Swords to Plowshares’ Veterans Community Center (VCC) will provide 500 unduplicated veterans and veteran families members with clinical case management and counseling services, therapeutic and support groups, and wellness care for veterans in an environment that builds upon peer-based support, increases socialization and community-building with offerings of yoga, coffee chats, chess, financial empowerment, senior-centered classes, and other activities. The model will provide veteran-specific support with a focus on engaging formerly homeless, senior veterans with high acuity in services with flexible services and extended hours, which is critical to effectively serve this population.
The VCC will offer daytime programming that encompasses all of the existing programs offered at San Francisco Drop-in Center, including mental health counseling, clinical case management, legal assistance with veterans benefits and SSI/SSDI disability benefits, employment and job training, Supportive Service for Veteran Families (SSVF) homelessness prevention and housing placement, community referrals for substance use treatment and other healthcare needs. The VCC will meet a need for a welcoming physical space where veterans can rest and connect with peer-based community. The VCC will be open during daytime and evening weekday and weekend hours(from 8am to 8pm daily) for veterans to connect with a Mental Health Clinician participate in group therapy, rest from the fast-passed urban environment, offer respite for homeless veterans living unsheltered, address hygiene needs with on-site showers, eat a warm meal, socialize with games and organized activities, participate in yoga or meditation, and/or join a digital literacy class. We will also offer ADA accessible transportation for veterans – with an emphasis on scheduled rides to the San Francisco VA Medical Center at Fort Miley, which is a lengthy journey on public transit. The VCC will serve all veterans connecting veterans eligible for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) care to VA healthcare services and helping veterans increasing their eligibility for VA care with legal assistance.
The VCC will fill an unmet need for increased socialization, wellness and clinical care for vulnerable veterans, help them access federally funded healthcare and support services and reduce their reliance on emergency care. With flexible evening and weekend hours, we seek to address different set of needs. With so few resources and places open in the evening, the Center will cater to unsheltered veterans who have no place to go and to senior and highly acute formerly homeless veterans who live in permanent housing but have limited connection to community.
The VCC aims to assist 500 veterans and veteran family members to build community, reduce isolation, and address hygiene, food and transportation needs; provide centralized intake, enrollment, case management for 500 veterans and their family members to evaluate their needs and make appropriate referrals; and provide therapeutic mental services to 200, including veterans according to their mental health needs.
Swords to Plowshares’ VCC will be located at 3rd floor of 1060 Howard Street in San Francisco’s South of Market Area, co-located with our San Francisco Drop-in Center on the 1st floor, and will serve veterans residing in surrounding 9-county San Francisco Bay Area including the cities within Alameda County, Contra Costa County, Marin County, Napa County, San Francisco County, San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, Solano County and Sonoma County.