Thriving Through Adversity

Despite the challenges of last year, we are proud of being able to accomplish our mission: to support families and individuals experiencing homelessness in their efforts to rapidly return to stable housing and achieve self-sufficiency. 

Key to the LifeMoves mission is supporting our clients on their journey to independence and a home to call their own. Our dedicated staff work tirelessly to make this goal a reality for all of our clients. Our clients receive comprehensive support from LifeMoves services and programs. Those who need it, get custom-designed case management plans based on their unique strengths and challenges. Clients also receive assistance with rapid re-housing programs, finding affordable housing, connecting to housing benefits, and submitting rental applications. In FY21, despite the ongoing pandemic, LifeMoves successfully returned almost 2,000 clients to stable housing and self-sufficiency

With continued economic uncertainty related to the pandemic, LifeMoves offers our clients a deeper level of financial training to better prepare them for success in the future. Focused on the ultimate goal of long-term stability, we provide workshops, as well as individual coaching, on topics such as budgeting, building and repairing credit, savings strategies, and techniques for borrowing money wisely. When clients leave LifeMoves on sound financial footing, it means that these individuals and families have the tools they need to thrive and contribute to our community.

COVID-19 changed the way many of us work in Silicon Valley. While wages have been increasing in some sectors, many of our clients continue to work at service sector jobs that simply don’t pay a living wage for the Bay Area. To address this barrier, LifeMoves employment counseling staff focus on helping our adult clients increase their employment opportunities and earning potential through employment skills training, resume development, job search training, and interview coaching. This work supports our clients who are unemployed and underemployed, so they are better prepared to transition back to permanent housing with stable employment.

2020 presented a series of seemingly insurmountable hardships. Our communities coped with incredible loss – loss of routine, loss of career, and loss of loved ones. In response to increased stress and trauma, LifeMoves offered resources to best support the mental health and wellbeing of all clients and staff, including therapeutic services provided by video or tele-health.

The experience of homelessness is traumatic in and of itself — and many of our clients have experienced chronic trauma over the course of their lives. LifeMoves provides integrated behavioral health services and support designed to foster mental and emotional wellness, enhanced interpersonal capacity, and self-efficacy for the children, families, adults, Veterans, and seniors we serve. Services include addiction and recovery support, on-site mental health assessments, and both one-on-one and group therapy.

Healthy adults are more likely to be able to retain a job and remain housed than adults in poor health or with chronic medical conditions. Many LifeMoves clients are at higher-risk for medical complications than the general public; some are elderly, with chronic conditions that have been untreated; others are Veterans with medical vulnerabilities.

Our case managers enroll clients in available insurance, and for clients needing medical services or support, LifeMoves works in partnership with local public health programs and community partners to get our clients the care they need. For many clients, addressing chronic or underlying health conditions is often a necessary first step on their journey to return to stable housing.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, LifeMoves has taken additional efforts to protect the health and safety of our clients and staff, including sponsoring vaccine clinics at several of our sites. We are continuing our efforts to improve vaccination rates among individuals and families experiencing homelessness, for the protection of those clients, as well as the community at large.

With eight shelters and several service sites that serve families, one in every five LifeMoves clients is a minor child. Children experiencing homelessness have often missed substantial periods of school, so our Education Team and Children’s Services Coordinators work diligently to ensure that all school-aged children are immediately enrolled in the school of their choice. We also aim to ensure they have all of the equipment and supplies they need to be successful.

When school became remote at the start of the pandemic, we were able to supply all of our school-aged children with the equipment they needed to attend school virtually (including tablets or Chromebooks, headphones, and hotspots). LifeMoves staff worked quickly to make academic programming safe, engaging, and socially distanced.

In addition to addressing the educational needs of the children in our shelters, LifeMoves also supports adults who wish to advance their education, whether it be completing a GED or enrolling in community college.