Jo Greiner has been helping to house, feed and clothe the Los Gatos homeless community for 15 years, after she first became involved through St. Luke's Episcopal Church about 10 years ago. On Tuesday, her work was acknowledged by the town and mayor, Joe Pirzynski, who awarded her a congratulatory plaque during the 15th Annual Senior of Distinction Award ceremony.

Greiner has helped advance the town's homeless resources from basic canned-food giveaways to actual communal dinners with cooked food, and has even helped house four homeless men. 

She's passionate about the people she serves, and Patch had the opportunity to discuss her passion this week. Here's what she had to say.

Los Gatos Patch: How did you feel when you heard the committee announce your name as winner of the Los Gatos Seniors of Distinction Award?

Greiner: I was glad to see that a woman won – many women in the past 15 years haven't won. I was truly surprised. I was shook up because I didn't expect it because our program is relatively small when you think of some of the larger-scale programs. So it was surprising and wonderful to be recognized, and it was great to see this done from a volunteer standpoint (all people helping the Los Gatos homeless are volunteers).

Patch: How did you became involved in serving the homeless?

Greiner: St. Luke's had begun helping the homeless by providing groceries about 10 years prior to my engagement. I got involved in 1996. I'm a former Palo Alto English teacher and wanted to continue working in a so-called giving position. So, I began working with St. Luke's, and it became clear that the program needed some definite tweaking.

Patch: What areas did you see that needed tweaking?

There was nothing where they would sit down and have a communal meal together and I thought it really needed to be in place, so I essentially organized that and co-founded the Los Gatos Interface Council. The great thing about that was I got to know the leaders of each of the churches and we all came together at St. Luke's once a month and talked about what each community was doing and how we could improve.

Those days we were serving about 16 homeless, now we're serving about 24.

Patch: I heard that three of the homeless men you've helped (Victor Sakellar, John Patrick Lynn and Mike Catton) were at the reception. What was it like having them there?

Greiner: It was absolutely thrilling to have them there. They're the heart and core of what I do. They each wrote a letter on my behalf – I did not know this at the time – asking for me to get this award. And they're beautiful letters. I love these three men very much, they're just part of my extended family now.

Patch: I heard you were able to house the men through a voucher program. Would you elaborate on that a bit?

Greiner: The money was from the housing authority for the purpose of distributing in Santa Clara County. The voucher means they can have a one-bedroom apartment – not over $1,300 –and then the recipient of the voucher has to pay one-third of the rent.

Working through West Valley Community Services, we were able to obtain vouchers for our veteran and chronically homeless gentleman, meaning 15 to 18 years homeless. We had them living in tents, but with that big push with West Valley and the Los Gatos police, we were finally able to accomplish it.

Patch: What differences have you noticed in these men now that they're housed?

Greiner: The difference is remarkable in their appearance and their demeanor and their sobriety, and their whole pattern of living. One said to me, “I pinch myself everyday to wake up because I cant believe this has happened to me.” He's a grandfather who was alienated because of his issues and living situation, but can now bring his grandchildren to his home.

Patch: Why and how did you get into helping the homeless?

I suppose because I don't have kids of my own – and of course when I taught for 35 years at Palo Alto they became like my kids. I knew that retiring and leaving them would be a huge void, so I was just seeking that level of connection, and wanted to make a positive difference. I didn't know what form that would take, and turns out it was with the homeless.

Patch: Have you encountered any struggles during your 15 years helping the homeless?

Greiner: The biggest struggles are when we get situations that are so overwhelming that it takes more than I can do or I have to take a huge risk, and that's happened in several situations. We had one guy who robbed a bank here, several times, and came back and was terrorizing people and tried to rape one of the women at the soup kitchen in the middle of the day. That's why we now work very closely with the police department. That's why having Leo with us is a godsend.

Patch: What advice would you give to people looking for a charity to help out with?

Greiner: It has to be a match for their head and heart. It absolutely has to be a fit. You just have to be able to be open to the possibility and it's a trial and error. And people need to figure out how much they want to give. And once they do it they'll realize how rich it is for them, and it will probably compound into something more.