Fostering Access, Resilience, and Opportunity (FARO) Center Opens!

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Fostering Access, Resilience, and Opportunity (FARO) Center Opens!

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The City, in partnership with the Santa Barbara Alliance for Community Transformation (SB ACT), has opened the Fostering Access, Resilience, and Opportunity (FARO) Center. The FARO Center, aptly named "Faro," which means lighthouse in Spanish, will serve as a beacon of hope for individuals experiencing homelessness in our community. Operating five days a week during daytime hours, it brings together a network of service providers to offer resources such as housing navigation, employment assistance, and behavioral health servicesin a centralized, one-stop-shop location. The FARO Center aims to help individuals move toward and maintain stable housing by providing these services in a safe and welcoming environment.

The City has entered a three-year lease agreement for a multi-story office building on the 600 block of Chapala in Downtown Santa Barbara, designating it as a Daytime Navigation & Workforce Development Center. The Center will help reduce the impacts of homelessness by monitoring and addressing neighborhood impacts, providing ongoing outreach, and initiating clean-up efforts.

A Collaborative Effort
The FARO Center is staffed by SB ACT and supported by key service provider partners with proven success in reducing homelessness. SB ACT will coordinate outreach and case management support at the center using the Coordinated Entry System (CES) to identify individual needs and facilitate access to interim and permanent housing solutions. Consultations with individuals who have lived experience in homelessness will help expand and adapt the FARO Center's services to better meet the needs of unsheltered individuals and families. SB ACT is dedicated to empowering the community to compassionately engage with marginalized individuals, focusing on improving their physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental well-being.

The FARO Center offers:

• Comprehensive support services, including case management, documentation readiness, workforce development, life skills building, job search assistance, housing referrals, health care, and mental health support.
• Consistent service hours five days a week with additional client meetings by appointment.
• Collaboration with multiple service providers to offer housing navigation, employment assistance, and behavioral health services.
• Workforce development resources are provided by the Santa Barbara City Public Library.
• A safe and dignified space for individuals to seek respite and resources to move toward housing.
• Training and implementation of specific strategies around safety, de-escalation, diversion, and reunification to create an intentional setting conducive to service provision and exits from street-level homelessness.

The Need for the FARO Center
According to the 2024 Point-in-Time Count, there are approximately 987 people experiencing homelessness in Santa Barbara, marking an increase for the first time in three years. This growing demand underscores the critical need for day-to-day basic needs and supportive services for our unhoused population. The FARO Center addresses this need by offering a daytime refuge where individuals can access essential services, aiding in their transition from street-level homelessness to stable living situations. Homelessness impacts everyone. The FARO Center will bring dignity to people experiencing homelessness and lessen the impacts on businesses and the neighborhood.

FARO Center Hours
Monday through Friday
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Additional client meetings will be available by appointment on weekdays.

Join us in celebrating the culmination of years of hard work and collaboration among many partners, City staff, community members, and those affected by homelessness. Together, we can make a difference!

For more information, visit sbact.org/farocenter.