A Community United
Dignified emergency services are critically important, but they are not enough to realize our vision of ending poverty in Santa Clara County. To do that, we must bring the community together to change the government and economic policies that make it impossible for many to thrive.
“Our mission is to build a community free from poverty by creating hope, opportunity, and action. We provide essential services, work together to improve our lives, organize for justice, and inspire our community to love, serve, and share.”
Vision and Mission
Our vision is a community united to ensure that every child and adult is free from poverty.
Sacred Heart’s vision statement describes the long-term aim of the organization and the north star to which all of our work is directed. The vision statement places equal emphasis on the building and uniting of community and on the freedom from poverty. Neither objective can truly be fulfilled without the other. Thus, Sacred Heart’s work emphasizes both engaging and strengthening our community and developing solutions to poverty.
Our mission statement describes who we are, our fundamental purpose, and our role in our community. It expresses not only the specific ways in which we address the root causes and consequences of poverty, but an understanding that the way in which we go about doing so has a deep and lasting impact. Hope is created when we share resources in a dignified, compassionate, and respectful way. Opportunity is created when we invest in the skills and nurture mutual support networks among individuals and groups. Action is manifested when we organize volunteers, leaders, and institutions to work together to act on both individual and societal levels in pursuit of a community free from poverty.
Core Beliefs
These core beliefs are the three key convictions that underlie our actions. They form the bedrock of our work, helping to define our vision for the community we want to live in and our responsibility to stand up for our social justice.
We believe that all people have a right to adequate food, clothing, housing, education, health care, and personal safety.
We believe that all people deserve the opportunity to achieve economic self sufficiency and healthy relationships.
We believe that with faith, creativity, and effort, resources are available to fulfill our vision.
History
Louise Benson founded Sacred Heart Community Service in 1964 to feed hungry families in her neighborhood.
Today, providing essential services to individuals and families in need remains one of Sacred Heart’s core strategies. The organization has also evolved into a respected and innovative provider of programs that assists families with achieving lifelong economic self-sufficiency and a grassroots organizing network that addresses the root causes and consequences of poverty. Sacred Heart moved into its current facility in 1998, where today it enables local community members to assert their basic human rights by gaining access to resources such as food, clothing, and housing assistance, while at the same time offering the tools for self-sufficiency, including employment assistance, family mentoring, and adult and youth education programs. In 2008, Sacred Heart was selected by the State of California to be the Community Action Agency for Santa Clara County. This designation formalized Sacred Heart’s role as a regional leader and conveys a responsibility for developing countywide solutions to poverty. With the additional responsibility and resources, Sacred Heart has expanded its existing essential services and self-sufficiency programs both internally and through formal program collaborations, strengthened its community engagement work, and developed community organizing and advocacy initiatives. In 2009, Sacred Heart was named the new energy services provider for Santa Clara County by the State of California, further expanding the agency’s role in financial assistance provision and leadership within the county safety net.