DPSS Annual Report 24_25 FLIP v16_compressed

Self-Sufficiency Division

Assistant Director’s Message

Every day, Self Sufficiency teams meet Riverside County

residents at pivotal and challenging moments.

Allison Gonzalez

Riverside County residents come to us seeking stability, safety and a chance to move forward, and our staff respond with skill, compassion and a deep com mitment to service. Through food as sistance, health care coverage, housing support and job training, the Self-Suf ficiency Division this fiscal year helped nearly a million people. Every journey matters. Edwin Mendoza, a father of eight and CalWORKs partici pant, earned his Information Technology certificate through our partnership with the Riverside County Office of Education School of Career Education. He hopes his success will inspire his own children to reach for their dreams, demonstrating how perseverance, supported by part nership, can reshape a family’s future. After encounters with the justice sys tem, Ashley Avendano entered the Welfare to Work program focused on rebuilding her life. With guidance from her counselors, she completed the ex pungement process, gained hands-on training through Work Experience and is now employed full time with a Riverside

County agency. She calls herself “an ex ample of what’s possible when someone chooses to change.”

Partnerships within DPSS are equally vital. Through Linkages, a father with an active child welfare case, also navigating behavioral health and substance use dis orders, received coordinated support to rebuild stability, secure employment and renew his relationship with his son. His progress underscores how economic mobility, safety and healing are connect ed. The 2024/25 Annual Report provides insight into lives uplifted through the dedication of Self Sufficiency teams. The achievements of our customers and staff reflect the persistence, com passion and professionalism that define this division and the outcomes that are possible when staff and partners work together on behalf of individuals and families. Assistant Director Self-Sufficiency Division Allison Gonzalez

When the apartment where Marisela Pescador’s family lived was sold and left her with nowhere to live, coordinated support from Self Sufficiency and Hous ing and Workforce Solutions helped her regain stability. At the 29th Annual Valley Wide Employment Expo, Julian Rivera found opportunity when he landed a new job at a local golf resort that very same day. Through food assistance, health care coverage, housing support and job training, the Self-Sufficiency Division this fiscal year helped nearly a million people.

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Riverside County Department of Public Social Services | Annual Report 2024 - 2025