Siena House
Cause Area
- Children & Youth
- Crisis Support
- Homeless & Housing
- Women
Location
108 HIgh StreetSanta Cruz, CA 95060 United StatesWebsite:
http://www.sienahouse.org/
Organization Information
Mission Statement
At Siena House, our mission is to give new mothers experiencing homelessness a solid foundation as parents, and their babies the best start in life. We do this by providing a supportive environment throughout pregnancy and a baby’s critical first year of development. We envision a world where every woman and child lives in a safe and supportive home.
Description
Siena House was founded by community members in Santa Cruz who saw a need for safe housing for pregnant women experiencing homelessness. We house women who are pregnant or have an infant for up to a year after the baby is born in our residential program. We provide wrap around services and in-house services including therapy, classes on nutrition, infant care and more. Participants are required to be a part of running the house including completing chores and making group meals. Our goal is to shift generational cycles of poverty and trauma by providing a safe and secure environment for mother and baby for the first crucial stage of a child's development, which are the first 1,000 days. By doing so we drastically reduce the risk of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in the future and support mothers in becoming as stable as possible for their children and families.