The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara (HACSB) recently honored Good Samaritan Shelter as its 2022 Outstanding Community Partner of the Year.
HACSB created its annual partner award as a way of recognizing and thanking organizations and businesses that help change lives for the better.
Supportive services provided to clients through partners such as Good Samaritan Shelter are a key part of the Housing Authority’s holistic service delivery approach.
Good Samaritan is a key partner in HACSB’s efforts to ensure the community’s most vulnerable clients who are homeless, obtain a safe place to call home.
While the Housing Authority provides the housing or rental subsidy with landlords to these individuals or families, Good Samaritan provides the initial services to connect them with HACSB and to further ensure they have services to remain stably housed.
“This partnership has proven so successful that our agency was one of the first public housing authorities to achieve full utilization of the Emergency Housing Vouchers throughout the nation,” said Rob Fredericks, HACSB executive director/CEO.
“We look forward to crafting further solutions together so that we can locally address homeless issues throughout Santa Barbara,” he said.
Good Samaritan Shelter started as a temporary evening shelter for the homeless in various local churches. Established in 1987, its mission is to provide emergency, transitional and affordable housing with support services to the homeless and those in recovery on the Central Coast.
“They have been terrific and really helped us with meeting the needs of our most vulnerable community members,” Fredericks said.
Good Samaritan Shelter provides the community with programs addressing homelessness, as well as alcohol and substance abuse. The nonprofit offers shelter, affordable housing, clean and sober living, drug and alcohol treatment, outreach and education to the community.
The award was presented by Fredericks to Sylvia Barnard, executive director of Good Samaritan, who accepted it on behalf of the nonprofit.
“Good Samaritan Shelter is so proud to partner with HACSB, who provides housing opportunities for the most vulnerable and understands that in order to sustain housing, additional support services are needed,” said Barnard. “Good Samaritan Shelter is so honored to receive this award.”
For more about HACSB, visit hacsb.org. For more on Good Samaritan Shelter, visit goodsamaritanshelter.org.