Current Programs
About Our Programs
Our programs offer various services to those experiencing homelessness in the communities we serve. At the heart of every program is the desire to connect with and support those in need. To learn more about a specific program, please expand the program below for a brief description.
Our monthly community outreach events provide the opportunity for members of our community to volunteer their time and spend part of the day helping those experiencing homelessness. At the core of our monthly events are the backpacks we distribute. We provide backpacks filled with clothing, toiletries, and food, to homeless communities in California, Arizona, and Washington. Each backpack includes a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, razor, beanie, two pairs of socks, gloves, poncho, fleece blanket, PPE, hand warmers, scarf, and an array of snacks and food. We also include sanitary products for homeless women and pet food for those with companions.
Our organization has distributed thousands of backpacks to members of the homeless communities we serve. We hold monthly events in our areas of operation where, more so than just giving backpacks with essentials, our volunteers focus on interacting with those most marginalized in our communities and learning about their life stories. Often times, we assemble a booth staffed with a volunteers and computers to assist clients with any online forms or resources they need to access onsite. We also encourage individuals in the homeless community to personally reach out to us if they need assistance in the future.
Other services provided at our outreach events include:
- Housing program applications
- Hair cuts
- Warm meals
- Resource sheets
- Tents & other needed equipment
- Sleeping bags
- Water filtration systems
- Pop up shopping where our guests can select their own clothing
As of 2021, Packs for Cold Backs began a new navigation program focused on connecting the unhoused community to much needed resources. If an individual or family chooses to receive our assistance, we conduct an immediate needs assessment to assess the physical, mental, and emotional state of our clients. Once completed, we assess our findings and approach meeting those needs following a triaged manner. Our Navigation & Wrap Around program covers a broad spectrum of services including but not limited to:
- SSI & Disability case management
- Obtaining various forms of identification
- Attending court dates with clients
- Transport to appointments
- Signing up for government assistance programs (CalFresh, DSA, CalWorks, etc.)
- Connecting to mental health services
- Domestic violence survivor programs
- Assistance enrolling in drug addiction/aversion programs
- Connecting with 2-1-1
- Working with other organizations to fill any other needs
Our newest program is our housing initiative. While the goal is always to find permanent housing for our clients, at times, temporary/emergency housing serves as a way to immediately get the individual to a safe space away from whatever immediate danger they may be facing. In these instances, we immediately move our client out of their current setting and into a confidential location until they feel comfortable and the underlying issue is be resolved.
Our permanent housing program is a two-year program in which clients apply and are selected to participate. Once they agree to join the program, the client will meet with our staff three times a week to check in, take care of any appointments they may have, discuss goals and develop plans to achieve them, and conduct a drug test. At those check ins, we also provide groceries as needed and help them develop a financial plan to learn how to manage their assets and save. Our clients agree to abstain from all illegal drug use while taking part in our program. Once enrolled, we work with partner organizations and 2-1-1 to place them on all available housing waitlists.
Once housing is secured, Packs for Cold Backs covers the move-in deposit and utilizes grants and other partnerships to fully furnish the home. In addition to covering the deposit, we supplement $200 dollars a month in rent for a duration of 24 months to ensure the individual or family has enough time to get back on their feet and be able to sustain a truly independent life.
As part of the program, we focus on helping our clients overcome whatever demons they are dealing with. We connect them to support groups, drug counseling, therapy, and fun groups such as adult sports leagues so they can start to build their own new community.
After 6 months in the program, we reassess with the client and set new goals including a five-year plan to empower them and help them see their own progress. As the program progresses and our clients assimilate into their new lives, we encourage them to join us as volunteers to share their success with others who were previously in their shoes.
In 2020, we started a Voter Initiative Project where our volunteers assist unhoused individuals in encampments and homeless shelters in the process of registering to vote. Whether it’s providing a mailing address through our PO Box or helping them meet other voting requirements, our Voter Initiative Projects aims to enable those most marginalized in our communities have a voice in our government.
Continued in 2022, in total we have assisted over 170 individuals experiencing homelessness register to vote and will continue to expand upon this project further at the next election cycle in 2024.
Understanding that systemic change is needed to create an equitable system of care is imperative to solving the homelessness crisis. To ensure we are part of the conversation and solution, our Founder & Executive Director Ardy Akhzari has served as the Co-Chair for the Racial Equity Committee at Sacramento Steps Forward which serves as the Continuum of Care for Sacramento County.
Ardy and the committee developed an action plan and have been hard at work implementing and completing the goals set forth in the action plan. By conducting interviews with individuals with lived experience, attending trainings, and reviewing data and context about the disparities in homelessness, the racial equity committee has championed the effort to combat systemic racism in Sacramento. Since the committee inception in 2020, Ardys commitment to creating an equitable system of care is also applied to all the work done at Packs for Cold Backs. Our goal is, and always will be to treat every single person with dignity and respect.
To see a copy of the Racial Equity Action Plan, please click here.
To learn more about the data & context about the disparities in homelessness, click here.
To see the racial equity training sessions, please click here.
To join the next Racial Equity meeting, please join through Zoom as listed on the Sacramento Steps Forward Website here.
- In Sacramento, you are 3x as likely to experience homelessness if you are Black/African American
- In Sacramento, you are 4x as likely to experience homelessness if you are American Indian/Alaskan Native
At Packs for Cold Backs, we believe in strength in numbers. As a non-profit organization that operates in three states, we are consistently looking to partner with like-minded organizations to maximize our impact. By working together, we focus our efforts on where they are needed most.
This can be as simple as providing breakfast for 250 guests at Loaves & Fishes multiple times as part of their breakfast program, donating backpacks and high need items to various non-profits in Phoenix and Seattle during the Covid-19 pandemic, partnering with Sacramento Steps forward to maximize outreach efforts, utilizing 2-1-1, and working with Resources for Independent Living (RIL) to provide grants to furnish new apartments and housing.
As a community, we understand we have a responsibility to step up and help when its needed. More recently, Loaves & Fishes desperately needed water to provide to their guests during the hot summer months, so we purchased and donated 12,000 bottles of water, enough to supply their daily program for the three hottest summer months.
If your organization would like to get involved and partner with us, please sent an email at info@packsforcoldbacks.org
Other Notable Partnerships:
- Empowering Cuts
- Lots of Love & Giving
- Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS)
- The Human Services Campus (HSC)
- Can You Spare a Story
- University of Cincinnati
- ROOTS -Young Adult Shelter
- The Sophia Way – A Place of Hope and Change for Women
