Shower the People, a local nonprofit organization in San Luis Obispo County, has created a website that’s designed for people at risk of or experiencing homelessness to easily find resources.
David Gross is the project lead for VivaSLO! He said they got the idea for the site after hearing stories from those in need.
“A lot of our clients are coming to us with lots of different problems, and it's very difficult for people to know what door to enter or what things that they can access themselves, or what things they need to have referrals for,” Gross said. “There's a lot of resources out there in the county for people who are homeless or people who are on the ropes, but it's very difficult to find them if you're in that situation.”
The website organizes the list of resources into different categories, like job training, housing and self-advocacy.
Gross said the website isn’t only for people currently experiencing homelessness, but for veterans, seniors, and others who are threatened with homelessness.
“Ideally, we'd be able to catch people before they're on the streets and help them with things that'll help them avoid that fate,” Gross said. “So we want to help people who are currently homeless get out of that situation or at least survive it better, but we also want to prevent it.”
One organization on the website is the 5Cities Homeless Coalition, which provides warming centers and other services to people experiencing homelessness to help get them back on their feet.
“We're grateful anywhere that people can kind of one-stop shop and say, this is what my need is and I have a place to go and figure out who I need to talk to get those needs met,” said Devon McQuade, 5Cities Homeless Coalition Executive Director. “I think it's a great resource.”
McQuade said the collaboration between organizations is crucial for what she calls a continuum of care.
“They may access something like Shower the People and that's their first interaction," McQuade said. "From there, they can get connected with the 5Cities Homeless Coalition and a street outreach team but it is a whole continuum. People go through this process and we tell everybody when they come in, it's not going to be quick and it's not going to be easy, but there are all these resources along the way that are there to help out.”
Gross said this resource would help that continuum by connecting local nonprofits to collaborate on addressing homelessness in San Luis Obispo County.
“We're helping to make it easier for these people who are working on the solutions to find each other and for the people who need that help to find them,” Gross said.
