Homelessness Resources

Homelessness is an issue that affects everyone. 

If you’d like to be a solution to the regional crisis, please consider volunteering or donating. Whether you’re a student, young professional, member of a family or faith group, or a retiree, there are volunteer and donation opportunities offered for everyone by community organizations that are working to positively impact homelessness in Santa Monica. Visit volunteermatch.org to learn how you can get involved.  

Volunteering 

Have you considered volunteering with one of our service providers? 

Each organization below has a wide range of needs — from administrative support to preparing and handing out meals, to helping people prepare for a job, to assembling welcome home kits for those recently housed.  

Back On My Feet - https://backonmyfeet.org/get-involved/ 

Revolutionizing the way our society approaches homelessness. Their unique running-based model demonstrates that if you first restore confidence, strength, and self-esteem, individuals are better equipped to tackle the road ahead and move toward jobs, homes, and new lives. 

Chrysalis - https://www.changelives.org/volunteer/ 

Creating a pathway to self-sufficiency for homeless and low-income individuals by providing the resources and support needed to find and retain employment. 

Clare | Matrix - https://www.clarematrix.org/support-us/volunteer/ 

Provides effective and affordable alcoholism, substance abuse, and behavioral health treatment and prevention services. 

Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services - https://didihirsch.org/get-involved/volunteer/ 

Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services transforms lives by providing quality mental health and substance abuse services in communities where stigma or poverty limit access. 

Disability Community Resource Center - https://www.dcrc.co/volunteer/ 

Connects people with disabilities to resources, training, and advocacy tools while promoting disability pride and building self-determined lives. 

Families Give Back - https://www.familiesgiveback.org/volunteering-with-fgb 

Offers volunteer opportunities for families with children from ages 6-16, enabling them to give back to their communities and instill the value and importance of service work in children. 

The Giving Spirit - https://www.thegivingspirit.org/ 

The Giving Spirit provides aid and a human connection to homeless men, women, children, and families in Los Angeles. It also educates volunteers and communities about the human face of homelessness. 

The People Concern - https://www.thepeopleconcern.org/volunteer/ 

Provides integrated services to the most vulnerable members of the community who are in need of assistance, including homeless individuals, survivors of domestic violence, challenged youth, and others who have nowhere else to turn. 

Meals on Wheels West - https://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/americaletsdolunch 

“Delivering More Than a Meal” to homebound seniors, veterans, the disabled, chronically ill, and newly-housed formerly homeless people of all ages. 

New Directions for Veterans - https://ndvets.org/get-involved/ 

Empowers men and women who served in the military — and their families — to lead productive and fulfilling lives. 

Safe Place for Youth - https://www.safeplaceforyouth.org/volunteer_opportunities 

Inspiring, nurturing, and empowering the resilient human spirit of homeless youth by providing immediate and lasting solutions, one young person at a time. 

The Salvation Army Santa Monica Corps - https://santamonica.salvationarmy.org/ 

Provides food, clothing, and hygiene for homeless individuals and families, as well as transitional housing for veterans and youth through case management and navigation to local and regional shelters, housing, and substance-abuse treatment. 

The Santa Monica Adult Rehabilitation Center–Salvation Army -  

https://santamonicaarc.salvationarmy.org/santa_monica_adult_rehabilitation_center/ 

Through holistic therapy, group, and individual counseling, life skill development, and spiritual direction, residents learn to abandon substance reliance. For over 100 years, The Salvation Army’s no-fee rehabilitation programs have provided emotional, spiritual, and social assistance to those struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. 

Step Up - https://www.stepup.org/volunteer/ 

Supports individuals with severe and persistent mental illness in developing opportunities to reintegrate into the community. 

St. Joseph Center - https://stjosephctr.org/volunteer/ 

Provides working poor families, as well as homeless men, women, and children of all ages with the inner resources and tools to become productive, stable, and self-supporting members of the community. 

Upward Bound House - https://www.upwardboundhouse.org/volunteer 

Provides homeless families with housing and supportive services to suit their specific needs, including housing stability, healthy relationships, and emotional and financial well-being. 

Venice Community Housing - https://www.vchcorp.org/volunteer/ 

Eliminates barriers that prevent low-income people from being successful, contributing citizens by reducing the number of homeless people on the street, investing in housing, training young people to be self-reliant, and building strategic partnerships. 

Venice Family Clinic - https://venicefamilyclinic.org/get-involved/become-a-volunteer/ 

Provides quality primary health care to people in need. 

Westside Family Health Center - https://www.wfhcenter.org/en/volunteer 

Provides comprehensive, high-quality, cost-effective health care in an educational and supportive environment that empowers patients to take an assertive role in caring for their well-being through all stages of life. 

Westside Food Bank - https://www.wsfb.org/take-action/ 

Provides food to social service agencies on the Westside of Los Angeles County, often enabling low-income people to stay in their homes and deterring the problem of homelessness. 

WISE & Healthy Aging - https://www.wiseandhealthyaging.org/volunteer 

Advances the dignity and quality of life of older adults through leadership, advocacy and high-quality, innovative services.