As the holiday season draws near, so does Giving Tuesday—a global day of generosity observed on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. It’s a chance for individuals and communities to come together to focus on kindness and making a meaningful difference.
This #GivingTuesday, join Noozhawk in giving back! Explore our Giving Guide to support your favorite organizations and make a positive impact as the year comes to a close.
Visit our Good for Santa Barbara Nonprofit Section for everything you need to donate and make a difference this holiday season!
In this interview Noozhawk spoke with Alma Harmsen, Executive Director, at Partners in Housing Solutions to learn more about how the nonprofit have connected over 1,280 individuals to their permanent homes in Santa Barbara County.
Partners in Housing Solutions
Question: What is the name of your nonprofit, and what is its mission?
Answer: Partners in Housing Solutions (PHS) is dedicated to helping people experiencing homelessness in Santa Barbara County to find and retain permanent housing through our network of rental property owners.
Q: What motivated the creation of your nonprofit?
A: Our journey began in 2015 when a dedicated group of accomplished and passionate individuals from Social Venture Partners Santa Barbara (SVPSB) led a homelessness conference at UCSB. They hosted training for 100-150 people in non-profits during the day and a public forum that evening with speakers from across the nation. The county interest was high and the forum was attended by almost 700 locals. “It was well received, but some of us were left wondering how much we really helped”, said an SVPSB member. That thought led to the development of a task force to tackle this complicated issue.
Assuming that Santa Barbara was not unique in this challenge, the research began to find an existing solution. They discovered a program in Seattle that started in 2009 that had included landlords in its development called The Landlord Liaison Project. It was based on a collaborative effort between landlords, social service agencies, and people experiencing homelessness to overcome barriers to permanent housing. Over the next five years, LLP increased the number of people housed by ten times; over 7,000 people were housed in just six years.
This was the answer we were looking for. The coin had forever dropped. We had a strong desire to make BIG strides. We wanted to house MORE unhoused individuals. We wanted a HOMERUN and this was our answer. So in 2015 Partners in Housing Solutions (formerly Landlord Liaison Partnership) was born. We have connected over 1,280 individuals to their permanent homes in Santa Barbara County.
What began as a passion for change has since developed into a program with strong personal relationships at its foundation that is making a tangible difference in the homeless community.
Q: How is your nonprofit primarily funded, and what are its biggest needs right now?
A: Partners in Housing Solutions primarily receives state and local government funds through local grants. While these funds support us and help us pursue our mission to find permanent housing for our clients, they are restricted to specific projects. Our biggest needs are to increase our pool of flexible funds to help our clients overcome housing barriers and to support our staff by having the ability to offer ongoing living wages. We are also looking to diversify our funding to ensure our long-term sustainability.
Q: What types of events or programs do you run to engage your community and raise funds?
A: We participate in local housing events, to inform people about resources, reduce misinformation and lack of information, and work with all subpopulations, including the underserved and overrepresented. We host engagement events for rental property owners to break the stigma about homelessness, build relationships, and boost our efforts, of housing our clients. We also hold fundraisers, throughout the county to inform the community about our work and to garner support.
Q: How is your team structured? Have there been any major changes in your operations since you started?
A: Our team is small but mighty and is the backbone of our program. Until recently our housing team consisted of two Housing Specialists. Thanks to recent support we have expanded our reach and now have a housing team of five who perform critical tasks such as matching clients with available units; providing support services such as budgeting assistance, tenant responsibility training, and regular check-ins; and creating and maintaining relationships with rental property owners. These individualized services directly lead to clients finding and retaining housing.
We’ve also recently expanded the size and scope of our services by obtaining a larger space to include a resource center for our clients and started providing direct client support including Rapid Rehousing assistance and funds to remove housing barriers for eligible households.
Q: What sets your nonprofit apart from similar organizations?
A: Partners in Housing Solutions plays a unique and critical role in the precarious chain that connects vulnerable families, and individuals to permanent housing by bridging the gap between the private and public sectors. Our name includes “Partners” because we work hand in hand with social service agencies and rental property owners to tackle homelessness as a cohesive team.
Our partnerships with rental property owners are critical and we ensure they are supported by providing them with services such as financial safety nets, incentives, and a 24-hour turnaround hotline. We maximize efficiency and benefits for the people we serve by partnering with other social service agencies and leveraging one another’s resources and expertise, which allows us to serve the unhoused regardless of the subpopulation. Through this approach, we not only support our vulnerable neighbors but we help one another, which strengthens our community.
Q: Could you share a story or two about individuals whose lives have been positively impacted by your organization?
A: When Didi and her three young children fled their abusive household, they left behind not just a home, but everything they had. Now living in a shelter for survivors of violence, Didi found a sense of safety, but the future still felt uncertain. Pregnant with her fourth child, she knew she needed stability—for herself and her growing family. Though she was working full-time and had secured a housing voucher, Didi faced a challenge many families know too well: finding permanent housing in a system that often seems stacked against them.
Didi was referred to Partners in Housing Solutions (PHS) just as her housing voucher was about to expire. Her Housing Locator recognized the urgency of the situation and immediately stepped in to help extend her voucher and formulate a plan. But Didi was not just looking for a roof over her head; she needed a safe place to rebuild her life.
Didi’s PHS Housing Locator found an apartment that seemed like a perfect fit. Didi and her children finally moved into a safe, private unit that felt like a real home. But when their Housing Locator visited them to celebrate this achievement, it was clear that something was missing: the family didn’t have beds. Didi and her children were sleeping on the floor.
Sleeping without a bed is more than a discomfort; it strips away dignity and the sense of safety that a home is meant to provide. Good sleep is a basic human need, and without it, both physical and mental health suffer. For Didi, this was a harsh reminder that her journey wasn’t quite over.
PHS knew they couldn’t let this essential piece of Didi’s journey go unfulfilled. When local providers couldn’t come through with donations, PHS tapped into their Housing Barrier Removal Flex Fund Program, ensuring Didi and her children received new beds. This was about reclaiming their dignity and a sense of belonging in their new home. Now, Didi can focus on her next chapter: returning to school and working toward a career in the medical field, knowing that her family can finally rest easy.
Q: What makes your organization trustworthy for donors, and are there other ways people can support your cause beyond donations?
A: We maintain open communication and transparency with our donors. We report our measurable outcomes by demonstrating how many people we house and remain housed. Partners in Housing Solutions is making big strides but there is still a lot more to get done.
Rental property owners or managers can get involved by joining our network. We are rapidly growing and are seeking passionate individuals who want to make a difference to serve on our board and other volunteer opportunities. Contact us to learn more.
Q: Can you highlight one immediate goal and one long-term vision your nonprofit aims to achieve in the next year?
A: Our long-term goal is to eliminate homelessness in Santa Barbara County. We have expanded our scope and services but we can’t do it alone so in the next year, we aim to further strengthen our community partnerships to help more people find a place to call home.
Q: Is there anything important or unique about your nonprofit that we haven’t covered yet?
A: Since our inception, we have helped over 1,280 find permanent homes and have worked with more than 240 landlords. We not only house people, we help ensure they stay housed. More than 80% of the people we place remain housed for more than a year.
Partners in Housing Solutions has been around for less than 10 years and is doing perhaps one of the hardest yet most impactful things possible for our unhoused neighbors, helping house them.
Click here to support Partners in Housing Solutions mission to helping people experiencing homelessness in Santa Barbara County to find and retain permanent housing through their network of rental property owners.
Check out Noozhawk’s Guide to Giving for a full list of nonprofits to donate to this giving season.
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