We often share stories of the clients who move out of homelessness and into permanent housing. Afterall, that's our mission and vision: to end homelessness in south Orange County one person at a time. And we do that by finding permanent housing solutions for each person who walks through our doors. But housing is just the beginning. Friendship Shelter provides wrap-around supportive services for each individual in our housing program to ensure
they live there safely, stably, and permanently.
That's where Jennifer comes in...
Jennifer began working at Friendship Shelter just last year and quickly became the Supportive Services Supervisor in one of our permanent housing sites. In this role, Jennifer's job is to ensure that the clients who live in that housing community have the tools and resources they need to maintain their housing.
Supportive services look different for each person, and we employ an individual approach to working with each client. For some, it's a helpful reminder
to pay their rent on time, for others it's assistance getting to doctor's appointments or the food bank for weekly groceries.
Jennifer embodies Friendship Shelter's "whatever it takes" spirit helping the people she works with each day feel safe and supported in their new homes. This job is not an easy one and often brings unique day-to-day challenges working with vulnerable people coming out of homelessness. Jennifer said: "There is a huge stigma around working with this population. Many people do not u
nderstand the work it takes to house these individuals and how many parties get involved. All of our clients are seeking some type of help. We are able
to support them and meet their individual needs...
"Friendship Shelter helps provide the tools needed to create a successful life for our clients."
Our clients are not perfect and they have all gone through challenges to get where they are now. Many do not have the basic tools in life that can support them in becoming who they want to be."
It's only through the professionalism and dedication of our remarkable team that we're able to welcome 100 new people Home for Good each year. And, it's through the generous support of our community that our organization is able to grow to meet the changing needs of south Orange County.
Your support not only helps us move our most vulnerable neighbors out of homelessness and into housing, but it allows us to recruit and retain professional staff while offering fair and competitive compensation. Staffing stability builds trust with our clients, and doesn't happen overnight. Jennifer and her colleagues work diligently over time to develop lasting relationships with the people in our housing sites making it possible to help them stay safely housed, permanently ending their homelessness.
This work simply wouldn't be possible with staff burnout and high turnover, which is unfortunately what we're seeing across the housing and homelessness sector nationwide. We often say that at Friendship Shelter our “secret sauce” is our people. It’s the frontline staff who show up to work each day to do whatever it takes to end homelessness in our community. It’s our housing clients who have shown resilience in the face of challenge and change. And it’s you – our supporters – who give us your vote of confidence that we do all we can to ensure our clients are cared for while we work to permanently end homelessness for each person who walks through our doors.
Please click below to learn more about our efforts and to support this life-saving work. Every dollar we raise directly impacts our ability to strengthen our organization, our housing communities, and the larger community through helping our most vulnerable neighbors access – and sustain – their housing...for Good.