Our Programs for Homeless Adults
Providing shelter, housing and support for homeless adults.
To request shelter services, please call our shelter team at 415-457-9651.
Shelter programs for adults
Five shelter programs operate at Homeward Bound of Marin, helping hundreds of adults each year clear their paths to stability, health and new futures.
Housing-focused services
At Jonathan’s Place in San Rafael and New Beginnings Center in Novato, we offer housing-focused services that compose a large portion of these programs for single adults. We provide counseling, case management, meals, referral to community resources and support to help Marin’s homeless adults find a path to housing.
Coordinated Entry System
We participate in the Coordinated Entry System that provides an integrated, community-wide process for access to housing services in Marin County. This process is designed to ensure that people who lack housing are connected with the most appropriate solution available while prioritizing those with the most acute needs.
Jonathan's Place - San Rafael
Homeward Bound rebuilt this longtime shelter to open as Jonathan’s Place in 2022. The new building includes a modern 38-bed shelter with shared dining and living room space, efficient shared restrooms, staff offices and dormitory rooms with under-bed storage. Jonathan’s Place is named to honor a special donor’s son, who experienced homelessness in Marin. Participants receive help to access benefits, connect with community resources and make plans to solve barriers to stability. Homeward Bound provides “housing-focused shelter,” meaning that all residents are expected to engage in developing plans for stable housing. As space becomes available, participants may move to New Beginnings Center or other programs.
190 Mill St., San Rafael, CA 94901
415-457-9651
New Beginnings Center - Novato
New Beginnings Center is an 80-bed shelter for single adults in Novato. This center sits adjacent to our Administrative Office and the training kitchen for Fresh Starts Culinary Academy, as part of our main service campus.
New Beginnings Center opened in 2000 as the nation’s first homeless shelter built on a decommissioned military base. Services include meals, counseling, referral to community resources and help searching for jobs and housing. The center offers onsite access to training at Fresh Starts Culinary Academy, a 10-week course in culinary basics certified by the American Culinary Federation, access to job training and referral to community resources. Homeward Bound also offers paid apprenticeships with its facilities team.
In a partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the center reserves 12 beds for unhoused veterans and hosts an office for their staff.
1399 N. Hamilton Parkway, Novato, CA 94949
415-382-3363 x233
Health-focused services
The Transition to Wellness program, operated with local hospitals and social service agencies, provides medical respite services for six adults leaving acute care without stable housing. Our Voyager Carmel Center in San Rafael provides shelter for up to 10 adults referred by Marin County’s Behavioral Health & Recovery Services.
Transition to Wellness - Novato
Three rooms at the Next Key Center provide space for adults leaving hospital care without stable housing. Services include nursing supervision, case management and access to support from Homeward Bound. This innovative program is a collaboration between Homeward Bound, local hospitals, Ritter Center and other social service providers. All residents in this program are referred from inpatient care at Marin General Hospital, Novato Hospital or Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Rafael.
Housing programs for adults
Facing a critical lack of affordable housing in Marin County, Homeward Bound has developed several supportive housing programs and partners with other agencies to provide homes for people leaving homelessness behind.
Adults transitioning out of homelessness receive support from our staff while paying affordable rents for a long-term home. Our permanent supportive housing programs offer more than 350 beds for residents who sign a lease and a code of conduct agreement; allowing them to stay as long as they remain in good standing.
Ted's story
About four years ago, Ted became rootless in the county where he has lived and worked for more than 50 years. A fire destroyed his mobile home and he had nowhere to go while awaiting a financial settlement. “I decided to be houseless,” he says. Ted had a long career as a union electrician and now is the proud patriarch of a son and grandson in that trade. Though close to his family, he never wanted to burden his children by staying with them. He lived outside until health issues and the pandemic prompted a change. Ted lived for months in a local motel before coming to Homeward Bound of Marin. “I had no choice. I couldn’t go back to the street,” says Ted, who uses a wheelchair and suffers memory loss. He moved to La Casa Buena, our supportive housing program in Corte Madera.
“This place – it’s been a godsend.”
Fireside Apartments
Homeward Bound partners with Eden Housing, the property manager, to provide support services for families and seniors at the Fireside Apartments. Our staff plans community activities, coordinates volunteers and provides individual support to solve issues that may arise. The residents include eight formerly homeless seniors.
115 Shoreline Hwy., Mill Valley, CA 94941
Next Key Apartments
Located within the campus of our headquarters, these 29 studio apartments provide transitional housing with a two-year stay for people completing education or job-training goals. Residents may be culinary trainees, college students, apprentices or interns at local businesses; or part of mentoring programs.
The Next Key Apartments are part of a site that includes Homeward Bound’s Administrative Office, the training kitchen for Fresh Starts Culinary Academy and The Key Room, our event venue with onsite catering.
1385 N. Hamilton Parkway, Novato, CA 94949
415-382-3363
Fourth Street Center - San Rafael
Homeward Bound leases this space to provide 20 single-room units with a shared kitchen, living room and bathrooms. The space is part of a mixed-use building in downtown San Rafael.
1111 Fourth Street, San Rafael, CA 94901
La Casa Buena - Corte Madera
Renovation of a former motel created La Casa Buena, which opened in 2022. The program offers studio apartments for 18 formerly homeless adults who share a community room and pay affordable rents for a long-term home. Our onsite staff coordinates volunteers and community activities; along with supporting residents to solve issues that arise.
Jonathan's Place Housing - San Rafael
Two upper floors in our new Jonathan’s Place building provide 16 rooms each of permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless adults. The program offers a shared kitchen, living room and restrooms on each floor along with an office for onsite staff. Staff from Marin County Behavioral Health & Recovery Services also serve our residents onsite.
King Street Senior Housing - Larkspur
Homeward Bound provides 12 rooms for formerly homeless seniors in this remodeled former convent, which is leased from St. Patrick’s Parish. The property includes a shared kitchen, living room and a community space in the former chapel, along with a spacious backyard.
127 King St., Larkspur, CA 94939
Warner Creek Senior Housing - Novato
Homeward Bound partners with Eden Housing, the property manager, to provide support services for 60 low-income seniors at Warner Creek Senior Housing. Our staff plans community activities, coordinates volunteers and provides individual support to solve issues that arise.
806 Diablo Ave., Novato, CA 94947
Independent housing for adults
We offer independent housing for adults using the federal Housing Choice Voucher program. Homeward Bound partners with landlords to lease apartments around Marin. These apartments become homes for people who can transition out of homelessness using a housing voucher to pay the majority of their rent. The Housing at Last, Carmel and Palm Court programs are home to more than 75 adults, who continue to receive support from our staff as needed.
