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
our programs
Housing Matters is one of many agencies providing health and human services in Santa Cruz County. We offer housing navigation, case management, emergency shelter, and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness.
Are you looking for services? Click here to learn more.
Learn more about changes to Day Services.
Interim Housing (On-Campus)
Welcoming, comfortable, and safe, interim housing can be life-changing for those who are able to access it. However, the need in our county is much greater than we are able to meet, with approximately 80% of our local homeless population living unsheltered.
Rebele Family Shelter
The Rebele Family Shelter (RFS) offers interim housing for unhoused families with children under 18, providing apartment-style units with private bathrooms with showers, daily meals, and shared spaces for connection and play. While at RFS, families work closely with case managers who offer housing navigation and coordinate access to services such as employment counseling, health care, childcare, and benefits enrollment. As one of the only low-barrier family shelters in Santa Cruz County, RFS can accommodate up to 58 people at a time, helping families move toward long-term stability.
The Loft
The Loft provides a safe, temporary place to sleep for up to 57 adults experiencing homelessness, offering gender-specific dorms and individual sleeping cabins. Open to all genders, the cabins and dorms support adults actively working toward permanent housing in partnership with our team. Guests receive three meals a day while working with case managers to access housing navigation, employment readiness, healthcare, and benefits enrollment.
Recuperative Care Center
The Recuperative Care Center (RCC) is a medical respite program that supports up to 20 individuals recovering from serious health events after being discharged from local medical facilities. RCC helps reduce recovery time and prevent hospital readmissions. The ultimate goal is to connect each guest with either permanent housing or a skilled nursing facility, depending on their needs.
Do You Need Shelter?
The best way to learn about shelter availability and find a shelter that is right for you is to come to a Service Navigation Workshop.
Tuesdays 1pm – 3pm
Felton Public Library
6121 Gushee St, Felton
Wednesdays 3pm – 5pm
Vets Hall
846 Front St, Santa Cruz
Thursdays 1pm – 3pm
Santa Cruz Public Library
224 Church St, Santa Cruz
Our service navigation team will carefully listen to your individual situation and help you get connected with the services you need.
You can also make an appointment by calling us at (831) 458-6020 and press 2 to leave a message for the Service Navigation Team.
Interim Housing (Off-Campus)
Interim housing offers people a stable place to stay while reducing the use of emergency services like hospitals and urgent care. Guests receive comprehensive case management, housing navigation, supportive services, three meals a day, private space, laundry, and access to the full range of resources available to all Housing Matters participants.
Live Oak Landing
Live Oak Landing provides 20 beds of interim housing as part of the Encampment Resolution Program (ERP) to support adults and couples transitioning out of encampments on their pathway to permanent, stable housing. A safe and stable place to stay while individuals work toward securing stable housing reduces the stress and vulnerability associated with experiencing street homelessness.
Behavioral Health Bridge House
The Behavioral Health Bridge Housing (BHBH) program, operated but not owned by Housing Matters, addresses another critical need: the intersection of homelessness and behavioral health. This 32-bed center in mid-county will provide interim housing with integrated behavioral health services provided by the County of Santa Cruz. Developed with input from people with lived experience. This center is designed for individuals whose behavioral health needs have been a barrier to accessing care and housing. It will be the first of its kind in Santa Cruz County and will operate through a referral system.
Supportive Services
All of our programs and services are offered with the same goal in mind — to help people move towards stable, long-term housing as quickly as possible.
Supportive Services are programs that are offered county-wide to help people move into stable housing.
Permanent Supportive Housing
Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) is an evidence-based housing intervention that combines affordable housing with healthcare and other supportive services to help people experiencing chronic homelessness lead more stable lives.
180 Together
This County-wide collaborative of local agencies and community nonprofits works toward housing chronically homeless individuals.
Working closely with the Santa Cruz Housing Authority, representatives from participating community organizations connecting unhoused adults (who are often disabled or medically vulnerable) with housing vouchers. Additionally, the program coordinates housing navigation services, access to medical and mental health care, and other essential resources to help people stay housed.
Casa Azul
Located right across from campus, Casa Azul provides permanent supportive housing for medically vulnerable people who previously were experiencing chronic homelessness. This two-story Victorian — purchased in 2019 — has undergone a major renovation to transform it from a single-family home into seven units of permanent supportive housing. We opened the doors of this new facility in October 2023.
Harvey West Studios
Harvey West Studios will provide 120 single-occupancy units of supportive housing specifically for people experiencing chronic homelessness. Harvey West Studios will be the largest Permanent Supportive Housing facility in Santa Cruz County.
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.
Read our Annual Reports for impact data, financial overviews, and more.
