Last year, 192 youth received safe shelter! During their stay at the Storefront, each of these youth received safe refuge. Our case managers worked with these youth to help prepare them for their next step toward achieving a stable life.
Learn more about the programs of the Storefront Shelter:
Night Shelter
The Storefront Night Shelter is a 20-bed emergency shelter--the only one in San Diego specifically designed for homeless and runaway youth. The goal of the Storefront is to stabilize the lives of vulnerable youth.
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Staff provide initial crisis assessment and intervention including provision of food, clothing, safe shelter and medical care referral.
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Case management, drug and sexual exploitation education, and family mediation and counseling work to reunite youth with their family if it is safe and appropriate.
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Special arts programming funded by Photocharity encourage expression through music, dance, painting and other media.
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Referral to longer-term residential programs or transitional living programs when reunification is not possible.
Day Drop-In Center
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This program provides street kids with a safe place with supervision and support between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm.
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Comprehensive Storefront services are available daily and include food, clothing, showers, laundry facilities, education, recreation, independent living skills and job training, counseling, and case management.
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Computer access encourages skill development and provides access to job searches and other resources.
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The Independent Living Skills curriculum incorporates the empowering qualities of the Community Youth Development approach to preparing youth for successful independence and healthy engagement in the community.
Street Outreach
More than 2,500 youth are seen annually out on the streets by the Outreach Team. As part of The Storefront's mission, outreach workers search the streets of San Diego six nights every week in search of homeless children, providing them with survival information, warm clothing, something to eat, and an opportunity to get off the streets.
Angel Home
Angel Home is a new program funded by Photocharity to meet the needs of youth who are living at the Storefront with no alternative placement available. Because these youth are not wards or dependents of the court, have never been removed from their homes by Child Protective Services or committed a crime, they are not eligible for County-funded foster care or other public services. Angel Home will provide a long-term care in a home-like environment in a certified foster home that is supervised by SDYS’ Foster Family Agency. Youth will be eligible for services from the Storefront Day Program and will be able to maintain a stable living situation until they reach eighteen years old. Mobile Clinic
SDYS is one of the partner agencies in the Teen Health Outreach Mobile Clinic Collaborative. This project provides street youth with acute and preventative health services. It facilitates connection to a teen-friendly "medical home" and stabilization via street-based case management services.
San Diego County Employees Charitable Organization Will Make a Difference During the Holidays
Storefront youth, with Nikyta Palmisani, our Expressive Arts therapist, created a hanging mobile for CECO. The group focused upon the theme of “what feeds us” and with CECO in mind, the youth created an art piece that represents what types of things, not only feed their stomachs, but their hearts and minds. CECO has been instrumental in providing funding for the teen shelter to purchase food and outreach snacks. With the holidays approaching these dollars are going far to ensure that the teens will have plenty on the table to choose from and also to provide the extra food needed when youth are out of school during holiday breaks. The donation also provides funding for our monthly food group. This group, facilitated by our Independent Living Skills coordinator teaches the teens how to create a menu on a limited budget, comparison shop, and prepare the food. As with all activities that focus on food, this one is one of the most popular activities at our shelter. Thank you CECO for your support, your contribution will allow us to provide plenty of delicious and nutritious food this holiday season at the Storefront shelter and for the outreach team to distribute to youth on the streets.
Thank You San Diego Human Dignity Foundation
A special thanks to the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation for their generous contribution of $2,000 to help fund the The Storefront's teen zine Rainbolution Now.
National Council of Jewish Women Aid Homeless Youth in Making Healthy Choices
The National Council of Jewish Women-San Diego has been supporting the Storefront for the past three years. Their group has been vital in helping our outreach team in providing safe sex hygiene kits to youth on the streets and in our shelter. They have purchased much needed supplies and this past year over a thousand dollars of supplies were donated to the shelter. One of their passions is pregnancy and HIV/STI prevention and their generosity has gone a long way to help this cause. They also have been coming to the shelter and packaging the hygiene kits for the outreach team, thus giving the team more time to be on the streets rather then putting together the supply kits. All of us at Storefront are grateful for their continued support and energy!
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The Personal Story of A Storefont Youth
Grace's Story
When Grace's parents abandoned her, she ended up living on the streets. With no other clear options, she started using drugs and selling her body for a meal and a place to sleep. Storefront outreach workers found her living under a freeway overpass. Grace was skeptical when she first visited the Storefront, but overwhelmed by her hungry and desperate need for a shower. This was the first step in her recovery to a stable life. After living at the Storefront for two months and working with case managers, she applied and was accepted into our Take Wing transitional housing program. She began working part-time and going to school every day and learning to live on her own. "I believe if it wasn't for SDYS," says Grace, "I would be dead."
Josh's Story
View Josh's story
A view the night shelter sleeping quarters. Youth who stay for more than a few days often decorate their bed to personalize the space
Contact Information
phone: (619) 325-3527
e-mail: jstankus@sdyouthservices.org
24-hour Crisis Line (toll free): 1-866-715-6405
A special thank you to the following supporters of the Storefront:
Annenberg
California Emergency Management Agency
County of San Diego
Family Health Centers of San Diego
FOCUS
Gold Diggers of San Diego
Harbor Kiwanis Club San Diego
Hay Foundation
HIV Funding Collaborative
Kaiser Permanente
Pegasus
Photocharity
MAC
MacGregor’s Bar & Ale House
Martin L. & Enid P. Gleich
Metro Urban Ministries
National Council of Jewish Women San Diego Chapter
Qualcomm
San Diego County Employees’ Charitable Organization (CECO)
San Diego Downtown Lion’s Club
San Diego Downtown Rotary
St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church
St. Germaine’s Auxiliary
The Annenberg Foundation
The Thursday Club
United States Department of Health and Human Services
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
United Way
Uptown Rotary
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