Winter Relief Rapid Re-Housing/Home Warming Program
The Winter Relief Program at Abode Services first developed as a way to provide shelter for the families on the Sunrise Village Emergency Shelter waiting list. A group of faith communities in the Tri-City area, working closely with Abode Services staff, provided a warm place at their church facilities for the families to stay during the cold winter months. The families would then move into Sunrise Village when space became available.
While the original Winter Relief Program did provide families with shelter during the rainy months, Abode Services staff wanted to help more of the participant families out of temporary shelter and into permanent housing. For the 2010-2011 winter season, we worked with 14 churches to reshape the program. Instead of sheltering families in church facilities, each community sponsored a family’s move into an apartment of their own. Federal grant funds helped each family pay the rent, and the faith communities provided assistance with moving costs and deposits, furniture, appliances, and other household items.
To distinguish the faith communities’ new role in helping the families into permanent housing, the church sponsorship portion of the program was dubbed “Home Warming.” In its first year, the Winter Relief/Home Warming Program helped re-house 16 families.
If your faith community or organization is interested in sponsoring a family, please contact Community Outreach Director Jean Morgan at or (510) 657-7409 x217.