
Ready to Work is focused on addressing homelessness and issues closely linked with housing and job insecurity, including criminal recidivism. The population we serve has few resources to get back on their feet at a time when services are shrinking and the need is growing.
The homeless population in San Joaquin County is increasing. Encampments of homeless individuals in Stockton, Lodi, Tracy, Manteca, and the unincorporated county are a constant reminder of our community’s need.
The 2019 Point-in-Time Homeless Count documented 1,558 people living on the streets in San Joaquin County, nearly triple the number counted in 2017. In 2019, there were also 1,061 homeless living in emergency shelters.
At the same time, a communitywide inventory by the San Joaquin County Homelessness Task Force shows large gaps in homeless services.
The organizations that have traditionally helped this population are overwhelmed. Shelters routinely operate at or above capacity. Transitional housing has had its funding slashed. Federal funding for affordable housing and homelessness services is on the chopping block. And many permanent housing programs with proven success have funding sources that limit the population they serve and the services they offer.
The result is a gap that leaves a large number of people with no resources to get off the streets and re-enter our community.
With the strain on our infrastructure growing by the day, Ready to Work is needed now more than ever. Ready to Work’s service model helps plug this gap by tailoring its program structure for the job. And we focus on serving residents from all across the county, including Stockton, where homelessness is most pressing.
We provide an unbroken pathway from homelessness to permanent housing and employment, assisting clients along each step of the journey to self-sufficiency.
Homelessness and criminal recidivism are complex and deep-rooted problems. But Ready to Work is designed to have a real impact — it can prevent homelessness, get people off our streets, and give hope to people who are willing to work for a better future.