Back in 2020, Dignity Health joined forces with and provided a $1,059,712 grant to establish a homeless persons’ resource program that reaches four regions in California: Fresno/Merced Central Valley, San Joaquin, San Bernardino, and San Luis Obispo counties.

The Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps used the funding to establish Street Outreach Teams, which proactively visit unhoused individuals in specially equipped vans to provide support and work on stable, long-term housing solutions.

“We do our best to contact unhoused people where they are in their time of need—be that under freeway underpasses or in riverbed encampments—and we spend time getting to know them and their needs. You can’t treat each person as if they are the same; everyone has individual needs, barriers, and goals,” says Naomi Kuhlman, The Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps’ Director of Programs.

“We have been working together on efforts to address rural homelessness along with developing a collective response to COVID-19,” said Ashley Brand, Dignity Health System Director of Community and Homeless Health. “The Salvation Army partnership seems boundless given our shared mission, vision, values, and focus on serving those who are vulnerable.”

“Dignity Health has been a core partner and driving force to improve the lives of unhoused individuals and families,” said Naomi Kuhlman, Director of Programs.

Additional funding and collaboration has also been provided by the City and County of San Bernardino, the San Bernardino and Redlands Police Departments, the County Sheriff’s Department, the Probation Department, Veterans Affairs, the water district, and nonprofits Healthcare in Action and Goodwill.

The Salvation Army has been able to contact unhoused individuals and families, speaking with them in person to assess their specific needs and challenges, and create case management profiles that provide strategic solutions.

Kuhlman says that providing someone with a meal and a place to sleep meets their basic human needs, but is not the answer to resolving their homelessness. “There are many different reasons why people may be homeless, and a variety of circumstances contribute to their situation. It is our privilege to,” says Goforth.

“We meet person A at an encampment, and maybe all they need is a bus ticket home, and going home would allow them to become stable. With them, we would work to create an individualized travel plan and coordinate their way back home. Then we talk to person B, who declines shelter because he has a pet dog who is his only real companion and can’t bear to be parted from his one true best friend. In that case, we would navigate tangible shelter or housing options that would accept the person along with their animal,” says Kuhlman.

The driving concept behind the Street Outreach team’s approach is to provide tangible options for care and support and to walk alongside those who are housed as they take steps toward resolving homelessness.

The San Bernardino Salvation Army Corps has two street outreach teams that go out several times a week to look for unhoused individuals and respond to referrals to make contact and assess which services are needed.

The more crucial part isn’t the engagement and initial contact; it is the connection to services that can provide the support needed to address underlying reasons for homelessness. connect

Two or three people per team in a van go to homeless encampments, highway overpasses, parks, and other locations where unhoused people live.

“Partnerships with other organizations make a world of difference and strengthen the unhoused individuals’ likelihood for success,” says Kuhlman.

She added, “If an unhoused person has a pet dog that isn’t licensed or hasn’t had its shots, they may not qualify for some housing opportunities. But the Street Outreach team can coordinate with local city animal service departments that will come to the encampments where people and their animals are, and licensing and shots are given free of charge, so that the barrier to housing is removed.”

The Salvation Army’s teams in Redlands and San Bernardino have been making a difference in people’s lives by providing resources to unhoused households with a myriad of goals and objectives.

Care might range from something as simple as getting a hot meal to completing court requirements to regain custody of their children to navigating through domestic violence survivors’ services.

An especially valuable partner has been Dignity Health, which has provided funding to support the teams, along with various city and county agencies. From full-time agency and organizational leaders to street outreach team members, everyone seems to understand that helping the unhoused makes communities safer and better for everyone.

Free meals are served Sunday through Friday at 4:30 pm at The Hospitality House, 925 W. 10th Street, San Bernardino. Family Food boxes, clothing, shoes, and showers are available in Redlands at the Citadel office at 838 Alta Street.

In 2024, The Salvation Army served 28,201 People in 25,022 households, provided 113,400 meals, and distributed groceries to 10,801 households. The Hospitality House provided 35,871 nights of shelter to families and children experiencing homelessness. 3,513 children participated in educational and recreational programs. 171 households were rapidly rehoused through various deposit and rental assistance programs.

The Salvation Army welcomes donations of food, clothing, toys, and money, which can be dropped off at 925 W. 10th Street, San Bernardino, or at the Citadel office at 838 Alta Street, in Redlands. Donations can also be made online at SBCSVA.org.

For more information or help, call The Salvation Army at (909) 792-6868.