The Haven
Our flagship program will be called the Haven. We envision the Haven as a drop-in center on Stockton Blvd in Sacramento. This center will offer both services and comfort. Our services will include trauma-focused case management, peer counseling, basic health care information and access, street safety and self-defense classes, field trips, education, and various support groups. Our guests will be able to enjoy a meal, take a shower, do laundry, and rest. Warm and inviting, the Haven will allow our clients to let their guard down and feel safe again. Something as simple as a toothbrush, hygiene products or a shower and an ear to listen can change a person’s life. During our interviews, untreated mental illness and loneliness were two topics that seemed to resonate for most. Ninety-eight percent of the workers expressed that their life would be better if they could just stop by somewhere and sit down, use the restroom, or just have someone who cared enough to extend a hand. The Haven will be all of that and more. It will be a place where those seeking to exit can begin to make healthy choices and deal with issues such as exploitation, rape and domestic violence. A place where our youth can reach out for help and know they won’t be judged. At the Haven we can provide them with a sense of safety and belonging. We can give them the assistance and resources necessary to create change in their own lives, as they see fit.
The Haven will continue outreach with a trauma informed team allowing SWOP Sacramento to stay in constant communication with those workers on the street. The Stockton Blvd stroll has been around in excess of thirty years and, to date, nothing has worked to effect change. We believe with our street knowledge and expertise we can effect the necessary change.
