Background
Established in 1971, Raphael House was the first shelter in San Francisco for homeless families. Now one of four full-service family shelters, our mission is to help at-risk families achieve stable housing and financial independence, while strengthening family bonds. Raphael House was incorporated as its own California nonprofit in 1991, with the federal designation as a 501(c)3 organization.

Who We Serve
Single mothers head 85 percent of our families, and 65 percent of our clients are children. During the fiscal year 06-07 Raphael House served 1,144 individuals of which 754 were children.

Geographic Area Served
The majority of the families at Raphael House are from San Francisco or the greater Bay Area. Families who have left the shelter but are active in our AfterCare Program live in San Francisco, South San Francisco, Daly City, the East Bay, and Sacramento areas.

Introduction to Programs and Services
Raphael House focuses on helping families in a way that preserves and instills both a sense of dignity and responsibility. It begins by filling the most basic needs of shelter, food, and clothing in a home-like atmosphere of love, care and security in which families can rebuild their lives in the midst of a supportive community. The five key components to Raphael House's approach are:

• Family Shelter: A Residential Shelter Program offering housing for children and their families in crisis;
• Parent Services: Combined casework, counseling and educational components that help parents establish goals for their family, develop a plan and acquire the skills necessary to achieve their goals;
• Children's Services: Tutoring and educational advocacy to ensure children are performing up to their ability in school; children's activities that foster creativity, imagination and inner healing through art, stories, games and dance; and
• AfterCare Services: An Aftercare Program providing systematic follow-up and support to former resident families after they move out of the family shelter.

Success
The overall success of Raphael House is demonstrated by the following statistical measurements from August 2006 through July 2007: 82% of families moved from our shelter into stable housing; and 95% of active AfterCare families maintained their stable housing.

Honoring the valuable service it provides for San Francisco and the Bay Area, Raphael House has received three prestigious awards:

• The Management Center's Award for excellence in non-profit management
• The Sara Lee Foundation Leadership Award for an outstanding organization helping to make lasting changes in the community
• The San Francisco Foundation's John R. May Award, for addressing a need in the community, and working with other organizations to meet that need.
• Executive Director Fr. David Lowell, awarded Jefferson award for community service

Supported solely by private sources, Raphael House neither seeks nor accepts government funding of any kind.

Volunteers
Both individuals and corporate volunteer groups participate in virtually every aspect of the work at Raphael House -- from serving dinner to tutoring the children to serving on our Board of Directors. In addition to our 60 weekly volunteers, there are over 2300 volunteers who help out annually. One-third of our full time staff members live in the shelter, allowing us to provide a home-like atmosphere for our families. While working 40 hours per week for three to nine months, live-in volunteers participate in an educational program to learn about all the aspects of how Raphael House operates.