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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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