Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco - September 2004 Charity-of-the-Month
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Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco (ECS) is a non-profit organization serving homeless and other low-income men, women, and children since 1983.
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| ECS Housing - photo by Mark Tuschman |
Please support us by making a Secure Online Donation
Episcopal Community Services
165 Eighth Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone: 1-415-487-3300
Fax: 1-415-487-3303
web: http://www.ecs-sf.org/
email: rmurphy@ecs-sf.org
Mission Statement:
Episcopal Community Services (ECS) is dedicated to helping homeless and very low-income people move with dignity toward self-sufficiency by providing, each and every day, compassionate, individualized services, with access to comprehensive resources in the San Francisco community.
In 1983 ECS began serving homeless people by providing a safe place to sleep and something to eat. This simple act of opening doors to those-in-need has grown into a continuum of caring services that are efficient, cost effective, client-centered and successful. ECS currently operates programs at nine different facilities in four main program areas: shelters, permanent supportive housing, educational and vocational services, and a senior day center. This continuum of services provides a comprehensive
approach to annually assist more than 4,500 homeless and formerly homeless individuals and family members in finding positive solutions that address both their immediate and long-term needs.
How you can help
ECS relies on community support to continue to offer our comprehensive services which have proven highly effective. Please help us by going to our website, www.ecs-sf.org and making a donation today.
A gift of $25 can provide an adult a shelter bed for one night, a senior lunch for one week, or a child one after school program day.
A gift of $50 can provide an adult with one month of tutoring or vocational support at The Skills Center.
A gift of $100 or more can help provide a field trip or other enrichment activity for several of the 115 formerly homeless children living at Canon Barcus Community House.
Other ways to help
If you are member of a religious or fraternal organization that is looking for a holiday project and would be interested in helping make the holidays happier for homeless and low-income people please call 415-487-3706 or e-mail rmurphy@ecs-sf.org. We will be happy to put you in contact with one of our programs.
If you have 2-4 hours a week to volunteer on a regular basis, we may be able to use you in The Canon Kip Senior Center or The Skills Center. If you are interested please call 415-487-3706 or e-mail rmurphy@ecs-sf.org.
ECS Programs at Work
ECS Shelters include Next Door and The Sanctuary. Both shelters offer clean beds, meals, personal hygiene facilities, case management, and access to health, vocational and social services. Forty-five percent of our shelter clients accessing case management move from ECS shelters into residential treatment or permanent housing.
In recent years, ECS has emerged as a leader in permanent supportive housing by building and managing several model facilities for formerly homeless families and single adults. Our nearly 750 tenants are formerly homeless and extremely low-income adults and families, many of who are dealing with mental and/or physical health disabilities, HIV/AIDS, substance use issues, and/or literacy issues. Supportive housing combines very low rental apartments with on-site social services so that tenants have a better chance of achieving and maintaining stable lives.
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| ECS Skills Center - photo by Mark Tuschman |
Our Skills Center annually provides more than 1,200 people with job counseling, computer training, basic adult education, family literacy, GED preparation, and vocational programs, including the Conquering Homelessness through Employment in Food Services (CHEFS) training program.
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| Conquering Homelessness through Employment in Food Services (CHEFS) |
Skills Center classes and services are accessible to homeless people living on the streets, in shelters, or newly housed and address the compound barriers a homeless person must overcome in order to achieve self-sufficiency. And, as the 85% successful job placement rate for graduates from our CHEFS vocational program demonstrates, our programs work.
The Family Literacy program serves 25 formerly homeless and homeless families with one or more children of preschool age. Over 50% of the families have at least one member with a disability, and many also struggle with substance use, mental health and HIV/AIDS. The program’s overall goal is to improve the literacy of preschool-aged children while increasing the literacy and skills of their parents or guardians so that the adults can better prepare and support their children succeeding in school. This is the only family literacy program for homeless families in San Francisco.
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| ECS After School Program Karate Class |
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| ECS After School Program - photo by Mark Tuschman |
The ECS After-school Program at Canon Barcus Community House creates a stable, respectful, success-applauding environment where formerly homeless children and teens can feel supported as they strengthen their math, literacy, social skills and grow in self-esteem.
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| ECS Senior Center |
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| ECS Senior Center |
The Canon Kip Senior Center provides services to 900 extremely low-income seniors, including 220 homeless seniors. Daily programs include lunch, case management, recreation, information and referral, support groups and other services that support stability and self-determination, break social isolation, and build community. ECS has responded to the alarming increase in homeless elders by designating “senior only” beds and by providing seniors earlier access and therefore more time and less crowded conditions for personal hygiene and settling in for the night.
Recognizing that shelters and the street are no place for the vulnerable elderly, in April, ECS’s Senior Center started a new program called Assertive Case Management. ECS case managers aggressively look for seniors in shelters and other places where the homeless gather and offer them intensive support to find permanent housing.
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Episcopal Community Services
165 Eighth Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone: 1-415-487-3300
Fax: 1-415-487-3303
web: http://www.ecs-sf.org/
email: rmurphy@ecs-sf.org
Please support us by making a Secure Online Donation
