It's Not About Shelters
"It's not about shelters—it's about keeping people in their homes," said a speaker at a summit on family homelessness sponsored by San Diego Grantmakers (SDG) and SANDAG in February 2009. Without a home, you can't look for a job. Without a home and a place to study, kids struggle to pass tests. More families than ever before are doubled up, living in a friend's garage or in their car. In San Diego County 6,200 children are identified as homeless or at risk. Entire families are uprooted and struggling.
Coming Together
The SDG Homelessness Working Group (HWG) asked, "How can private and public organizations come together to prevent family homelessness?" With American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money on the table, for the first time ever the county, cities, and public agencies were invited by the HWG to develop common strategy and apply for ARRA funds together. Ten people came to the first meeting.
More agencies and cities showed up at the next meeting to work together to attract this new funding for our region. Around the table, the group collaboratively developed a regional model — health and human services folks from Oceanside were sitting down with folks from Chula Vista to get things done.
$13 Million Gained
Sacramento officials overseeing homelessness prevention recovery dollars were impressed, saying the San Diego county strategy was ahead of the game. In fact $13 million came into the region as a result of this collaborative effort to keep children and families in their homes.
How Did Philanthropy Make a Difference?
The San Diego Grantmakers HWG stepped into a new arena by facilitating and supporting this public-private coalition, venturing where grantmakers, government and nonprofit agencies had never gone before. As a result, more people will have a roof over their heads. It is an exciting beginning for what will be a very productive working relationship on behalf of San Diego's kids and families, as the Homelessness Working Group continues to join with its partners in the fight to end family homelessness in our region. |
