Homeless Support Services
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| Second Chance serves the homeless population in terms of accessing
housing, whether short-term or long- term through outreach, case management,
advocacy, and service coordination. There are three programs that Second
Chance administers in an attempt to help individuals out of the pit of homeless
and empower them to get plugged back into the mainsteam of society.
The first program, Health Care For The Homeless, serves people who are currently homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless, or are in a temporary living situation which includes, but is not limited to, shelters, friends, relatives or in places judged to be unfir for habitation. Services under this component include benefits counseling, medical and dental referrals, drug and/or alcohol referrals (both in-patient and out-patient), mental health referrals to County and private mental health agencies. Referrals to job training centers and job workshops are given as appropriate. If participants are not job ready we will attempt to hook them up with educational institutions appropriate to their needs. Advocates work closely with participants in developing a plan that meet the needs of each individual. Shelter Plus Care is the second of our homeless programs and serves a smaller population. Shelter Plus Care is designed to help chronically homeless individuals, i.e. those with a homeless history of two years or more and thirty days on the street prior to contact with our agency. They must also have a diagnosis of one of the following disabilities: 1) Positive for HIV or AIDS, 2) Chronic drug or alcohol abuse, or 3) Chronic psychiatric disability. The disability must interfere with their ability to get and keep permanent housing and participants must engage in support services the entire time they are in the program. If an individual completes the application with our outreach staff and is approved, an Oversight and Placement committee (OPC) determines the type of housing the applicant will receive. The OPC assigns an agency within the system (Second Chance) to coordinate services for the household. This is a subsidized housing program wherein the participant pays thirty percent of their income for rent and the Shelter Plus Care program pays the balance, provided the participant continues in treatment to address issues identified as concerns during the initial an intake. The third and final program, RISE, is strictly dedicated to assisting homeless individuals with a verifiable disability and as little as one-day homeless locate permanent housing. Services may include housing search, tenant landlord relationship mediation, crisis intervention, home visits, eviction prevention and counseling services as needed for the participant to obtain and maintain permanent housing. Special attention is given to homeless veterans.
For more information about any of these programs, contact Vicki Cabral or Cynthia Hintz at (510) 792-4357. |