The AmeriCorps Partnership for Veterans and People Experiencing Homelessness is a program of NSBC United Way.
Since 1959, the Northern Santa Barbara County United Way has been serving the people of Santa Maria, Lompoc, and the Santa Ynez Valley as well as the residents of Buellton and Guadalupe. The name has changed over the years -- from United Community Services Fund of Northern Santa Barbara County (a true mouthful!) in 1959 to the United Way of the Central Coast in 1977 to Northern Santa Barbara County United Way in 2006, which is still our name today.
We serve a community of approximately 200,000 residents in Northern Santa Barbara County alone, but with the launch of our county-wide homelessness initiative, the SBC AmeriCorps Partnership, we serve the entire county. That increases our population served to approximately 450,000 people. These people have different needs, but we fight for every member of every community to improve health, education, and financial stability.
Our AmeriCorps Partnership spans ten nonprofit and public agencies that focus on mental health services, criminal justice advocacy, housing acquisition/retention, and general social services. Members serve by humanizing our beneficiaries and connecting them to resources that will improve the quality of their lives. Each service year we assist thousands of homeless folk and hundreds of veterans. During the initial COVID quarantine of 2020, we helped house over 300 homeless people throughout the county. We believe everyone deserves a home for good!
