The Catholic Worker House is a volunteer-operated center located at 545 Cassia Street in Redwood City. They rely heavily on community donations and also serve meals and visit encampments to provide supplies. 

From their founder: 

“Each Wednesday and Thursday we offer elaborate meals to 100+ men and women. In addition to those 200+ meals, we visit homeless encampments weekly and bring food, camping equipment, socks, and gift certificates. A steady stream of men and women charge their phones and other devices on our front porch. Regularly, a few a friends take a shower with our hose. We give what we get. Often we give out underwear, tents, back packs, sleeping bags and tarps.  

The favorite item we distribute every week are gigantic deli sandwiches. In the last year we have given out over 15,000 pairs of socks. We know these men and women by name and by life stories. Periodically we pass out warm clothing which is often new (jackets, hoodies, sweats etc). In the past 5 years we have given out about 1500 - 2000 bikes.” 

Catholic Worker House Food Distribution 

Downtown Streets Team

The Downtown Streets Team (DST) Program has been serving the most vulnerable population in Redwood City since October 2019. DST aims to restore dignity, inspire hope, and provide a pathway to recover from homelessness.  

Individuals can participate in a “Work Experience Program” and Team Members include individuals who are sheltered, unsheltered, or at risk of experiencing homelessness. Team Members receive access to case management, system navigation, and employment placement services from trained DST Case Managers and Employment Specialists. Teams engage in community beautification, clean-up projects, encampment waste services, and respond to illegal dumping clean-up requests throughout Redwood City five days a week.  

In addition to the peer support and sense of belonging that comes with being part of DST, Team Members proudly wear their yellow shirts when volunteering. When they are ready, Team Members can apply for temporary, part-time employment through the Street Team Enterprise program (STE). The mission of STE is to help individuals attain permanent employment by providing training and a transitional paying job.

Since 2019, the following has been achieved:  

DST was part of the Redwood City Inter-Agency Homeless Outreach Team that operated from 2022-2024. DST continues to serve people experiencing or at risk of homelessness in Redwood City and host a weekly success meeting every Wednesday at the Downtown Library. Click here for more information. 

DST “Yellow Shirt” Team Members pictured at Courthouse Square in Redwood City 

LifeMoves is dedicated to finding solutions to homelessness on the Peninsula and across Silicon Valley. With over two dozen locations from Daly City to San José, they partner with our unhoused neighbors for a temporary place to call home while providing intensive, supportive, customized case management through both shelter programs and community outreach. 

LifeMoves operated Redwood City’s Temporary RV Safe Parking Program (program ended in February 2023) and currently operates the San Mateo County Navigation Center also located in Redwood City.  

As part of the County’s Homeless Outreach Teams, LifeMoves is the lead agency for outreach in the Bayside Region which serves Redwood City, North Fair Oaks, San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos, Foster City, and Hillsborough.   

LifeMoves was the lead agency for Redwood City's Inter-Agency Homeless Outreach Team between 2022 and 2024. 

LifeMoves Outreach engaging with clients at an encampment 

Nation’s Finest

Nation’s Finest, celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2022, is a dedicated organization providing holistic support to over 7,000 homeless and at-risk Veterans and their families annually in California, Nevada, and Arizona. With a profound commitment to housing, health, and employment, the organization empowers Veterans to achieve self-sufficiency. Having assisted more than 150,000 at-risk Veterans since its inception in 1972, Nation’s Finest has delivered over $275 million in direct services. Specializing in aiding those facing chronic homelessness, addiction, mental health issues, physical disabilities from combat injuries, unemployment, and behavioral challenges, the organization serves a diverse clientele, spanning different ages, genders, ethnicities, and military service eras. With a comprehensive approach, Nation’s Finest strives to address the unique needs of each individual, offering vital services and fostering self-esteem, aiming to break the cycle of homelessness and hardship for America’s military Veterans and their families. 

Nation’s Finest was part of the Redwood City Inter-Agency Homeless Outreach Team that operated from 2022-2024. Nation’s Finest continues to serve veteran’s experiencing homelessness in San Mateo County and Redwood City.  

Nation’s Finest Mobile Services Unit

Street Life Ministries

Street Life Ministries is a community-based, non-profit organization that serves the homeless and at-risk populations of the Mid-Peninsula. They serve over 50,000 meals a year, distribute clothing, and help unhoused residents get off the streets and into sustainable living and addiction recovery. 

Street Life Ministries was part of the Redwood City Inter-Agency Homeless Outreach Team that operated from 2022-2024. Street Life Ministries continues to serve people experiencing homelessness in San Mateo County and Redwood City. 

Street Life Ministries Team

Street Medicine

The Street Medicine Institute (SMI) facilitates and enhances the direct provision of health care to the unsheltered homeless where they live. SMI does this by providing communities and clinicians with expert training, guidance, and support to develop and grow their own Street Medicine programs. SMI has become the global leader in developing the field and practice of Street Medicine and has helped cultivate or improve Street Medicine programs in over 140 cities in 27 countries across 6 continents. SMI is also a membership community that enables professionals and other individuals interested in the Street Medicine movement to come together to provide peer support, share best practices, seek advice and learn about key concepts necessary for a successful Street Medicine program. 

Street Medicine clinician performing mobile assessment 

WeHOPE

Healthy, employed and housed is more than a tagline. It is WeHOPE's commitment to end our neighbors' homelessness, hunger, underemployment, and recidivism. WeHOPE is the loving neighbor that believes access to clean water, a healthy meal, and affordable dignified housing is a basic human right. We believe that no one facing homelessness should go without a shower, clean laundry, a healthy meal, or a safe place to sleep, which is why we provide comprehensive services that meet the health and safety needs of the whole person. Through WeHOPE's job training, recidivism programs, and employment opportunities, we bring life skills to people in need so they can maintain quality of life and put them on a path to self-sufficiency. 

WeHOPE provides Dignity on Wheels mobile shower and laundry services at four locations in Redwood City. Dignity on Wheels also operates in the following counties: Alameda, Marin, and Santa Clara.  

Dignity on Wheels mobile van and trailer