Established in 1971 as the first shelter for children and families in San Francisco, Raphael House provides a multitude of services for homeless families designed to allow parents to make healthy choices to rebuild their lives and families as they grow. The renewal process begins by filling the most basic needs of shelter, food, and clothing in a home-like atmosphere of love, care and security in which families can rebuild their lives in the midst of a supportive community.
There are hundreds of families who find themselves temporarily in need of shelter and support. The reasons are varied and include, but are not limited to: domestic violence, eviction, job loss, recent arrival in the Bay Area, and separation or divorce. Whether it is a whole family unit or a single parent, every family deserves a place of safety for themselves and their children. Without assistance, family members and especially the children, are at risk for medical problems, abuse, violence, poverty, and crime.
Families that enter the shelter all have one thing in common - they are experiencing crisis. Staying at Raphael House provides a critical opportunity for families to change the course of their lives.
Raphael House provides the following services to families :
Residential Shelter Program - offers housing for children and families in crisis. In addition to housing, the Residential Shelter Program offers an array of services that include but are not limited to:
- Casework - combines counseling, family reviews, financial education that includes budgeting and credit repair and the use of bank accounts, emotional support, meals, and parental coaching to help parents establish goals for their family, develop a plan and acquire the skills necessary to achieve their goals.
- Children's Program - provides tutoring and educational advocacy to ensure children are meeting grade level standards as well continual activities designed to foster imagination, creativity and healing.
AfterCare Program - provides systematic follow up support services to former resident families as they move onto stable housing.
- ChildReach Program - a portion of the AfterCare Program that maintains deeper connections to families through extracurricular activities, academic support and family excursions.