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Founded
sometime around March of 1988, COTS was a response to Mary
Isaak’s and Laure Reichek’s concern for the adults
and their children who were sleeping outdoors in culverts,
dumpsters or in other unsafe and unsuitable conditions. Both
women realized that FISH (Friends In Service Helping) and
other charitable organizations were not able to respond to
the increasingly numerous requests for shelter.
On the Board of Directors of Petaluma Seniors
Involved (PSI), which they had cofounded in 1975, Isaak and
Reichek suggested that the organization find a way to respond
to the needs of homeless families in Petaluma. Raising money
from private donors, enlisting the support of the churches
and fraternal organizations, educating the community, and
monitoring sleepovers at temporary shelters throughout the
city, Reichek and Isaak spearheaded the drive for homeless
services in Petaluma.
“People have such good hearts,”
Isaak offers, reminiscing about the early days of COTS. She
fondly recalls Copperfield’s Bookstore’s basement,
the United Methodist Church, Elim Lutheran Church and the
Howard Street house the City of Petaluma provided - all early
sites for shelter for the city’s homeless. Mary Isaak,
the longest serving member on the COTS Board of Directors,continues
to be active in setting the organization’s agenda.
No discussion of COTS' history would be
complete without acknowledging the essential role of the City
of Petaluma. For more than 15 years, the City Council has
steadfastly supported COTS, usually by unanimous votes. And
City staff from all departments, perhaps most notably Bonne
Gaebler, the City's Housing Administrator, have provided invaluable
help and guidance in the City/COTS partnership to take care
of the community's homeless individuals. For the same duration,
the County of Sonoma has offered strong funding and support
for COTS' family programs. In recent years, COTS also has
enjoyed a strong working partnership with the Cities of Rohnert
Park and Santa Rosa.
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