In June and July of 2019, only 5.5 percent of the individuals who left emergency housing (such as homeless shelters) moved to permanent housing, a dismal statistic for the 2,629 homeless people who live in San Joaquin County, according to the San Joaquin Continuum of Care’s April 2019 Point in Time Count report.
As Jon Mendelson, executive director of the private nonprofit Ready to Work, sees it, it isn’t a question of laziness or apathy that has led people to be in this situation. “You can be lazy and homeless just as much as you can be lazy and have a nine to five,” he points out, adding that “not everyone is offered the same choices in life.”
To help bridge the gap in services available in San Joaquin County, Ready for Work was started in July of 2018 focusing on helping homeless men—who made up 65 percent of all unsheltered homeless (the 1,071 people not living in temporary housing) in the county as of April 2019.
“The goal for Ready to Work is to reduce homelessness in San Joaquin County by providing shelter and services and ultimately linking people to work,” Jon says.
To do this, Ready for Work provides shelter to up to 45 men at a time and offers job training, employment with Ready to Work or one of the organizations they partner with (such as the City of Stockton, CalTrans, Bank of America, and the Downtown Stockton Alliance), and case management and counseling to help teach skills like budgeting, accountability, anger management, and other soft skills needed to secure and keep a job.
In order to be considered a graduate of the program, you must complete 60 hours of self-help counseling, save enough to take care of transportation needs, obtain a job outside Ready to Work, and find permanent housing.
Of the 127 men who were involved in Ready to Work during its first year (July 2018 to July 2019), 28 percent exited to permanent housing. Another 33 percent were still living at the Ready to Work shelter, and 39 percent had exited the program unsuccessfully or were unaccounted for.
While a 28 percent success rate may not seem like much, Jon says when you compare it to the 5.5 percent who leave emergency shelters for permanent housing, the program is clearly working. And there’s plenty of room for more growth and success in the future as Jon hopes to add partnerships with more local businesses to hire the men in the Ready to Work program, increase Ready to Work work crews to employ more people, and expand to offer similar services for women in need.
Want to Help?
Ready to Work
ReadyToWorkSJC.org
(209) 392-9096