In the Spotlight: Mark's House

In the Spotlight: Mark's House

By Lisa Garcia, Program Manager 

The Marks House Family Shelter is a five-family community living shelter located in Lompoc, California, assisting those families experiencing homelessness within the mid-county region of Santa Barbara County.

Families within the region are referred to the Marks House through the Coordinated Entry System within the county. Throughout their stay in the shelter, they receive ongoing enhanced case management to find a permanent home. The Case Manager utilizes their knowledge and experience to connect the individuals to resources available within their community, including mental health, substance use treatment, housing retention, employment resources, and many more. 

Here, families find a roof over their heads and a lifeline, a place to rebuild their lives and find stability in the storm.

The Marks House team includes Lisa Garcia, the Program Manager, Erika Vargas, the Case Manager, and Jesica Renteria, the House Assistant. 

Erika works diligently with families to ensure their safety and progress during their effort to secure employment and housing, as well as connecting families and their children to the necessary services. When a child enrolls in school, she connects with the Lompoc Unified School District to ensure the family's success in getting transportation for the children along with after-school care, whether through the Boys and Girls Club, ASES, and/or YMCA. 

Between Erika and Jesica, the families gain more life skills by coordinating group activities, whether it be in meal preparation, cleaning, budgeting, and much more. Jesica is there to help clients by being available, ensuring all supplies are available, and ensuring rules and regulations are being followed. She is there to support not only the clients but also Erika and Lisa. She conducts some of the activities for the families, including game nights, literacy, how to be a good neighbor, and much more, in order to build a stronger foundation for the families within the program and ensure positive outcomes. 

Self-care is an essential topic for those within the program, as through their experience with homelessness, they tend to prioritize their child(ren) and lack this skill, leaving them in a vulnerable position.

Once a family finds a housing opportunity, the Marks House continues to support the family by providing case management and financial support in paying their deposit and rental assistance. They meet with Erika for up to a year after being housed in order to support them in their new journey. 

Empowering families to live a healthy lifestyle to ensure they have the skills to follow through and succeed is key.

Helping them maintain and sustain their housing opportunity is essential in order for them to not only learn how to become more independent and self-sufficient but also to allow them the opportunity for growth. Throughout their time working together, they are not only in a better place but also learning new life skills that can help them move forward and accomplish more goals.