IFSN’s
founders assumed responsibility for operation of a cold-weather
homeless shelter “temporarily” located at the
Santa Rosa Armory during the winter of 1989 when the Governor
approved all California armories (24) for use as temporary,
emergency homeless shelters to meet the needs of the escalating
homeless population. IFSN operated the temporary homeless
shelter at the armory for 15 years (until 2004), providing
seasonal shelter, hot meals, and supportive services under
a multi-party contract with the State of California, the Santa
Rosa National Guard, Sonoma County, and the City of Santa
Rosa.
IFSN served an average of 500 unduplicated men
and women—annually; providing up to 37,830 bed nights
of shelter, 87,990 meals, intake and assessment, advocacy,
outreach, case support, hygiene and comfort resources and
supplies, medical and mental health care, rehabilitation services,
employment opportunities and training, and linkage to other
mainstream and community resources.
Fifteen years of experience operating the Emergency
Shelter Program at the armory, addressing literally every
multi-faceted problem, issue and need related to homelessness
compelled IFSN to provide more than a warehouse!
Experience steered IFSN’s course specifically
towards the development and design of the Transitional Housing
Program (THP) and the plan was implemented in April of 1999
with the opening of Wesley House—the first of ten planned
Transitional Housing Program facilities!
From our grass-roots beginning, through sixteen
years of experience—each program and service has been
strategically developed to meet the needs of the homeless
by integrating programs and services, and collaborating with
our fellow community and mainstream providers, to move men
and women through a process of steps which promote physical,
mental, emotional and fiscal stabilization, rehabilitation,
education, employment, parent/child/family reunification,
and transition to the mainstream. |
