Designed to move families toward self-sufficiency and provide an opportunity for a healthy stable family life, Santa Fe Shelter provides a safe, secure home for families that would otherwise be living on the streets subject to the elements of Central Valley Winters. Santa Fe Homeless shelter provides food, bedding, blankets, towels, pots & pans, dishes, cleaning supplies & equipment, personal hygiene supplies, laundry facilities and other essential items for families to live in the shelter apartment units for up to four months. The Shelter opens annually on December 1st and operates during the winter months through March.

What distinguishes Santa Fe from other emergency shelters is the broad range of services designed to address common barriers with which homeless families are faced. Clients are provided individualized case management to assist them with the necessary steps to achieve their goal of obtaining employment, securing permanent housing and cultivating independence and accountability to stop the pattern that lead to poverty and homelessness.

Homeless men, women and families are part of an expanding, often faceless community. Prior to the 1980’s the sight of people living in cars, churches, shelters, streets or out in the woods was a distant memory of an unforgettable period in time. Never since the “Great Depression” has the percentage of people who are homeless been greater than it is today. Even more horrifying is the fact that homeless families with children are the largest growing segment of the homeless population. Homelessness robs children of hope and batters their spirit. It has a profound and accumulative negative effect on their development.

Since Inter-Faith Ministries opened the doors to Santa Fe Emergency Homeless Winter Shelter with 7 units in 2004, IFM has steadily grown the program. November of each year, IFM staff begins the task of applicant screening, interviewing families and drug testing. During the month of December, the shelter is a flurry of activity as the staff diligently completes the logistics of moving families into the units. For the 2007/2008 season Santa Fe opened with 22 units. The statistical highlights for the season are as follows:

1. 121 Individuals living at the shelter
2. 47 Adults
3. 74 Children (including minor and adult-over 18 children)
4. 14 single-female “head of household” with children were housed
5. 1 single-males with children were housed
6. 16 two-parent families with children were housed

Homelessness goes hand in hand with poverty. Unfortunately, the working poor, those men, women and families are often one hardship away from living on the street – loss of a job, an increase in rent or an illness is all it can take to join the ranks of the homelessness. And with the loss of an actual home, comes the loss of a person’s sense of safety, belonging and self-esteem. Fortunately, you can make a difference in the life of homeless family by making a donation to Inter-Faith Ministries and becoming our partner in combating homelessness.