Black Friday is here! As you shop for amazing deals, don’t forget to invest in something even more meaningful—supporting the nonprofits that strengthen our community. With the year winding down, now is the perfect time to make an impact.
This upcoming Tuesday, December 3, 2024, is #GivingTuesday—a global day dedicated to giving. Noozhawk is proud to partner with local nonprofits to inspire you to take action.
Explore our Giving Guide and donate to one (or more!) of the incredible organizations creating change right here at home. Let’s make this #GivingTuesday one to remember!
In this interview, Noozhawk spoke with Liz Adams, Regional Director at People Assisting The Homeless Santa Barbara (PATH SB), to learn more about how the nonprofit is dedicated to helping individuals, families and communities end their homelessness.
PATH Santa Barbara
Question: What is the name of your nonprofit, and what is its mission?
Answer: PATH’s mission is to end homelessness for individuals, families, and communities. We envision a world where every person has a home. Our values include creative collaborations, strategic leadership, empowerment for all, and passionate commitment.
Q: How long has your organization been serving the community, and who founded it?
A: In 2015, Casa Esperanza Homeless Shelter merged with PATH to become PATH Santa Barbara. PATH has now been part of the Santa Barbara community for nearly a decade, working to rebuild lives and strengthen neighborhoods.
Q: What motivated the creation of your nonprofit?
A: It all started with a letter written by Claire and Reverend Charles Orr, calling for the community to address the ever-increasing issue of homelessness in Los Angeles.
In response, on the night of December 8, 1983, 60 people gathered together to figure out how to help people who were experiencing homelessness in their neighborhoods.
That night, PATH was born. Four decades later, PATH now has staff in 150 cities, in five key regions across California and provides supportive services to over 26,000 unhoused individuals each year. Since PATH began operating in Santa Barbara, we have helped nearly 700 people make it home.
Q: How is your nonprofit primarily funded, and what are its biggest needs right now?
A: PATH is primarily funded through restricted government grants, as well as philanthropic donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations.
Government grants cover basic services but don’t fully meet the costs of the care we provide. Philanthropy fills those critical gaps, enabling us to provide comprehensive housing and supportive services for unhoused individuals.
Our biggest current need is support for our participants at our interim housing site. This includes providing warm meals, blankets, hygiene supplies, and other essential items that create a safe and welcoming environment for those in our care.
With city and county budget cuts and rising living costs, community support is more critical than ever to ensure we can meet these basic needs and help our guests begin their journey toward stability and permanent housing.
Q: What types of events or programs do you run to engage your community and raise funds?
A: PATH Santa Barbara hosts a key annual fundraiser, A Toast to Home in the spring. This year’s event, which will be held on May 29th at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, rallies community support and generates critical funds to support our programs.
We also engage the community through volunteering opportunities, which are integral to our work.
Volunteers assist in our kitchen with breakfast, lunch, and dinner shifts, participate in community cleanups, lead workshops, and organize celebrations that bring a deep sense of community and joy to our participants.
These programs connect supporters directly to our mission and help create lasting impact.
Q: Can you share a fun fact or little-known detail about your nonprofit that would surprise people?
A: Often, when people are first learning about PATH or homelessness in general, we ask them, “What can you say to someone who is experiencing homelessness?” and silence follows. “Hello” is a good way to start.
Q: Could you share a story or two about individuals whose lives have been positively impacted by your organization?
A: While experiencing homelessness, Francisco faced severe heart issues that required multiple surgeries. He now humorously refers to his chest as a “cyborg” due to these life-saving operations. Once his health stabilized, Francisco connected with Good Samaritan Shelter in Santa Barbara, which referred him to PATH to work toward his long-term housing goals.
At PATH, Francisco collaborated with our dedicated case manager, Henry, who prioritized finding him a home. Through hard work and perseverance, Francisco secured an apartment in Santa Barbara, where he now lives happily. Thanks to community partners like Unity Shoppe and Instacart, he also received essential furnishings and groceries to settle into his new home.
Francisco’s journey highlights how collaboration and personalized support can transform lives. We’re so proud to have been part of his path to stability!
Q: What makes your organization trustworthy for donors, and are there other ways people can support your cause beyond donations?
A: PATH’s trustworthiness stems from our proven impact and commitment to transparency. In Santa Barbara alone, we serve about 500 people annually, with 100 individuals obtaining and retaining housing each year. We employ best practices to support individuals who are unhoused and invest donor contributions efficiently to provide housing and services.
Beyond monetary donations, community members can support PATH by volunteering and donating in-kind goods. Volunteer opportunities range from preparing meals and distributing food, to hosting workshops or events that foster community. These efforts are essential to advancing our mission of ending homelessness.
PATH is a nonprofit 501c3 and our EIN is 95-3950196.
Q: Can you highlight one immediate goal and one long-term vision your nonprofit aims to achieve in the next year?
A: Our immediate goal is to ensure that every program participant has access to essential resources they need to feel safe, comfortable, and supported.
This includes providing hygiene supplies and warm socks to people who are unsheltered, warm meals, blankets, and hygiene supplies to people in our interim housing, and furniture and other necessities to people moving into their new home through our rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing programs.
We want to create welcoming healing environments that help our participants on their journeys to stability and permanent housing. These critical resources are especially vital during the colder months, when the need for shelter and support increases.
Our long-term vision is to continue scaling our impact and deepening our outreach to those at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
In Santa Barbara, this includes maintaining the high level of support we provide—serving 500 people annually and helping 100 individuals secure and retain housing—while expanding to reach populations that are increasingly vulnerable, such as college students and families struggling with rising housing and living costs.
Additionally, we aim to strengthen our financial resilience by growing community-driven philanthropy to counteract the budget cuts impacting local government support. This approach will allow us to sustain programs that not only provide immediate relief but also create pathways to long-term stability for our neighbors.
Q: Is there anything important or unique about your nonprofit that we haven’t covered yet?
A: PATH operates the only housing-first, low-barrier, harm reduction shelter in Santa Barbara. For many, it is the only place they can go too.
Because we know the importance of someone first getting inside where they can feel safe to begin their journey toward healing and permanent housing, we welcome everyone, no matter their criminal, mental health, or substance use background, along with their pets.
We truly serve the most vulnerable in our community who, without us, would have nowhere else to go.
Click here to support PATH’s mission to end homelessness for individuals, families, and communities.
Check out Noozhawk’s Guide to Giving for a full list of nonprofits to donate to this giving season.
If you would like to include your nonprofit in our Good for Santa Barbara section and Giving Guide click HERE.