City Net making progress to end homelessness in partnership with Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara honored City Net as their Outstanding Community Partner of the Year.
The Housing Authority created its annual partner award as a way of recognizing organizations and businesses that help change lives for the better.
The supportive services provided to clients through a collaboration with City Net are an essential part of the Housing Authority’s holistic service delivery approach.
Founded in 2005 in Long Beach, California, their mission is based on a commitment to break the cycle of homelessness in the communities they serve by connecting neighbors experiencing homelessness to transformative care and innovative housing solutions.
The Housing Authority partners with City Net through the SB Connect Home project, which was established in April 2019.
The program was made possible by a $2 million grant from the California Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP), which remained in effect until June 30, 2021.
In addition to HACSB, City Net brought together other essential partners to the Connect Home program including Cottage Health, Santa Barbara Restorative Police, and People Assisting the Homeless (PATH).
“Our teams understand that it truly “takes a village” to help serve the most vulnerable members of our community,” said Brad Fieldhouse, CEO, City Net.
City Net’s presence in Santa Barbara has streamlined homelessness services provided by an alliance of city government and nonprofit organizations.
Their work has resulted in ending street-level homelessness through street-outreach, case management, housing navigation, and more.
City Net also works to mobilize community resources, including meals, volunteers, donations, and advocacy, to coordinate care in emergency shelters, parks, and other public areas where homeless neighbors live.
These efforts seek to ending homelessness by providing homeless neighbors a stable context in which their emergency needs are met.
City Net started in the City of Santa Barbara in April of 2019 partnering with Cottage Hospital, Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Fire Department, Santa Barbara Police Department, and People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) Emergency Shelter.
City Net served the top 50 utilizers of emergency services, 37 of whom are now permanently housed.
Since then, City Net has continued to work under this collaborative model and expanded its contracts to serve Santa Barbara County, Santa Barbara City, Montecito, and Goleta.
They have operated projects of all types, including street outreach, encampment resolution, interim housing, housing navigation, and housing supportive services.
City Net prides itself on its responsiveness, community engagement, and professionally trained outreach workers, who are capable of de-escalating challenging situations and addressing clients’ barriers to care.
The following numbers reflect City Net’s County wide data, serving persons experiencing homelessness from April 2, 2019 to April 2, 2024:
- Permanently housed 675
- Had 1927 active clients
- Conducted 12,706 service transactions
- Street exits to shelters, 654
- 182 Adults with income increases
The 2023 award was presented by HACSB Executive Director and CEO Rob Fredericks to City Net Executive Director Brad Fieldhouse on March 20, 2024, at the HACSB headquarters in Santa Barbara.
