Bill Wilson Center
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Bill Wilson Center CEO Sparky Harlan: Despite facing a growing number of homeless youth and families, BWC continues to chip away at the homeless youth population, every year we help over 5,000 homeless youth and families.
Male homeless youth: Bill Wilson helps me survive, helps me keep some essence of humanity. They have showers, laundry, food, three square meals a day...it's really amazing. I've never seen a place like that before. It's really a blessing having that place there.
Homeless Father of Young Family: If it wasn't for BWC today, we'd still be living out of a motel. Now, that I have a permanent place to live I would like to start saving for my children. To have everything I have now for my kids...I don't have to worry at night.
Female Homeless Youth: A couch is not a home.
Male Homeless Youth: A car is not a home.
Homeless Father of Young Family: A motel is not a home.
Bill Wilson Center CEO Sparky Harlan: We can end youth and family homelessness in Santa Clara County. It's on the horizon and it will be done.
Bill Wilson Center
Bill Wilson Center provides services to more than 4,100 children, youth, young adults and families in Santa Clara County through our various programs. Additionally, we reach more than 30,000 clients through our Street Outreach and crisis line programs. Bill Wilson Center programs focus on housing, education, counseling and advocacy.
Bill Wilson Center is committed to working with the community to ensure that every youth has access to the range of services needed to grow to be healthy and self-sufficient adults. Bill Wilson Center has been providing services to runaway and homeless youth since 1973.
Mission
Bill Wilson Center supportsand strengthens thecommunity by servingyouth and families throughcounseling, housing,education, and advocacy.
Vision
We are working to preventpoverty in the nextgeneration by connectingyouth and families to education,employment, housingand positive relationships.We are working toward endingyouth and family homelessness.
With an emphasis on ending youth and family homelessness, Bill Wilson Center programs focus on building self-confidence and developing personal assets. With these tools, we believe youth and families can permanently change the direction of their lives.
A key component of Bill Wilson Center's philosophy encompasses a strength based approach to improving the lives of the youth and young families in our communities. BWC's staff and volunteers identify the strengths in each individual and family group and build on those strengths so they are empowered to make positive changes in their lives.
While the agency was founded to serve youth...creating a healthy, safe community requires that people in all age groups receive the support they need. For this reason, Bill Wilson Center continues expanding its depth of services for adults and families.
Guiding Principles
As Bill Wilson Center works to help youth build their skills and resiliency, the agency has defined fundamental principles that guide its work. At the core of all programs are eight guiding principles: No FailEveryone can be successful. We keep trying.
Least Restrictive EnvironmentWe help people solve problems at the family and the community level; public institutions are the last resort.
DiversityWe provide services that meet the cultural and linguistic needs of our whole community. We value our unique ethnic diversity as well as the LGBTQ community and non-able body community. Our clients, staff, and volunteers reflect our community.
Strength-BasedWe look for the positive in each person and build on those assets.
Youth Development and LeadershipWe support youth. We help build leadership skills by involving youth in programs and planning for their future, many services are youth-led.
Advocacy
We work on improving systems that do not meet the needs of youth and families.
Collaboration
We work with others to provide a continuum of services; we focus on all the needs of the individual, including health, housing and well-being.
Families
MatterWe help keep families together and build reconnections to families. We recognize that "families" come in all shapes and sizes.
Our contact info:
3490 The Alameda Santa Clara, CA 95050
Phone: (408) 243-0222
Fax: (408) 244-4022
bwcmail@billwilsoncenter.org
https:\www.billwilsoncenter.org
BWC Safety Net Shelter
3490 The Alameda Santa Clara, CA 95050
(408) 850-6164
BWC Centre for Living with Dying
1671 The Alameda, Suite 201
San Jose, CA 95126
(408) 243-0222
BWC Drop-In Center
693 South 2nd Street
San Jose, CA 95112
(408) 925-0231
BWC Connections
691 South 2nd Street
San Jose, CA 95112
(408) 925-0233
BWC 24/7 Crisis Line (408) 850-6125