During the winter months San Diego's homeless are in their time of greatest need. With few open beds and over 10,000 homeless individuals living in San Diego most go without a warm and dry place to sleep. Due to the recession, many more families and young children have found themselves on the streets instead of in a warm bed. Below please find a few giving opportunities to improve the lives of these families. Please feel free to recommend a grant to any of these organizations via return e-mail or through the online Donor Central system.

Interfaith Community Services
www.interfaithservices.org

ICS serves thousands of homeless and needy individuals and families of all ages and backgrounds in the North County each year including veterans, seniors, women who have been abused and the mentally ill. The organization  provides a full array of services including daily hot meals, emergency shelter, transitional housing, counseling and case management and employment information and referral. This year, they are seeing more recently returned military and formerly middle class families now in need

Veteran's Village of San Diego
www.vvsd.net

The Veteran's Village operates a temporary housing shelter in the Sports Arena area, serving more than 2,000 veterans in addition to year-round case management services. The seasonal shelter program is the entry point for many homeless veterans to a continuum of supportive services that create credible and long-lasting recovery from homelessness.

Alpha Project
www.alphaproject.org

Alpha Project was selected to operate the City's only emergency shelter for single adults. The shelter operates from mid-November to mid-March and provides shelter and services to over 1,000 different men and women.
Although the primary focus of the Winter Shelter Program is to shelter participants from the elements during the coldest and wettest period of the year, the program also offers a comprehensive blend of services to assist participants to establish their own self-sufficiency.