4 Nonprofits That Assist People in Need in Santa Barbara
Last spring, many
Santa Barbara residents participated in an initiative that sent several hundred
volunteers out into the community in order to determine the extent of the
county’s homeless population. While the city itself has provided housing to a
multitude of men, women, children,
and veterans over the last few years, the number of individuals in need residing
within the county still numbers 1,455, according to a recent survey.
Seeking to provide
housing and other necessary resources to people in need in Santa Barbara and the
surrounding county, the following local nonprofits welcome homeless men, women,
and children:
Casa Esperanza
The shelter Casa Esperanza is among the largest on California’s
South Coast, and recently paired with the Los Angeles-based nonprofit People
Assisting the Homeless (PATH) in order to help a larger number of people off of
the streets. In addition to the fundraising efforts that it sponsors to raise
money to combat homelessness, Casa Esperanza also serves as transitional
housing.
In order to access
the organization’s resources, applicants must have previously resided in Santa
Barbara for at least six months. In addition, they must make a commitment to
remain sober during their stay at the shelter. Once an individual opts for
interim housing at Casa Esperanza, he or she may participate in a wide range of
on-site programs and services, including job development programs, mental
health programs, and men’s and women’s support groups.
Additionally, Casa
Esperanza operates a community kitchen where residents receive three meals per
day, adding up to nearly 144,000 meals each year. The kitchen also functions as
a distribution center that collects and allots food to other local nonprofit
kitchens that help feed populations in need within the community.
Santa Barbara Street Medicine
Founded in 2005,
the local charity Santa Barbara Street Medicine focuses on providing resources to the local homeless population
through volunteer physicians. Comprised of volunteers with medical and non-medical
experience, Santa Barbara Street Medicine is the local chapter of a larger
organization that provides medical care to men, women, and children in need, as
well as survivors of natural disasters.
Although the
nonprofit is established in the form of clinics in the areas of Isla Vista and
Alameda, the medical volunteers also participate in clinical work in areas such
as Pershing Park near the Santa Barbara Harbor. This form of street medicine
involves making rounds throughout downtown equipped with medical instruments
and medication. This kind of medical practice is performed in the interest of caring
for men and women who may not have the physical capability to walk to one of
the charity’s freestanding clinics.
Santa Barbara
Street Medicine takes health care one step further through its operation of the
Women’s Free Homeless Clinic, a place where women in need can find resources to
treat various physical and mental health ailments. Those who look to the clinic
for help can also get assistance in accessing other community resources to protect
them from abusive conditions.
Santa Barbara Rescue Mission
A faith-based
emergency shelter, the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission (SBRM) focuses the majority
of its funding and resources on helping residents to overcome drug and alcohol
addiction. Of the available beds at the mission, 100 are reserved specifically
for men, a group which studies have suggested comprises the vast majority of
the single homeless population.
At the SBRM, both
men and women who stay overnight can store their luggage, take a nightly
shower, attend chapel services, and receive both breakfast and dinner. Those
who enroll in the organization’s year-long recovery programs are provided with
a support network and educational plans designed to see them through the
grueling process of coping with and overcoming alcohol and drug dependency.
The Mission also provides
outpatient services several times a week in areas such as couples counseling,
family support groups, relapse prevention, and many other mental health-related
conditions.
Transition House
For over 30 years,
Transition House has focused on providing families a place to stay for up to
four months when they find themselves faced with homelessness. Families who
stay at Transition House participate in one of three programs designed to help
them operate independently again in a home of their own.
The nonprofit’s
first option allows families to stay for up to four months in the
organization’s emergency housing shelter, where they are provided with shelter,
food, and childcare. Additionally, parents receive case management services
that help them identify and implement strategies that will put them on the path
to a stable career.
Under the second
housing option, families may apply to live in one of the low-cost apartments
owned by Transition House, where they continue to work with a case manager in
an effort to build a career with a sustainable income. In this way, the
nonprofit helps the family accrue a savings through professional development,
enabling the family to eventually reach a position in which they can
comfortably move into a market-rate home of their own.
Another program at
Transition House aims to prevent homelessness by providing financial support to
parents from families with low incomes in the form of cash rental assistance.
As in the other options, the goal is to help parents in families threatened by
homelessness to pursue and hold down a job that allows them to improve their
family’s economic circumstances.
