RACHAEL'S WOMEN'S CENTER

Rachael's has three programs which help to build a continuum of care

• Street Outreach Program
• Day Center
• Permanent Supportive Housing Program
  

Through its programs, Rachael's is able to fulfull its mission of providing women with assistance to develop their independence, sense of self, and hope for the future. These three programs enable us to help women every step of the way from the streets all the way to permanent housing.

Street Outreach

The purpose of the Street Outreach program is to establish strong, trusting relationships with individuals living on the streets in order to facilitate their connection to resources that will assist in ultimately moving them off of the streets and out of homelessness.

Rachael's has two Outreach workers who go out regularly and try to engage the people who are staying on the streets and are unlikely to come inside for services. One purpose of the street outreach is to assess individuals' safety. Our workers hand out water in warm weather and blankets, hats, etc. during cold weather. Once trust is built our workers try to connect these individuals to the services they need in order to move out of homelessness. Our Outreach team also has office hours three times a week, when their male clients can come in for services such as showers, laundry, phone, mail, etc. since the men are not allowed in the day center.

The Rachael's outreach team serves about 50 to 60 different individuals each week.

Day Center

Rachaels' Day Center uses a strengths-based approach to helping women become more self-sufficient. When times are difficult for the women, staff listens, gives feedback, and allows the women to ask for the services they need to ensure that no one gets 'lost in the system' or is pressured into doing anything for which they are not prepared.

Each year the center assists approximately 755 women and serves approximately 10,000 meals. Women also receive other services such as day shelter, showers, laundry, intensive case management, use of computers, social activities, field trips, free legal services, psychoeducational groups such as Life Skills and Women's Health, and substance abuse and recovery support. In 2009 approximately 75 women worked with the Case Manager to achieve their personal goals. Also in 2009, over 180 referrals were made for public benefits, 214 referrals were made for education and employment training programs, and 350 referrals were made for medical treatment. The staff of the center work hard to make each women feel like an individual, not just a number, and to help her achieve her specific goals in order to stabilize and move out of homelessness.

Permanent Supportive Housing Program

Once stable and ready to live independently, women can be referred to Rachael's Permanent Supportive Housing Program. This is a relatively new program to Rachael's; it was started in 2003. Rachael's housing is a 17 unit program in which women have their own rooms and share common areas. It is an independent living program which means that staff are not on site 24 hours a day. There is a case manager for this program who works with the women to help them become even more independent and who is also on-call 24 hours a day in case of emergencies. There is no time limit to how long women are able to stay in the program.