The Family Shelter has 32 beds available. Referrals for the Family Shelter are accepted from CalWORKS and Child Welfare Services. Once a referral is received, Betty’s House staff contacts the family to schedule an assessment. After contact is made, we assess the families to determine suitability for the Family Shelter program. If a family has been approved, a move-in date is set. Family Shelter residents may stay in the program for up to 6 months with the possibility for an extension on a case-by-case basis. Families work with the Case Management Team to set goals and assess their progress. The Family Shelter requires residents to be employed or actively seeking employment, actively seeking housing, attending Case Management meetings, and meeting goals set by the Case Management Team and other agencies. All school-aged children must be enrolled in and actively attending school. As long as a family is progressing towards their goals, especially goals related to employment, housing, and children’s needs, and the family is following all program guidelines, they may stay at the Family Shelter for their full term. One of the main objectives of the Family Shelter is to fill the gap in services in our community. The Family Shelter does this by prioritizing single fathers, two parent families, and families with teenagers, as these families have extremely limited shelter options that would allow them to stay together.
Medical Respite
The Medical Respite program has 10 beds available. Residents enter the Medical Respite program after being screened by St. Joseph Hospital to assess fitness for the program at Betty’s House. Once screened and approved by St. Joseph’s staff, residents move from the hospital to Betty’s House immediately after being discharged. Residents are approved for a 21 day stay at Betty’s House, in order to recover from the illness or injury they were being treated for at the hospital. The St. Joseph Health Care Transitions Team is responsible for the medical care and case management of the residents.