Safe Shelter Hotel Voucher Program

SAFE SHELTER HOTEL VOUCHER PROGRAM

SANTA CLARA COUNTY ONLY

PLEASE NOTE

This service is available to the areas we serve in SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA ONLY and as per our budget. We will evaluate individual applications and reply ONLY if we are granting the hotel stay. Thank you.

ABOUT

Unhoused individuals and families often struggle to find immediate, safe temporary housing. While most local shelters aim to provide immediate support, the reality is that shelters reach capacity frequently – with many local homeless shelters having a three month waiting period, leaving many vulnerable individuals without a place to stay for the night.

Our project aims to address this gap by providing temporary housing solutions through hotel accommodations for unhoused individuals and families.

Santa Clara’s 2023 Point in Time confirms the full-blown crisis of homelessness in Santa Clara County. Despite being a global hub of economic prosperity, over 9000 residents live on the streets, with thousands more on the brink of homelessness every day. Over 75% are unsheltered and living outdoors.

Who is this for?

Currently, Community Seva Inc. offers hotel stays for those most vulnerable or those unable to find immediate housing through traditional support services. We offer three to five days of hotel stay during which time, the individual or the family is able to make alternate arrangements with a local shelter.

CURRENT NEED

Pets
As all pet owners would attest, individuals are deeply attached to their pets. Unfortunately, unhoused individuals are not allowed to bring pets into the shelters. This would mean abandoning their pet in exchange for safe shelter. This is a step that most are unwilling to take.
Domestic Violence
Our program addresses the urgent need for those facing an urgent crisis of domestic violence. Women (and often their children) are unable to find immediate shelter when they have to escape their situations in the middle of the night.
LGBTQ+
Currently, there is just one shelter for those identifying as LGBTQ+ and that shelter has an extremely long waiting list for new housing requests.

HOW IT WORKS

Community Seva Inc. collaborates with housing advocates, community leaders, street outreach teams and service providers to
identify individuals and families most in need for temporary housing.
We distribute hotel stay vouchers for 3-5 days, food and essentials including sleeping bags, tents, shoes, etc. Five days to be safe, clean and well fed, allows our recipients to be clear headed and make decisions they couldn’t make during times of stress, chaos and illness.
Hotel Partnerships – We have already secured partnerships with some hotels (for example, America Value Inn, Alura Inn) and intend to identify more hotels to receive discounted rates for these stays.
Resource Navigation and Support Services – Our Community Seva team will be referring our hotel stay recipients to local resources that include case management, counseling, life skills training, employment assistance and healthcare resources. Case managers conduct assessments, develop individualized housing plans, help beneficiaries navigate systems with compassion, assist in getting IDs, getting assessed, set up rehab as desired, discuss family/friend reunification, last wishes, and more.

EXAMPLES

1. A recent recipient of our hotel program was a woman with her young children fleeing a very volatile violent situation of domestic abuse with no place to stay for the night. Community Seva was able to provide some days of hotel stay and purchase food and other essentials, and with our ongoing collaboration with housing advocates, this family was able to move towards safety and recovery, and find a more stable housing solution.

2. One recent beneficiary was a 76 year man who had been discharged from the hospital after cancer treatment and staying next to a flooded creek. We provided this person with a hotel for five nights and outdoor essentials like a sleeping bag, a tent and shoes to stay protected during his vulnerable period of recovery and beyond

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