Family Assistance Ministries
PROGRAMS
Permanent Housing
Permanent Supportive Housing serves clients in need of long-term housing. FAM’s program currently houses 10 clients in their own apartments, with FAM serving as the master leaseholder and subcontractor for PSH. Case management provides supportive services to ensure that clients have the support they need to remain housed.
Success for these housing programs comes when formerly homeless individuals and families are able to maintain their housing and avoid returning to homelessness. Currently in Orange County, there is a 97% success rate for Permanent Supportive Housing.
Food Pantry
All people coming to FAM for help receive nutritious food choices. FAM volunteers pick up near-expiration-date food that grocery stores and restaurants can no longer sell, with 150 of these fresh food rescue runs each week. We also receive food, personal care items, and volunteer support from community partners. FAM then redistributes this food to hungry people in our community. This assistance meets immediate hunger needs, promotes healthier living, and helps children to perform better in school. It also means our clients can redirect the funds they would have spent on food towards other necessary expenses like rent and medical bills. FAM has developed programs to address specialized food needs. For example, our Senior Care program meets age-specific dietary requirements. FAM satellite locations allow us to provide food to hungry families with limited transportation by offering food distribution closer to their homes.
The overall goal of FAM’s hunger relief efforts is to help vulnerable individuals and families regain food stability. Many clients are able to regain stability after one visit, with short-term food assistance and financial counsel. Others, particularly those dealing with deeper challenges including serious illness, unemployment, underemployment, or death of a family member require more assistance to stabilize.Additionally, FAM's Hunger Relief program works towards building healthier communities. Food insecurity causes people to be at risk of a variety of health concerns: anxiety, depression, malnutrition, obesity, and more. Many of our clients are focused on meeting basic needs such as food and shelter, do not prioritize health care or recognize its importance in achieving stability, or simply do not have the financial resources to seek health care. Providing people with nutritious food options helps to address each of these challenges.
Interim/Transitional Housing
Gilchrist House is a 23-bed interim/transitional shelter located in southern Orange County serving homeless mothers with children and single homeless women. They come to us stressed and scared, sometimes fleeing domestic violence and living in places not meant for human habitation. Many are in need of services for substance abuse, domestic violence, mental health, or employment services. It is challenging for homeless women to locate and secure housing on their own, especially within Orange County where there is a lack of affordable housing for single-income households. The focus is to provide safe shelter to women and children, help them secure permanent housing, and provide ongoing wraparound services as needed upon completion of the program. As of August 2024, 1,019 women and children have been safely sheltered and provided services to achieve permanent housing through Gilchrist House.
Gilchrist House fills a gap for services within Orange County for shelter for women not eligible for needs-specific programs. Most of the women served at Gilchrist House do not have a qualifying disability that would make them eligible for Permanent Supportive Housing. By filling this gap in services, Gilchrist House Interim/Transitional Shelter is an important part of the county’s continuum of care. The ultimate goal is to help women experiencing homelessness secure and maintain their own housing.
Emergency/FAMily Shelter
FAMily House is the only emergency shelter for families in south Orange County. It is a 36-bed shelter for homeless families with children. It opened in March of 2017. Most area shelters only accept women with children, which means fathers often must separate from their families to have the children safely sheltered. Since inception through August 2024, 686 people have been safely sheltered here. This program has low entry barriers. Families receive safe shelter for typically 30 to 90 days in order to be matched with permanent housing. Case Managers ensure that each child under the age of 5 is offered developmental screenings and that the whole family has access to healthcare coverage, is linked to a health home, and has access to mental health, dental, and vision care. The families are also provided with nutritious food choices, financial counseling, one-on-one case management, clothing, personal care items, workforce development, and are linked with Cal Fresh and other services to help create a stable-life plan.
FAMily House addresses the need for emergency shelter in Orange County for homeless families with children. Specifically, it fills the critical need for shelter that allows fathers to stay with their families.
A second long-term need met at FAMily House is to improve access to healthcare. Due to homelessness, families entering the program have frequently not had access to proper nutrition, healthcare, or developmental screenings, and are experiencing high levels of anxiety and stress. FAM case managers assess the healthcare status of families, and work to reduce or eliminate barriers to care.
Finally, FAMily House helps these vulnerable families to be matched with permanent housing. FAM's case managers meet with clients as often as needed to determine what their particular challenges are, and help them become document-ready for a permanent housing match through the county's Coordinated Entry System.
Client Aid
Since 1999, FAM’s Client Aid Program has helped those who are homeless or at immediate risk of homelessness regain housing stability. All clients meet with a case manager. They work together to develop a plan for stabilizing, including financial counsel and creation of a working budget. The first goal is diversion: if possible, to keep clients out of the system by uniting them with a support network. During these sessions, case managers also inquire about the healthcare status of clients, provide care coordination, and offer workforce development services. Depending on circumstances, clients may be offered financial aid for critical needs, including rental assistance to avoid eviction, utility assistance to avoid shutoff or resume services, medical and prescription assistance, and transportation assistance in the form of bus passes, gas vouchers, and vehicle repair. Need is verified and paid directly to service providers.
The goal of the program is to help clients regain housing stability. For those who are homeless, diversion helps them reconnect with a support team and reduces dependency on social services. For those who are housed but are at risk of becoming homeless, providing support to remain housed has proven to be more cost-effective, helps clients avoid the emotional and financial stress of becoming homeless, and has demonstrated greater long-term success than the efforts that are required once somebody becomes homeless.
CONTACT
Family Assistance Ministries
1000 Calle Cordillera
San Clemente, CA 92673
FAM
Phone: 949-492-8477