Model and Strategy
San Francisco Interfaith Council (SFIC) and Episcopal Community Services (ECS) will build upon the success of the Interfaith Winter Shelter program by adding new beds for highly vulnerable homeless seniors and forging new pathways to their sustained housing and care. A Battery Powered grant would support a first-of-its-kind interim housing model for homeless seniors at the Waller Center. Your grant would enable us to design and pilot this program for the first year, providing 30 beds between November 2019 and March 2020, and engaging partners to provide on-site supports tailored specifically to homeless seniors.
Through partnerships with social workers, nurses, psychiatrists, pharmacists, and In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), we’ll help seniors age with health and dignity off the street. Our partners will provide connection to benefits, healthcare, medical triage, mental health evaluation, medication management, and transportation to medical appointments and ECS’ Senior Center for lunch and daytime activities. Most importantly, this new model will enable us to triage and connect seniors to sustained housing solutions through the City’s Coordinated Entry System operated by ECS.
Impact
Funding from Battery Powered will allow SFIC and ECS to pilot an innovative new model for “extended stay” interim housing tailored to the unique needs of homeless seniors, many of whom will have severe mental and physical disabilities, mobility issues, and/or chronic illnesses. The 30 dedicated beds at Waller Center will align with the City’s goal of moving vulnerable, unsheltered San Franciscans indoors during the coldest months of the year, thus mitigating a humanitarian crisis. Not only will these individuals receive the basic services of shelter, meals, showers, and laundry, but they will also receive dedicated assistance with the activities of daily living such as dressing, feeding, ambulating, personal hygiene, and continence management—all critical activities for seniors.
With their basic needs met, homeless seniors at Waller Center can begin to address issues related to their homelessness that are impossible to resolve when they are living on the streets. For many, Waller Center will be the first step towards securing permanent housing. ECS will connect clients to the City’s Adult Coordinated Entry system and will guide elder clients towards housing interventions, income, and support opportunities for which they are eligible. Ultimately, we aim to create a replicable model for housing and care of homeless seniors which can be scaled nationally, including a report of findings by an independent evaluator which can be shared at national conferences. We hope this pilot will provide evidence to fund more pathways-to-housing for chronically homeless seniors.
Leadership
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Michael G. Pappas
Executive Director