Frequently asked questions
Questions, answered.
For residents, donors, partner organizations, and anyone curious about what we are building and why. If your question isn’t here, email press@guardiansofsolano.com.
For residents
Is this safe to use?
Yes. You do not need to provide your real name to access the resource map or the document-prep tools. Sign-in uses a phone number or email only — no password, no ID required. We do not share your information with law enforcement, immigration enforcement, or any agency that could use it against you. Every page has a Safety Exit button that takes you to a neutral site immediately if you need to leave quickly. If you have a concern about a specific piece of information you provided, email press@guardiansofsolano.com and we will help you remove it.
Will my data be sold?
No. We do not sell, rent, share, or monetize resident data. That commitment is structural, not just policy: the platform has no integration with any data broker or marketing-attribution system. The database schema contains no fields for the data that would enable the abuses people most reasonably worry about. Vercel platform analytics are disclosed on /privacy. If you want to delete your account and all associated data, you have that right under the California Privacy Rights Act — the process is at /privacy.
What if I don't have ID?
You do not need ID to use the resource map, the document-prep tools, or to find services in the area. Some services listed on the map may require ID for their own programs — we note that in each resource entry where we know it. Document-prep wizards for CalFresh and County General Assistance do ask for some identifying information as part of the official application process, but that information goes to the county — not to us. We hold application data for up to 30 days then purge it.
What if I don't speak English?
The platform is available in English, Spanish (Español), and Tagalog (Filipino). Use the language selector at the top of any page to switch. If a resource on the map serves speakers of a specific language, we note it in the resource details. If you need a language not listed and a partner organization can help, contact us at press@guardiansofsolano.com. Language coverage is an ongoing effort — the current coverage research is in our public documents.
What if I'm in crisis right now?
The crisis bar at the top of every page has direct numbers: 211 (local social services), 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline), and the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233). These are staffed 24/7 and do not require you to use the platform at all. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. Guardians of the AV is a coordination and resource tool — it is not a crisis line and it is not a substitute for emergency services.
For donors
Are donations tax-deductible?
Not yet — but the path is underway. Guardians of the AV is a grassroots project of Aaron and Anadora Turner. We are pursuing a fiscal-sponsorship arrangement with Social Good Fund (EIN 46-1323531), a 501(c)(3) public charity, which would allow donors to give to Social Good Fund earmarked for this project and receive a 501(c)(3) tax receipt. Counter-signature is pending. In parallel, we are filing to incorporate Guardians of the AV, Inc. as a stand-alone 501(c)(3), with a Determination Letter target of Q2 2027. We will update this answer when either path is in place.
How do I know my money helps?
The live counter at /today shows the current platform activity — credits issued, resources accessed, verified partner organizations. Right now those numbers are 0; Phase 0 is the depth-not-breadth phase. Donations in Phase 0 fund operating costs: Vercel hosting, Supabase database, Twilio messaging, and the time cost of clinical-validation interviews. When Phase 1 begins, every dollar of program spend will be reported in the annual Form 990. Our source code will be made public when we exit Phase 0; the repo is currently private — and our methods, ethics, and data practices are documented across this site.
What's the platform fee on donations?
Stripe charges a standard payment processing fee (2.9% + 30¢ per transaction). We do not add a platform fee on top of that. You have the option at checkout to cover the processing fee yourself so that 100% of your intended gift reaches the program. Donation receipts are emailed automatically. If you do not receive one within 24 hours, contact press@guardiansofsolano.com.
Who decides how donations are spent?
During Phase 0, Aaron Turner (founder) holds financial-commitment decision rights under the founding charter §4.1, with a cap of under $25,000. All operating expenses are disclosed in the annual report and will be line-itemed in the Form 990 once Guardians of the AV, Inc. is recognized. When an independent board is seated (Phase 1.5), financial governance transitions to that board. The founding charter, the entity-structure decision, and the compensation framework are all public — see /transparency.
For partner organizations
How does our organization join?
Partner onboarding is in active development. The current path: email press@guardiansofsolano.com with your organization name, the populations you serve, and a contact name. We will schedule a 30-minute call to walk through the platform, the data-processing agreement, and the credit-issuance workflow. Phase 0 partner onboarding is targeted at 4 or more organizations in Lancaster and Palmdale. We are not yet onboarding statewide. Formal partner-onboarding tools launch in Phase 1.
What data do you collect from us?
From partner organizations: organization name, contact details, service categories, hours of operation, and the credentials of staff members who are authorized to issue credits. No patient data, no case-management data, no clinical records. The platform is designed to sit beside your HMIS system, not inside it. The partner data-processing agreement (available on request) specifies exactly what we collect, how we store it, how long we keep it, and your rights to audit, correct, or remove it. We do not sell partner data. We do not share it with other partner organizations without your written consent.
What if we want to leave the platform?
You can terminate the partner relationship at any time. The partner data-processing agreement specifies the offboarding process: your organization data is removed from the platform within the published SLA, credit-issuance authority for your staff is revoked immediately on notice, and any resident referral pipelines pointing to your organization are redirected or removed. Credits already issued by your staff remain valid for residents until their expiry date — we work with you on the transition window. The full offboarding runbook is at docs/partners/partner_continuity_protocol.md on GitHub.
For curious visitors
How are you set up — are you a registered nonprofit yet?
We’re starting as a small grassroots project of Aaron and Anadora Turner, pursuing a fiscal-sponsorship arrangement with Social Good Fund (a California 501(c)(3), EIN 46-1323531) while we form our own 501(c)(3), Guardians of the AV, Inc. Counter-signature is pending; once our fiscal-sponsor account is in place, donations will be tax-deductible through Social Good Fund. Starting a 501(c)(3) and clearing IRS Form 1023 determination takes 6–12 months; fiscal sponsorship lets the platform be live, in front of real people, and will let donors give tax-deductibly while that application proceeds in parallel. The founders’ full explanation is at /why-catalyst.
Why the Antelope Valley specifically?
There is a coordination problem on top of a money problem across the Antelope Valley: already-allocated funding can sit unspent while the people it is meant to reach fall through the gaps between agencies. That is exactly the problem this platform is built to address. The model is designed to extend to additional communities under per-city sub-brands; expansion is reserved to the future 501(c)(3) board, not to the founder alone.
What's different about Guardians of the AV vs. existing systems?
Coordinated Entry and HMIS systems are excellent at what they do: record-keeping for HUD-funded programs and prioritization for permanent supportive housing. They are not designed for residents to use directly, and they are not designed for the moment between formal intake events — the meal credit, the verified reliability record, the real-time resource map. Guardians of the AV is the layer between formal CES intake and the rest of a resident’s week. We feed CES; we do not compete with it. Our competitive landscape research lives at docs/pitch/competitive_landscape.md in our repository, which is currently private; that documentation will be published when the repo goes public as we exit Phase 0.
What happens to the platform if it fails or shuts down?
Three answers. The data answer: every resident has a CPRA right to delete their data; a wind-down ledger sends a final deletion-or-export window to every account holder before shutdown; resident data is purged within the published SLA. The credit answer: unredeemed credits are a partner-side obligation under the founding charter §3.2 — the partner-continuity protocol handles the transition. The shelve-trigger answer: the published Phase 0 success criteria name specific conditions under which the founders shelve the project (Anadora withdrawal, Sev-1 incident, no county-partner traction). The shelve playbook is public so the project’s failure mode is as legible as its success mode. See /transparency.