The Safe Parking program in Santa Barbara allows homeless neighbors to park their cars safely in 125 parking spaces within churches and nonprofits thought-out in the city. The vehicle is only at the parking space at night. The police know where each space is, so they are protected. Each person enrolled is part of the New Beginnings Counseling center’s case management program to move them towards permanent housing. Approximate 10 people per month are housed. http://sbnbcc.org/about-us/
Safe Haven Program: Twelve unhoused individuals are provided with a safe, interim place to sleep and store essential items, until they can be placed in permanent housing. The designated sleeping area, provided by the church, is outdoors and sheltered. The program equips each participant with a tent, cot, sleeping bag, and an emergency blanket to combat the cold. Personal belongings are stored in locked bicycle lockers, accessible round-the-clock, with the provision for setting up individual sleeping areas between 10:00 pm and 7:00 am. A porta-potty is also available 24/7. Each participant benefits from dedicated support from a caseworker and a housing advocate, ensuring they have access to medical, mental health, and other essential resources. This also facilitates their navigation through the complex process of acquiring sustainable, permanent housing. Participants adhere to a rigorous 21-point covenant and partake in weekly community meetings. See: https://www.thecflc.org/post/all-saints-pasadena-safe-haven-bridge-to-housing-program
Family Promise San Gabriel Valley. Family Promise has created a network of congregations across the western San Gabriel Valley that take turns providing housing, meals and hospitality one week at a time for homeless families admitted into the program. During the day, the children go to school; parents go to work or to the Family Promise HOPE Center, where case managers support them with assistance finding housing and work, along with any needed social services. They provide homeless children and their families a safe, supportive environment in which to get back on their feet. The congregations are all located within a 10-mile radius of the Family Promise HOPE Center in Rosemead. The program is very effective: more than 70 percent of families admitted into Family Promise affiliates nationwide find housing in about two months. http://www.familypromisesgv.org/about-us/
Imagine LA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to ending the cycle of family homelessness, poverty and neglect. We work within the Los Angeles area and the surrounding communities of Hollywood/Downtown, Inglewood, South LA, Pasadena, and the San Fernando Valley. Their professional staff train and guide volunteer mentor teams to help families go from barely surviving to thriving. Their innovative Family Empowerment & Mentorship Model trains, guide and matches teams of volunteers to work directly with a family. One team. One family. A lifetime of Change. http://www.imaginela.org/
Bridge to Hope National: A church-based model of ending homelessness by supporting friendships for lasting impact. The Bridge of Hope Neighborhood of Support is a three-way partnership that includes:
· Family Facing Homeless – typically a single woman and her children
· Case Manager - a professionally trained social worker employed by Bridge of Hope
· Neighboring Volunteers – six to ten people from a Christian Faith Community (church, Bible study, home church, etc.) who leverage their resources to provide tangible support, encouragement, and relationship to the family facing homelessness. See: http://bridgeofhopeinc.org/our-model/the-bridge-of-hope-model/