In March of 2021, after a few years of living in her trailer on the streets of Stockton, Founder Jessica Velez wrote a letter to the mayor of Stockton and brought her story to the forefront in an effort to bring ideas and solutions to the discussion and fight against homelessness. She became part of the mayor’s committee focused on the homeless crisis while continuing to work as a paralegal.
In July of 2021, Jessica left her job and focused solely on building her non-profit organization, Red Rabbit Advocacy. Red Rabbit focuses on the immediate needs of its clients and provides comfort, emotional support, and spiritual encouragement while continuing to advocate for long term solutions with regard to housing equity. Red Rabbit Advocacy helps clients access housing resources, connects clients with other community resources, and provides whatever other support the individual and/or family needs in order to continue their own path to restoring their lives. We welcome volunteers and staff that have similar life experiences with open arms in order to help build our agency and be as impactful as humanly possible. We believe empathy and compassion are key to solving the homeless crisis here in San Joaquin County.
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide support to those that are experiencing housing instability and engage with community partners in an effort to ensure the needs of the most vulnerable members of our community are being met.
Our Vision
Anyone who is willing to take a leap of faith and rediscover their own abilities to succeed should be provided a path to life recovery. A housing first approach provides safety and stability in order to begin that path. Building bridges in our community between the housed and unhoused is essential to a strong and healthy community. Continuing to nurture an atmosphere of unity and connectedness is necessary for true healing of our diverse community.
Our Values
No person is better than another. We have all been down at one point or another and are pooling our life experiences together to reach out to our brothers and sisters who are ready to rise up out of their personal struggles. Every single person is worth the time and effort and love we are so willing to give. Maintaining a strong faith in the love of God allows for us to give hope to those who may have lost it and led to them being where they are.