Probation leaders on the kitchen assembly line from left to right: Nikki Horton, operations support manager, Acting Division Chief Karna Lau, Division Chief Mindy MacCartney, and a St. Vincent de Paul volunteer on right. As part of the Probation Department’s recent Executive Leadership training, the team donned hair nets, aprons and plastic gloves and headed into two kitchens at St. Vincent de Paul’s Village to help serve hundreds of homeless and less fortunate people.

The outreach addressed part of the leadership branding initiative of service, commitment, and compassion, said Zory Rosario, Probation leadership trainer. To honor the slogan, the Probation Department looked into the community to find examples of service and decided to hold the training at St. Vincent de Paul Village because it is truly an inspiration of service and transforming lives, she said.

Probation leaders worked to prepare and serve lunch and drinks in the kitchen and also approached homeless people waiting at tables and offered to bring them their food.

Probation Chief Adolfo Gonzales and Marc Regier, policy advisor, carry lunch trays to people sitting in the cafeteria. In the background (L to R) Deputy Chief Scott Huizar, Division Chief Denise Huffhines, Nikki Horton, support manager, and Deputy Chief Lorraine Fernandez help serve food.Probation Chief Adolfo Gonzales said some of them had mobility issues and couldn’t stand long and others had dogs with them and were not permitted to approach the kitchen. So, he took their “orders,” got in line behind other people waiting, and returned with trays of food and drinks.

By 12:30 p.m., the group of about 25 Probation leaders had served more than 1,000 people --from families involved in the village programs to people off the street who lined up for a meal.

Gonzales said his staff were at St. Vincent de Paul’s Village as part of a planning workshop and took a break to help out.

“We wanted to give back to the community as part of an overall community engagement initiative that we’re doing. And we volunteered today to feed the homeless here at Father Joe’s Village. Some of the homeless people, veterans and others, some of them are our clients. So we want to make sure they understand that we support them and that we care about our community,” said Gonzales.

Other leaders, including Geoff Twitchell, director of treatment and clinical services, said, “The experience today is great, but it really is humbling. It brings you back to why you really do this work: to help people, and it’s nice to be able to connect with that again. It’s amazing how many people you can help when it’s coordinated.”