- Celia Jiménez Oct 24, 2024
Finding a place to live, enrolling in school, securing a job or questioning sexual identity are just some of the many challenges teens and young adults may experience as they navigate life. It can be especially hard for those in foster care, who are experiencing homelessness or don’t have family support. For the past decade, The Epicenter has been a helping hand for youth, giving them hope and empowering them to find themselves and reach their goals.
The Epicenter is a youth-run nonprofit that began in Salinas, with the help of Monterey County Child Welfare Services and Voice Our Independent Choices for Emancipation Support (a youth-led program for transition-age foster youth).
On Oct. 8, Salinas City Council recognized The Epicenter’s work. “Your continued commitment to supporting LGBTQ+ and the community are a testament to your mission of empowerment, equity and liberation for all,” Councilmember Jesus Valenzuela said.
The nonprofit is a drop-in center that connects teens and young adults, ages 14-24, with resources. Its pillars are housing, education, employment, and health and wellness. To create this web of resources, The Epicenter’s headquarters offers in-person and online services. Programs include a youth council and Monterey County Friday Night Live, a drug and alcohol prevention program. It also operates a free closet with clothes, hygiene products and shoes.
“It went from being a shelf to now [a] walk-in space within our garage where people can come in and really have the feel of a boutique,” says Sam Gomez, The Epicenter’s deputy director.
The organization also partners with local barbers and hairstylists to offer free haircuts a few times a year. Once a month, The Epicenter opens its doors on a Saturday to provide a warm meal and fun activities as a way to release stress.
One of the organization’s superpowers is that staff are also young people from the community – they look like the clients seeking services. They have similar backgrounds and life stories, making it easier to connect and relate.
“A lot of our team members are actually youth and young adults with lived experiences,” Gomez says.
The Epicenter now serves more than 500 young people per year and offers programming at schools in Salinas, Soledad, Gonzales and the Peninsula, with a goal to expand to King City and North County. The team works with other organizations including Monterey County Behavioral Health and Department of Social Services, as well as school districts.
Gomez has been part of the nonprofit for nine years, after starting as a participant in their early 20s.
“It was actually one of the first places where I felt welcomed in the community and like I had a space to be myself,” Gomez told the City Council after the commendation.
Gomez helped start The Epicenter’s LGBTQ+ program in 2015.
Gomez, who uses they/them pronouns, didn’t have the support of their own family. “It really impacted me a lot. It was hard on my mental health. It was hard not to have that support,” Gomez says.
Danielle Gomez (no relation), 21, is a youth navigator who began working in September. She was in foster care and has experienced homelessness most of her life.
“I’ve always wanted to help the youth, because growing up, that’s what I needed, and never had that person,” she says. “When you come in here, you feel at home. You feel welcome. If you need to talk to someone, there’s always support.”
Sam Gomez has worn different hats with the organization, from youth volunteer to program coordinator and now deputy director. They say receiving help and working at The Epicenter was a game-changing experience.
“There was a point in my life where I didn’t have hope for the future. I didn’t see myself growing and thriving,” Gomez says, adding their growth within the organization is “a testament to the work that we do with our young people.”