All donations made on Nov. 15, Give to the Max Day, will support our annual Sleep Out Campaign, which provides help and creates hope for 1,700 struggling families in the communities we serve.

IOCP offers help with housing, employment, child care, food and transportation. We give families hope for a brighter, more stable future.

In fact, in our 2011-12 fiscal year, we helped 4,904 people with the basics – keeping a roof overhead, food on the table, cars going, utilities intact and children cared for. People just like our client Chris.

Chris had a good job. Then his employer reorganized, and his job was eliminated. He was left with bills to pay and a child to support. Chris made finding a job his new job.

“I was never so scared in my life,” he admitted. “I was willing to do anything.”

When unemployment ran out, he faced the uncertainty of how he would support his son and himself. Competition was tough just to get an interview. “My job search was harder than I ever imagined,” he said. “I felt invisible.”

While hard for Chris to do, he asked for help. IOCP helped him with rent and gas so he could keep looking for work and helped him update his resume.

Chris took odd jobs to get by. On the last day of a temporary job, Chris saw an ad for a job in his field. He
applied for it, was interviewed and hired. Chris is thrilled to be working again, and grateful for the help received at a critical time in his life.

“If IOCP didn’t exist, I’d be homeless.”

More information: http://www.iocp.org