The first step to finding community solutions for homelessness is education. Learn about homelessness in Santa Cruz County, read success stories of clients we’ve served, and dive into some national resources on understanding homelessness. As is often the case, there’s more than meets the eye.
The Center for Evidence-based Solutions to Homelessness is dedicated to ending and preventing homelessness by connecting research to practice. Their mission is to empower communities to plan and implement services for people experiencing homelessness on the basis of the strongest available evidence. Their site is a clearing house of great information on the latest research […]
By the end of their stay at Housing Matters’s Rebele Family Shelter, the Martinez family — Manny, Laura, and their 16-year-old daughter Ana — had rented a house in Watsonville. If you saw the family prior to this, however, you would witness the family camping on a dry river bed, following their eviction from their […]
All In – Toward a Home for Every County Resident represents a new vision for the Santa Cruz County community, a vision that everyone can share. All-In has eight strategic priorities that reflect local and national best practices to address homelessness. It was created over a full year of extensive community participation and feedback from […]
One day, Alex was going to give up. A veteran, Alex had had a stable life and an apartment on 30th Avenue. But over the course of several months, a series of personal crises forced him out of his home. Try as he might to find another place he could afford, he eventually found himself […]
As a volunteer at the Homeless Services Center, I have grown and learned so much from working alongside a team of dedicated staff. You will never find a more genuine and whole-hearted environment to be in. The people are very friendly and you never feel alone. There are a number of volunteer duties to take […]
The good news for Suzanne, a 61-year-old mother who had recently been discharged from the hospital, was that she was on almost a dozen waitlists for senior and affordable housing in the county. The bad news was some waitlists were years long, and Suzanne was unsure what she would do. Suzanne had been forced to […]
From the Santa Cruz Sentinel: The number of people who have died while homeless in Santa Cruz County jumped significantly this year, and advocates and community members gathered Tuesday at Homeless Services Center to remember the dead. Read the full story >
An Op-Ed submitted to the Santa Cruz Sentinel by Homeless Services Center Executive Director Phil Kramer. “Anyone who doubts shelter is a pathway to housing should meet Gary. He had been out of work for nine years due to an auto-immune illness…” Read the full op-ed >
Research conducted with 104,206 individuals in Santa Clara County between 2007 and 2012. It includes demographic and medical attributes, justice system history, health and human services provided, and the cost of services. This data shows the realities of the true cost to public and safety net systems of homelessness in Silicon Valley. Visit the Destination: […]