Rebuilding Lives Initiative — Case for Support (Draft)

Tagline: Turn shelter into skills — and skills into income.

Why Now

Families in Merced & Stanislaus Counties face a double bind: unstable housing and unstable work. Charity alone can’t close that gap; people need safe shelter, paid training, and a fair shot at jobs. Rebuilding Lives Initiative (RLI) delivers all three in one coordinated model.

Our Solution

RLI pairs a trauma-informed shelter with a public-facing workforce café that functions as a real-world training lab. Participants earn stackable credentials (ServSafe, OSHA-10, customer service), build resumes with paid shifts, and transition into jobs through employer partnerships. To scale, we provide import-ready Canvas courseware and a 4-week instructor “train-the-trainer” so schools, libraries, and nonprofits can run cohorts locally.

Who We Serve

  • Adults and transition-age youth re-entering the workforce

  • People experiencing homelessness or housing instability

  • Justice-impacted residents seeking a first foothold back into the economy

Year-1 Targets & Outcomes

  • 8,760 bed-nights of safe shelter

  • 120 trainees enrolled; 90 completions

  • 60 job placements (≥30 hrs/week) with ≥80% 90-day retention

  • 50 participants connected to behavioral-health services; 40 achieve or maintain stable housing ≥90 days

  • Quarterly dashboards on skills, credentials, placement, and retention

Evidence-Based Practices

  • Work + Rights: Economic participation and civil rights reinforce each other.

  • Markets with Guardrails: Transparent, accountable operations; employer MOUs; wage standards.

  • Nonpartisan by Design: We collaborate across sectors on practical, measurable solutions.

Budget & What Your Gift Does

Year-1 program need: $500,000 (Housing/Workforce Ops)
Proposed complementary $500,000 services grant (BHRS) aligns case management and care coordination.

Giving Tiers:

  • $57 funds one bed-night

  • $250 funds one trainee’s credential pack (ServSafe/OSHA-10/IDs/uniform)

  • $1,500 equips one training station (smallwares/POS)

  • $2,500 sponsors one trainee (stipends + coaching)

  • $25,000 sponsors one cohort (10–12 trainees)

  • $50,000–$100,000 anchors café equipment or a quarter of operations
    In-kind gifts (equipment, pro bono services) welcome.

Sustainability

Earned revenue from the café, county contracts, WIOA/workforce partnerships, philanthropy, and research/evaluation collaborations ensure durability beyond Year-1. We publish implementation guides so other counties can replicate the model.

Ways to Give (and Get Involved)

  • Tax-deductible donations: via our fiscal sponsor, [Unnamed because we are looking for a fiscal sponsor] (note “Rebuilding Lives Initiative”).

  • Recurring community support: join our Patreon for monthly impact updates (not tax-deductible).

  • Sponsor a cohort or station: corporate/CSR partnerships & naming opportunities.

  • Hire our graduates: employer MOUs with interview/placement commitments.

Compliance (501(c)(3)) (pending)

Rebuilding Lives Initiative is nonpartisan and does not support or oppose any candidate or party. Policy education is provided for informational purposes only.

Contact: Micki Archuleta • micki@rebuilding-lives-initiative.org • 209-489-7356
Purpose: Turn shelter into skills—and skills into income. Join us.

 Rebuilding Lives Initiative is an independent, community-led project.

We have shared proposals and demos with local stakeholders, but no government agency has reviewed, approved, funded, or endorsed our materials or services.