Freedom House

We first establish a physical Street Life facility, then take people off the street who we’ve built relationships with, put them in housing provided by our partners, assign them a case worker to work with them directly, and provide classes to help them conquer addiction and find employment.

San Mateo County has smaller shelters and programs, but none like this — a holistic, faith-based approach that heals addiction, provides job skills, and helps secure housing. A major challenge for programs is getting people to join, but after 20+ years of building trust with those on the streets, we already have individuals ready to enter — we just need to open the program.

Homelessness is often caused by drug addiction and mental illness, which numb the pain but destroy lives, making escape difficult. Without basic needs like hygiene, transportation, or proper interview attire, finding and keeping a job is also challenging. That’s why we prioritize helping people get clean and sober first, then focus on housing and employment.

~$27,900 for one year, helping them become a full participating member of our community. If we do nothing and leave someone on the streets, it costs society an estimated $830,000 over the next 10 years, according to a Santa Clara County study.

We’ll start with a smaller number of participants, but once it gets going we anticipate up to 20 to 30 people per year. We’ll regularly share stories and interviews from people in the program, so you can share in their successes.

We’ve worked closely in partnership with established organizations like LifeMoves to base our program on ones proven to work. Studies of similar faith-based addiction recovery programs, such as Adult & Teen Challenge, have shown strong results — a 2019 study surveying 340 graduates found 78% remained sober and substance-free following graduation.