Mission

HomeFirst confronts homelessness by cultivating people's potential to get housed and stay housed.

What We Do

HomeFirst Services of Santa Clara County is the leading provider of emergency shelter and supportive services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness in our community. We provide services at every step of the journey from homeless to housed: from street outreach to affordable housing. We know there's no one solution to homelessness. That's why HomeFirst has adopted an "all of the above" approach, seeking creative and innovative best practices from across sectors!

We operate two year-round shelter sites: a 250-bed, adults-only shelter in the City of San Jose, the Boccardo Reception Center (BRC), and a 175-bed shelter for families and adults in Sunnyvale, CA. In addition to our shelter sites, we also operate the street encampment Outreach Teams within the City of San Jose as well as the city's Overnight Warming Locations (OWLs) that open during inclement weather. We also run two seasonal cold-weather shelters between November and April in Gilroy and Mountain View. And with a program that we can trace back all the way to our agency's founding in 1980, we provide transitional, affordable housing at two family living centers!