FESCO's Family
Room
Facts about families served by FESCO
— the Family Shelter
Families who become homeless have certain basic needs. Perhaps
foremost is a safe, secure environment like that maintained by
FESCO's 24-hour staffing. The Shelter's warm, home-like
atmosphere comfortably accommodates 24 people in its four
bedrooms and two bathrooms.
When FESCO families are ready, they receive resettlement
assistance coordinated by the family counselor and carried out by
volunteers. Upon relocating, families receive in-home follow-up
assistance from our family counselor.
- Approximately 2/3 of the people in the shelter are
children — average age 6 - 7. (Show
me.)
- 74% of family heads have employment when they arrive or
prior to leaving.
- About 65% of FESCO families move into housing when they
leave the shelter (among the highest rates in Alameda
County).
- TANF is the principal source of income for over 80% of
sheltered families.
- Occupancy ranges from 83% to 100% each night. (Rooms are
shared; since families vary in size from 1 to 5 children
and 1 or 2 parents, the Shelter house may be as full as
possible and still have an empty bed in some rooms.) (So, how many people is that?)
- Average length of stay is about 60 days. (Then
what?)
- Resettlement assistance is coordinated and carried out
entirely by volunteers, with community donations.
In one year:
- An average of 90 homeless families receive services at
the FESCO Shelter.
- 50-60 families in the community receive services to prevent
their becoming homeless.
- FESCO conducts over 600 counseling sessions —
both individual and family sessions.
Who lives at the FESCO Shelter?
Answer: Families! And children account for
about two-thirds of our Shelter residents.
How many people stay at the
FESCO Shelter?
Answer: Range is from 7 to 22 families during
a month; average is between 8 and 10 families at a time.
After staying at the FESCO
Shelter, where do families go?
Answer: About 65% move into housing. FESCO
also has 4 units of transitional housing
for
18-month stays; and in 2003 we opened a
new
facility to
serve 8 more families at a time for 10-month stays.
The Community Served
The majority of families served in the shelter are headed by
single mothers (about 75%); about 15 are two-parent families, and
about 8% are single fathers. There is no other shelter in southern Alameda County where families containing
adult or adolescent males can go and remain together.
Ethnically, residents are typically 62% African-American, 22%
Caucasian, 9% Hispanic, 7% Asian, Native American or biracial.
About 88% of our residents had been living in Alameda County
when they came to the FESCO Shelter (split approximately equally
between north and south).
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