IICF supports Raphael House’s work with low-income families

San Francisco’s Raphael House has developed and honed a supportive family-focused process to lead low-income or homeless families from poverty to financial stability, and they know how to get results.

Upwards of 90% of families working with Raphael House achieve long-term housing and financial stability. We do it by emphasizing the importance of strong families and personal dignity. This is an amazing accomplishment and an endeavor that deserves continued support.

According to a 2023 McKinsey report, 38,000 individuals are homeless on a given night in the San Francisco Bay area. Raphael House was formed to meet that need back in 1971 as an emergency shelter to care for single mothers and their children. Opening in a new, expanded location in 1977, Raphael House was established as the first homeless shelter for families in Northern California. Since then, the organization has proudly provided more than 20,000 parents and children with family-focused solutions to financial independence and better futures.

Raphael House operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing private bedrooms for parents and children in its residential shelter and offers case management, career development, wellness support, children’s services and bridge services for families transitioning from the shelter. Raphael House also offers specific services to focus on the needs of children in their care. The team works with children on social and emotional learning and works to help them build skills to develop positive relationships with friends and adults, as well as nurture skills related to self-awareness, self-management and decision-making.

Over the years, the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) has worked closely with Raphael House to help combat homelessness in the Bay Area. In Raphael House’s last fiscal year, IICF grants helped the nonprofit to provide 13 children and 10 teens with one-on-one Zoom tutoring sessions. Of those students, 96% showed improved academic performance and 100% demonstrated an improvement in social behaviors and understanding of their emotions. Additionally, those dollars will be used to provide 17 children with scholarships for extracurricular activities and 39 will enjoy summer camp.

For IICF’s Week of Giving 2023, we are grateful to once again have IICF’s support. IICF volunteers will assemble 15 gift bags including quality skin care and toiletry items, as well as wrap gifts for five children with upcoming birthdays. These gift bags can be used as move-out gifts, as families move to stable housing of their own. Additionally, volunteers will clean five common spaces in the shelter and organize donated items. This work will not only help to keep common spaces clean and comfortable for families, but it will also allow staff to distribute essential items like toiletries, clothing and welcome kits with more efficiency.

This Week of Giving, please join us to support families working to escape homelessness and follow a path to financial stability. To learn more about us, please visit https://www.raphaelhouse.org/.

Kellen Sarver is community engagement manager for Raphael House.

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