New Beginnings Counseling Center

Target demographics: Veterans, homeless and housing insecure, and the mentally ill in our community.

Direct beneficiaries per year: 2,384 Unduplicated Individuals and housed or prevented eviction for 240 individuals.

Geographic areas served: Santa Barbara County

Programs: The Donald J. Willfong Community Counseling Clinic At New Beginnings, we offer confidential psychological counseling and assessment services to more than 800 at-risk individuals and families in the greater Santa Barbara area each year. Experienced counselors are here to help clients explore life transitions, relationship issues and a variety of concerns including anxiety, depression, grief and loss, trauma, abuse, compulsive behaviors, substance use, job loss and stress, aging, isolation and anger management. Many client experience a 15% reduction in overall distress after only eight sessions. The clinic offers confidential individual, couples, family and group counseling services in both English and Spanish with masters and doctoral-level interns gaining hours for clinical licensure. We have trained hundreds of our community’s seasoned clinicians and continue to provide a research-informed, best-practice approach to preparing tomorrow’s psychotherapists and psychologists in the field of mental health. Safe Parking Program New Beginnings’ Safe Parking Program provides case management and outreach to the homeless and safe overnight parking to individuals and families living in their vehicles. New Beginnings has operated the Safe Parking Program since 2004 in cooperation with numerous local churches, governmental and non-profit agencies and businesses. We provide confidential, daily-monitored parking places for those who are living in their vehicles because they do not have sufficient income to provide for their basic need of affordable housing. In addition to operating 120 safe overnight parking spaces, the Safe Parking program connects the chronically homeless to shelters and services that will get them off the streets and into safer environments. Program staff distribute more than 450 pounds of food each month and offer a rapid re-housing component that provides case management to transition program participants into permanent housing and employment. Through the program, New Beginnings offers job tutoring, resume preparation and facilitates outside agency connections as needed to help participants gain employment or obtain government benefits. On a case-by-case basis, New Beginnings will write grants on behalf of clients to help them obtain cash assistance to pay for medical and dental expenses, and other costly, but life-changing assistance. Life Skills Parenting Education Program New Beginnings’ Life Skills Parenting Education Program teaches critical hands-on parenting skills, mindfulness strategies and overall life skills to more than 100 low-income families each year who need practical tools to establish and maintain stability in their home environments. For more than ten years, this program has been offered at no cost through community centers and non-profit organizations that serve at risk youth and low-income families. The Life Skills Parenting Education Program consists of a series of culturally-based therapeutic and psycho-educational classes, offered in six, eight or twelve week formats in both English and Spanish. The classes teach hands-on skills that help parents define effective parental roles, end destructive behaviors, shift their thinking, and develop new perspectives to improve their lives. Supportive Services Program For The Housing Authority of The City of Santa Barbara The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara (HACSB) has partnered with New Beginnings Counseling Center (NBCC) for the past six years to administer its Supportive Services Program, providing more than two thousand case management and counseling hours to its clients each year. The goal of the Supportive Services Program is to improve the quality of life of Housing Authority clients, with an emphasis on promoting independence, well-being, and self-sufficiency. Through this relationship, NBCC case managers work directly with some of the over 3,000 clients of HACSB providing a myriad of services including case management, eviction prevention and transitional assistance. All services are free, confidential and voluntary. We strive to help our mutual clients build an enduring and successful relationship with their landlords and assist them in maintaining long-term, stable tenancies. More than just bricks and mortar, the program was first designed by the HACSB as a rare innovation focused on the success of its residents. Our services go far beyond just “housing” HACSB clients. We work to connect our clients with healthcare, counseling, employment services, senior services, in home support/care, legal assistance, public benefits and many other resources. Supportive Services for Veterans and Their Families New Beginnings Counseling Center’s Supportive Services for Veteran Families program operates from a housing first model to help end veteran homelessness within Santa Barbara County. The program’s goal is to help veterans attain housing stability through short-term case management and financial assistance. We serve those in danger of losing their housing, and those who are homeless and need assistance in obtaining permanent, traditional housing. Services Include: •Short-term case management •Housing counseling and placement assistance •Temporary financial assistance for rental debts, security and utility deposits, and short term rental assistance. Basic Eligibility Requirements: •A member of a veteran family, which can be a single veteran or family in which the head of household or the spouse of the head of household is a veteran. •Gross household income must be at or below 50% of the area median income for household size. •A person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released there from under conditions other than dishonorable. Health Access and Care Coordination (HACC) Project The Health Access and Care Coordination Project is an innovative multi-agency, multi-disciplinary collaborative focused on expanding access and improving coordination city-wide in Santa Barbara to ensure equitable healthcare for newly eligible Medi-Cal members residing in affordable housing. The goal of the Health Access and Care Coordination Project is to connect MediCal expansion members with primary care and behavioral health providers. The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara (HACSB) has partnered with New Beginnings Counseling Center (NBCC) to administer and participate in the Health Access and Care Coordination (HACC) Project. The core values of equity, respect, compassion and collaboration guide the actions of HACC partners as we work together to improve access to health services for vulnerable members of our community. The HACC collaborative will help facilitate the following for MediCal expansion members, ages 19-65: Increase access to mental health and immediate care services through the development of a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary team; Provide health education and wellness programs; Enhance care coordination across primary and behavioral healthcare delivery systems by assisting in health care navigation, linkages to formal services, arranging appointments, transportation to appointments, follow-up calls, and other disease management activities; Provide home visits and “pop-up” clinics for physical and mental health assessments, and preliminary treatment; Educate participants on how to avoid readmission to the hospital for basic healthcare needs; and Connect participants with area health care providers in order to help them establish lasting relationships.