InnVision

ISSUE AREA: PLACE

City: San José, CA
Education - Social Development - Urban

Contact:
Anne M. Ehresman, MSW
Senior Vice President
InnVision...The Way Home
974 Willow Street
San José, CA 95125
(408) 292-4286

Date Published: October 2006

InnVision started in 1973 as a church initiative. In 1973 members of nine downtown San José churches began noticing that more and more people were sleeping in downtown doorways and that there was an increase in the number of homeless and at-risk persons in the city of San José. They decided to do something about it and through this the San José Urban Ministry was born. It initially started out as a small operation; at first, the Ministry only provided basic needs: blankets, food and support. Gradually, through collaborating with schools, federal and state agencies, civic groups such as the Gardner Family Healthcare for the Homeless, and foundations, the form of support offered by the Ministry expanded.

In 1992 the San Jose Urban Ministry changed its name to InnVision. This was done in order to incorporate a more dignified shelter experience and a vision for a personal growth. Today, as South Bay’s largest provider of services and housing to at-risk and homeless individuals, InnVision offers a range of care that includes emergency shelters, transitional/supportive housing, and multi-service centers featuring life skills training, counseling, healthcare, child development programs, vocational training, and employment services. All these services promote InnVision’s goal of helping the homeless become more self-sufficient and eventually attain independence.

InnVision has an annual budget of $6.5 million. It receives 27% of its funding from donations made by the community, 26% from contributions made by private enterprises and other civic groups, and 37% from government grants.

InnVision’s emergency shelters, called “inns” provide a temporary, modern, clean, comfortable and safe environment that is home-like and non-institutional. A trained staff provides guidance and encouragement to clients who are seeking self-sufficiency as they are rebuilding their lives. The doors of the shelters open at 4:30 p.m. for meetings with case managers, computer classes for adults, and after-school tutoring for the children. There are currently four such shelters servicing the city of San José. Their holding capacity ranges from 15 to 70 men, women or children. Individuals are permitted to reside in these emergency shelters for periods of up to 90 days.

The longer term transitional/supportive housing offered by InnVision offer services that make a lot of difference in the lives of many men and women who have work but have found that they cannot afford to move directly from a shelter to a new home. As of now, there are four houses that offer this type of transitional/supportive housing to clients. Each house provides a different service. Examples are the Steven’s House in San José, which provides housing for mentally disabled men and women, and the HomeSafe House operating out of Santa Clara, which offers women and children who are survivors of domestic violence a safe and secure place to recover from their abuse and develop new life skills. Clients can reside in this type of housing for up to two years as they move more towards the self-sufficiency of renting and maybe later on to owning their own home.

InnVision Multi-Service Centers offer a full range of services to over 500 people a day who wish to get back on their feet. Any homeless person who wants to become self-sufficient may drop in at any one of the centers. Individuals are offered a continuum of services including a hot meal, drug and alcohol counseling, and medical care. InnVision’s location on the west coast allows it to enjoy funding and volunteer support from national organizations and corporations such as the San Francisco 49ers, IBM, NVIDIA, and the Silicon Valley United Way.

InnVision has a series of programs created to cater to the varying needs of its clients. These programs are divided within four divisions.

• Mental Health Division
• Men’s Division
• Women’s and Families Division
• Urban Ministry of Palo Alto

One of the goals of InnVision is to provide a drug and alcohol free environment for all their clients to stabilize their lives and become more self-sufficient. Through these four divisions, InnVision offers its clients a comprehensive set of support programs such as:

• Daily one-on-one rehabilitation
• Case management and employment assistance
• Money management
• Computer skills

InnVision, through all its different housing options and programs is changing the approach to the problem of homelessness with its focus on transitional support and community collaboration. Without the help of community members who volunteer their time and services, InnVision would not be able to provide the services, programs, and services currently offered to its clients. InnVision is dedicated to the empowerment of homeless persons and families in finding a permanent form of residence.