Get help
If moving is what's standing in your way, we may be able to help.
You do not have to tell us what happened to you. We only need enough information to help.
What we can pay for
- Security deposit
- First month's rent, and last month's if your landlord requires it
- Application and credit check fees
- Utility deposits and reconnection fees
- Moving costsMovers, a truck, packing supplies
- Short-term storage
- A hotel for a few nightsIn an emergency
- Changing your locks or adding security to your door
- Beds, bedding, and basic furniture
- Transportation, and help replacing your ID and documents
We pay landlords, utilities, and companies directly. We do not give out cash.
What we cannot do
We are not a shelter and we do not have beds. We are not a crisis line and we are not available 24 hours. We do not provide counseling or legal representation, though we can connect you with people who do.
If you are in danger right now
Call 911, or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. You can also text START to 88788.
Who can apply
Anyone who has experienced domestic violence, dating violence, family violence, sexual violence, stalking, or trafficking, and who is facing a housing problem because of it.
That includes men. It includes people of any gender identity or sexual orientation. It includes people abused by a parent, an adult child, or another family member, not only partners. It does not matter whether you are married, whether you have children, or what your immigration status is.
You do not need a police report or a restraining order. We know there are good reasons someone might not have one.
How to ask
If you are already working with a shelter, an advocate, a counselor, a caseworker, or a legal aid attorney, the fastest route is to ask them to send us a referral. If you are not working with anyone, you can contact us directly.
We will ask how it is safe to reach you before we ask anything else.
What happens next
You contact us, or someone refers you.
We reach out the way you told us is safe.
We ask what you need and confirm a few things.
If we can help, we pay the landlord, utility, or company directly.
What happens to your information
We keep what you tell us confidential. We do not share it outside the Initiative without your written permission, except where the law requires it. We do not put your information in any shared or searchable database, and we will never use your name or story in anything public unless you specifically agree in writing, and that is never a condition of getting help.
Some of our people are required by California law to report certain concerns about the safety of children, elders, and dependent adults. We will tell you about this before you share anything.
We are not a shelter, a crisis line, a counseling service, or a legal service. Those organizations do work we cannot do, and we do not duplicate it. We take the housing problem off their plate so they can focus on theirs.
If you are in danger right now, call 911, or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.