Code Talk at the St Joseph’s Center in Venice, CA
Code Talk is an innovative job-training program for homeless and low-income women. http://www.stjosephctr.org/codetalk/ It is run by the St Joseph’s Center in Venice, CA.
It's a fifteen-week intensive program in computer coding skills. It helps those who complete the program to successfully find employment in the burgeoning high tech industries of Silicon Beach. It’s a terrific program and merits your support in any way you can afford.
It’s one of many excellent job and vocational training programs run by St Joseph’s Center for low income and homeless residents of the Westside and South LA; their culinary training program is also first rate. https://stjosephctr.org/education-vocation-training/
St Joseph’s was founded over 4o years ago by two sisters of the Sisters of St Joseph’s of Carondelet. From the start it sought to provide food and the tools for self sufficiency to the low income residents of our community.
I first met the sisters of St Joseph’s in 1979 at their thrift store. I had just moved from Boston to Venice and wanted to donate some heavy winter clothes for the homeless facing winter weather. I quickly learned there was no snow, no freezing rain, no icy storms in LA, no winter as I knew it -- just cold drenching rains that could sometimes go on for weeks and months. I.e. this was before climate change or whatever messages from Gaia have brought this week's impossible heat wave.
The homeless populations of Venice have continued to grow as local housing becomes ever less affordable, federal funds are cut, and the urgent needs for mental health and substance use disorder treatment grow ever more pressing. The citizens of Los Angeles have approved new taxes to build supportive housing and fund support services to the homeless. Many of the new programs require organizations such as St Joseph’s to contribute a local match.
As the holidays approach, I hope you will consider donating to the St Joseph’s Center at https://stjosephctr.org/donate/ to help spread their incredible work with the homeless and low income residents of Los Angeles.
Prepared by: Lucien Wulsin
St. Joseph’s Center Board Member
October 24, 2017