N.G.A.G.E. Inc. hosted Safe Space meetings every Tuesday morning at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Once LRCCD issued orders to shut down campuses, Church contacted people she knew in the organization, including some unhoused allies, and asked what they thought would be necessary in a care package.

“On any given day, I had over 10 boxes or bags of stuff on my front porch. Half of them were food, and then half of them were hygiene packs,” said Church.

Church said some donors and volunteers are her current or former students, who had the option to do a service learning project when she taught conflict management. Conflict management is a communications course that examines behaviors involved in the process of conflict and the strategies needed to effectively manage that conflict.

Jackie Blair, a former student of Church’s, has been an E.N.G.A.G.E. volunteer for almost four years.

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Church created an illustrated tree diagram for her front porch that indicated how many care packages had been distributed. The base of the tree is divided up into sections of 900, and each time E.N.G.A.G.E. has given out another set of 900 care packages, another section gets colored in. This was a way for both Church and donors to keep track of their progress.

“I put this little thing on my front porch—it was a tree and it was cute,” said Church. “It was very wonderful for people to be able to do that during the first months of the pandemic.”

She had an additional diagram that kept track of the neighborhoods that received these packages. They were able to distribute them in various regions of Sacramento, from Oak Park to downtown Sacramento, also distributing in Citrus Heights.

Currently, E.N.G.A.G.E. Inc. is transitioning to gather and distribute winter essentials for unhoused people. They hosted a Thanksgiving feast and a sleeping bag and tent drop in November. ENGAGE, Inc. will also host a Christmas celebration at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Tuesday, Dec. 22.

“We are being lowkey right now, but [the events for donations/celebrations] come in waves,” said Church.

Blair reflects on his time volunteering at E.N.G.A.G.E. Inc. and its impact on the community.

“I’ve met a lot of good people and kids. I learned about some of the different homeless organizations that support our cause and I learned about city council,” said Blair. “[E.N.G.A.G.E., Inc] is a great stepping stone for helping the homeless.”

Church emphasized the importance of people coming together and helping each other out, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Everybody’s probably going through something, has gone through something or is about to go through something,” Church said. “And not everybody has a network or safety net of other people in their lives who can help them go through it.”

To contribute to E.N.G.A.G.E. or research available resources, visit https://www.engage.us.org/give/