It could be “the” event of this spring in the Manteca-Ripon area.

It includes a pleasant country setting, live music, wine and beer tasting, an exotic car show that will include a 1959 Rolls Royce, charted flights to the Black Stallion Winery in Napa Valley and Reno as top live auction prizes, and a long driveway lined with American flags that usher guests to the venue.

It also features Clydesdale carriage rides.

And it benefits the HOPE Family Shelters that last year housed 225 people — 60 percent of them children — as part of 85 families for several months at the time.
It is the fourth annual “Taste of Hope: Changing Lives with Sips & Bites” will benefit the non-profit operating three shelters in Manteca.

There are two separate evenings — Friday, April 26, and Saturday, April 27.

There is a different live band each night. Whiskey Kiss is on April 26 and the Retro Fritz Band is on April 27. The event is from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. both nights.

Besides hors oeuvres, Brothers Doughnuts will be serving “Bronuts” both nights for free.

The one night ticket is $50 per person. It includes three wine tastings or three beer tastings along with hors d’oeuvres.

New this year is a VIP tent. The $200 ticket includes private bar, private serving heavy hors d’ oeuvres, and a wag bag.

Ticket sales end on April 19.

For tickets to the event at 19750 North Ripon Road in rural Ripon, call (209) 665-7640 or go online at www.hopefamilyshelters.org

There are separate live auctions and raffles each evening.

HOPE Family Shelters now has a success rate of 52 percent of the families they assist being able to secure their own housing after their stay is completed.

That success rate is almost triple of what most shelters experience when people they assist temporarily move on.

One reason for the high success rate is the fact HOPE Ministries operates what is considered a high barrier shelter. That means those they help must be drug and alcohol free when they enter the program and stay that way.

If they stumble, they are out on the street. That said, people are given a second chance to return to the program if they stop using.

The bottom line is it forces most to realize that they are putting drugs and/or alcohol, ahead of their children.

Robust case management that includes working with clients to help them to make better financial decisions, working on behavioral factors that contributed to them ending up being homeless, along with mentoring for life skills make a major difference.

Many often have jobs when they become homeless but due to money managing skills or other issues, end up  not being able to cover all costs including rent.

Because of HOPE Family Shelters’ approach that allows it to enjoy an unusually high success rate, securing federal and state grants is daunting..

 The non-profit formed by the Manteca Ministerial Association in 1993 relies on corporate and private donations for 90 percent of its annual budget.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com