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Ending Family Homelessness Initiative

Overview

It is our belief that our Ending Family Homelessness Initiative is breaking new ground in creating new approaches to this issue in Sonoma County. Our working group of community-benefit organizations is committed to making the current episode of a family’s homelessness its final one, and for some, we are finding ways to prevent it altogether.

In Sonoma County, approximately half of the 2,200 officially-recorded homeless people are in families with dependent children, the great majority of which are headed by single mothers. Two-thirds of these families have been homeless for over a year. Four out of every ten homeless families are unsheltered.

The lack of affordable housing for very poor and disabled people is only the tip of the iceberg. Complex factors involving alcohol and drugs, mental health, domestic violence, unemployment and job retraining are significant factors. Perhaps the most important public misconception is that homeless people are the problem. In reality, it is homelessness that is the larger topic in our society.

While no single program can wipe out homelessness, we have embarked upon a five-year plan to rethink, recast and refocus on a significantly different approach to this chronic problem.

Our goal is to provide the leadership in creating a strongly-aligned, collaborative community of service providers in this undertaking. We will examine existing assumptions, deepen our understanding of root causes, clearly define measurable outcomes and increase individual donors’ support to address family homelessness in Sonoma County.

What Community Foundation Sonoma County is doing

1. Series of Convenings

Since 2008, we’ve hosted ten meetings of community-benefit organizations (representing six programs) that provide long-term support to homeless families. Guided by an independent facilitator, our goal is to examine existing assumptions, delve further into causal factors, encourage alignment with and focus on uniform outcomes and design a system that follows clients for five years. By building a new model for a countywide system of care, we can significantly change program impact and, at the same time, develop a generic template for convenings on any community issue.

Our community-benefit partners are:

Catholic Charities
Committee on the Shelterless (COTS) in Petaluma
Community Action Partnership
Women’s Recovery Services
YWCA

Early results:

New funder/grantee relationships that emphasize equal collaboration
A strongly-aligned team of service providers
Identification of new major risk factors
Jointly-developed strategies for interventions
Quantifiable measures that will guide program work and goals

2. Quantifiable Measures

Working together, the partners developed goals for homeless families entering into transitional housing through one of their programs. Selected examples are:

95% of families link with a personal growth resource within six months to build resilience against homelessness
80% of parents will take an active role in their children’s education
95% of families will remain housed after one year
75% of families will move directly into permanent housing at 18-24 months

3. Five-Year Initiative

Our five-year initiative has these objectives:

Build skills and resiliency of homeless families to prevent recurrence
Gain deeper understanding of the multi-generational nature of chronic poverty and homelessness
Develop solutions to break this cycle
Increase effectiveness of homeless programs
Identify major gaps in homeless family services
Develop responses to fill these gaps
Implement effective prevention and early intervention strategies
Develop an advocacy agenda for policy changes to systems that impede homeless solutions

4. Initiative Funding Goals

Our goal is to raise $200,000 annually to fund the Ending Family Homelessness Initiative and related grants. For more information, contact J Mullineaux, Vice President for Development at 707.303.9620.

Get Involved

All of our community-benefit partners provide essential services, including long-term support programs to families who are homeless. Visit their websites below to learn more and get involved.

Learn More

Contact Robert Judd, Vice President for Programs, at 707.303.9615.

Catholic Charities
Committee on the Shelterless (COTS) in Petaluma
Community Action Partnership
Women’s Recovery Services
YWCA

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