It wasn’t too long ago that life looked rather bleak for Gary Pena.

He was living on the streets of Manteca, homeless, and displaced from Tacoma, WA.

Pena had fallen some three weeks earlier along a side street near Grocery Outlet when Ameris Zamora happened along.

“If she didn’t find me, I’d still be lying in the rain,” he said.

Zamora, as it turned out, was the driver of the Inner City Action van. She was on duty, picking up some of the local homeless to take to the Mobile Revival Family Resource Center better known as the warming center.

“It seemed as if he had fallen down on the ground,” said Zamora, who has been with Inner City Action for the past 10 years.

For Pena, she was there as an answer to his prayers. He’s extremely thankful for her along with Frank Saldana, who is the founder of the Inner City Action ministries, and Pastor Toby Payan, to name a few.

Pena is one of the 30 regulars who take advantage of the facilities – in this case, a large, cavernous tent that provides everything for the homeless community, including daily meals, showers, haircuts, clean restroom facilities, storage, and a clothes closet, to name a few – while trying to get back on his feet.

For the first time in a long time, Pena has enjoyed restful sleeps to go with a nutritional meal made possible by Second Harvest Food Bank, US Foods in Livermore, and Food Truck.

Pena said, thanks to the Inner City effort, he is now thinking about “cleaning up” and even learning a trade that will help him get off the street.

He’s also enjoyed wearing clean clothes and daily showers.

As for the recent holidays?

“It was beautiful,” said Pena, who received a Christmas gift containing brand-new t-shirts.

“We had an incredible Christmas eve dinner here,” Saldana said.

Some 100 people filled the Mobile Revival Family Resource Center – the former city-owned Qualex building – enjoying a filet mignon dinner with all of the fixings. They also received Christmas gifts made possible by the generosity of the community.

Saldana and others associated with this endeavor that came about when the City of Manteca declared a health emergency for the homeless following frigid night time temperatures have seen their fair share of amazing turnaround in those who made the most of the resources at the warming facilities located at 555 Industrial Dr.

“This (place) has been a blessing,” Gary Pena said.

For information including a detailed list of items needed or transportation needs, log on to www.innercityaction.org.