Program Summary

Are you experiencing homelessness?

Learn about shelter options and how to access services here.

I was determined to find a place to call home and I felt deeply supported by the people I worked with at Housing Matters.”
Jenny, Housing Matters program participant

Read our Case Statement

for a detailed summary of all the programs and services Housing Matters offers.

Read here

Housing First

All of our programs follow the Housing First model, an evidence-based approach to ending homelessness that starts with helping people move into stable housing with no preconditions or barriers to entry. Once housed, participants work closely with program case managers to address the issues that led to their homelessness, whether those issues be related to physical or mental health, employment, or substance use disorder.

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Direct Services

Many of our services are free and open to the entire community, regardless of participation in a housing or employment program.

We offer hot showers daily, restrooms that are open 24/7, and a mailroom where people who don’t have a permanent address can get their mail.

Shelter Programs

Housing Matters operates three emergency shelter programs on our Coral Street campus. While each of these shelters serves a different population, all are designed to provide a safe place to sleep and regroup while working with a case manager to find stable housing.

Collectively, our shelters provide beds for about 180 individuals on any given night, which accounts for nearly half of the emergency shelter beds available in all of Santa Cruz County.

Housing Programs

Numerous and varied, our housing programs provide longer-term support to get people stably housed and keep them housed, including specific services for families with children, veterans, and people with disabling conditions. Housing Matters also administers State- and County-funded programs that provide employment training, move-in assistance, and help reuniting families with children

Supportive Housing

Housing Matters opened 7 units of permanent—and supportive—housing for people experiencing chronic homelessness in September 2023 and a further 120-units are in development.

Learn more about Casa Azul
Learn More about Harvey West Studios