The San Diego Regional Taskforce on the Homeless (www.rtfhsd.org) estimates that there are more than 7,500 homeless individuals living in San Diego, and 2,300 outside of the city of San Diego. This includes the chronically homeless, those homeless due to domestic violence, families with children, day laborers, the mentally ill, seniors, substance abusers, veterans, and youth. Of these, over 2000 individuals are living within the cities of Escondido and Oceanside.
Homelessness does not exist in isolation. It is always linked to other human conditions: hunger, under- or un-employment, inadequate parenting skills, physical, emotional and mental illness, illiteracy, lack of education and social skills, unawareness of available resources, and most of all, hopelessness, loss of human dignity and spiritual crisis. Interfaith Community Services exists to meet these needs.
North County Interfaith Council, dba Interfaith Community Services, was founded in 1979 by a handful of diverse faith communities to address the needs of low-income, homeless, and underserved populations. These faith centers regularly encountered individuals in crisis, but were incapable of meeting their needs. Individually, the faith centers were giving handouts, but by creating Interfaith, they were better able to produce change in the lives of the hungry, substance abusers, the mentally ill, homeless, and the unemployed.
As membership and participation grew, Interfaith evolved into a continuum of programs and services that provides the tools and resources people in crisis need to stabilize and rebuild their lives. These programs are organized into five main areas: basic needs, housing, counseling, employment services, and drug & alcohol rehabilitation. Under these department headings are numerous programs covering a broad spectrum of support. Programs are designed to overlap so that each client receives as many services as necessary for his/her specific situation.
Interfaith offers 12 programs throughout North San Diego County, from the coastal City of Oceanside to inland communities south and east of our Escondido headquarters. With more than 3,400 volunteers in direct service, more than 400 member faith centers, and 100 professional staff, Interfaith served 33,700 unique persons with a variety of services just last year. Our staff and volunteers reflect the cultural diversity of each community where we offer programs.
Interfaith’s annual budget exceeds $9 million, and Interfaith’s overhead costs, defined as management and fundraising, are only 9.6%. We have successfully managed millions of dollars from numerous federal, state, county and municipal grants. Interfaith has also been part of national studies by Columbia University and the University of Houston, which have measured and touted the exceptional efforts of Interfaith as national models for welfare reform (Columbia University) and faith-based community development (University of Houston).The Coalition Ministries and Congregations Study completed by Houston was, in fact, funded in part by the Lilly Endowment.
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