The Good Shepherd Center (GSC)/Farley House is one of Rest Cottage Association’s 2022 grant recipients. The Farley House is the setting for GSC’s transitional living program for families. A mother with up to two minor children may reside in one of Farley House’s 21 furnished, one-bedroom apartments. Farley House has a comprehensive Family Services and Children’s Program with a full-time Children’s Program Manager on staff. This helps ensure the entire family develops skills which will help them move towards a future free of homelessness. Children enrolled at Farley House benefit from one-on-one tutoring through a partnership with School on Wheels. Children also have access to a variety of cultural and social activities, such as field trips to museums and enrollment in summer day-camp programs.
The mission of the GSC is to empower women and their children to move from homelessness to self-sufficiency through housing, employment, and support services offered with dignity and love. The GSC provides housing and services for 93 women and over 50 children and touches the lives of more than 1,500 women and children each year at their three facilities: Languille Shelter, Hawkes Residence, and Farley House. The GSC’s Housing for Health Program creates permanent supportive housing for homeless clients of the LA County Department of Health Services. The women enrolled in any of the residential programs have access to GSC’s Life Skills programs and workshops, which include improving emotional and physical health, parenting skills and money management. Clients also have access to educational programs to help them earn their GED.
The GSC also has non-residential programs for women with minor children and single women experiencing homelessness. These services include a drop-in program, outreach services, and a Rapid Rehousing Program, which provides housing and financial assistance to help women find and retain permanent housing.
The women who come through the doors all have their own stories. Some are domestic violence survivors, some have suffered job loss, divorce, or health problems, and some were faced with unexpected life circumstances, all of which led to homelessness. One of those stories is of a 77-year-old woman with a long history of mistrust of social service systems. The GSC team worked hard to build a rapport and took her to see an apartment and accompanied her to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program office so she could obtain proof of income. Though there were numerous bumps in the road, the GSC team was able to assist her with the lease signing and help move her into the apartment. Getting this woman off the streets will ultimately stabilize her health and reconnect her to her children. The central goal for all the services offered at GSC is to provide tools which will help residents and non-residents improve their lives and live more independently.
