In the News
“Across the nation, older adults are slipping into homelessness at a rate only previously witnessed during the Great Depression. In California, seniors are the fastest-growing age group within the unhoused population.”
Read the full op-ed by ECS and The Curry Senior Center here.
“Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters, who represents the area, said one of the main differences between this effort and previous efforts to get anchor-outs off the bay is that it is more compassionate and holistic. The RBRA’s program connects participants with a caseworker, resources through the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services and a housing voucher through the Marin Housing Authority.”
“If we want to get serious about overdose prevention, we have to say the quiet part out loud: the vast majority of overdoses and overdose deaths take place inside people’s homes,” write ECS Executive Director Beth Stokes and HealthRight360 President and CEO Vitka Eisen in an op-ed for the San Francisco Examiner addressing the tragedy of rising overdose deaths. Our two community-based organizations point to proven, evidence-based strategies that are needed to put people on the path to drug recovery: universal access to Narcan (naxalone) for supportive housing sites and training to administer it for staff, residents, and peers, overdose prevention rooms within supportive housing, support for people who want to live in a drug-free environment, and properly funded, right-sized contracts enabling providers to bring critical behavioral health care resources to bear.”
“Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco will operate an overnight shelter at the Marin Health and Wellness Campus, 3240 Kerner Blvd., San Rafael.”
“Our community at large has a massive structural problem with homelessness and there are not enough place to sleep and eat,” explained Rev. Stephen McHale. “This is a little band-aid on a symptom of a massive problem, but it’s what we can do so we’re trying it.”
“The shelters are a community effort, both in terms of donations and volunteer help. Episcopal Community Services provides overnight staff, the City provides two-thirds of the funding required to keep it going, Christ Church raises the remaining one-third of the funding from donations and coordinates meals and showers. Next Level Painting prepped the shelter at no cost.”
“Each day, ECS and our partners in the nonprofit and government sectors offer housing and supportive services to thousands of San Franciscans experiencing homelessness, with great success — more than 95% of ECS’ 1,800 supportive housing residents remain housed year over year, permanently ending homelessness for the overwhelming majority of those we serve.”
Read ECS Executive Director Beth Stokes’ full SF Examiner op-ed.
“San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed unveiled the new Diva Hotel yesterday, a redeveloped facility supplying 122 homes for adults transitioning out of homelessness. The endeavor is a cooperative venture between the city and Episcopal Community Services (ECS), with funding from California’s Homekey program, as stated in the City and County of San Francisco announcement.”
“1064 Mission Street is one of San Francisco’s largest permanent supportive housing communities. Developed by Mercy Housing California and Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco (ECS), it features 256 affordable homes in a service-enriched environment, with residents having access to on-site clinical, case management, and in-home care services.
“What makes 1064 Mission Street so unique is the unprecedented level of partnership between government at the federal, state, and local levels, nonprofits, and the community in its acquisition, development, and operations,” says ECS executive director Beth Stokes. “… We hope that this innovative service model can be replicated throughout other projects across the United States.””
“Starting in April 2020, The City leveraged funding from California’s Project Roomkey — launched by Gov. Gavin Newsom in March 2020 to help cities to open non-congregate shelter options during the pandemic — to secure hotel rooms and offer them as shelter to people experiencing homelessness. The program rapidly expanded to more than 20 sites, amounting to an unprecedented expansion of The City’s shelter network.”