Our mission is to provide homeless women on the Monterey Peninsula supportive resources and a caring community.
“I am a 65-year-old disabled senior without a vehicle alone…I really had some issues to find a place to eat, dress, shower, sleep safe, and find my own apartment out of the cold weather and danger.” Thanks to GFW case managers, she is now housed; however, she is one of many.
Food prices, rental fee increases, job loss, medical debt - just one of these can tip the balance for our neighbors. Annually GFW serves an average of 400 unique women. By July, we had already served over 300 women and children struggling to survive on our affluent Peninsula – nearly a fifty percent increase since this time last year. We are preparing for an even greater need, particularly in displaced seniors whose fixed income is no longer enough to survive. Nutritious food, clothing, and case management will enable them to thrive as they navigate their pathway out of homelessness.
Our Day Center for homeless and housing insecure women is the only one of its kind on the Peninsula. At the Center, we provide meals, shower facilities, and clean clothes, as well as case management. The Center also is a safe space for women to be off the streets and begin to create a sense of community. A women’s basic needs and her security must stabilize – only then can she begin to think about her future. The personal, ongoing contact with our guests through our case management services is at the core of what ensures our guests’ successful outcomes.
Women from Big Sur, Carmel, Castroville, Del Rey Oaks, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Prunedale, Salinas, Sand City, and Seaside, as well as South Monterey County and Santa Cruz County use our Day Center.
It really opened my eyes to see there are still loving, kind, and caring people in the world. You all made a big difference in my life...Words are not enough to show my appreciation and gratitude.
- Anonymous Guest, Monterey
