A skyline view of the Bay Area in California.

A Leader in Ending Homelessness

Our Values

HomeFirst values diversity, and we serve and employ individuals of all backgrounds. As an organization, we are committed to a culture of:
Creativity, Respect, Excellence, Activism, Passion, Teamwork, and Responsibility.

Creativity

We are open-minded thinkers, ready to explore and test new ideas to get housed.

Excellence

We continuously examine our actions, practices, and course-correct strive for seamless, transparent, and quality implementation.

Passion

We fuel our work through intention and enthusiasm. We understand that hope can inspire positive outcomes even when doing difficult things.

Responsibility

We connect our actions to outcomes and feel the urgency in our service to operate with the highest standards and principles.

Respect

We honor the worth and contributions of every person. During times of conflict, we focus on our common ground.

Activism

We empower our teams to use their voices to help foster positive change and dismantle inequities and systems contributing to homelessness and housing insecurity.

Teamwork

We cannot fulfill our mission metrics by acting alone; we transform communities through effective communication and meaningful partnerships starting from within.

The HomeFirst Story

In 1980, a group of service providers and advocates saw a gap in homeless services. With eight families in crisis and without a place to go, these advocates set out to help, ultimately creating an agency that would meet the needs of unhoused families in Santa Clara County.

Since then, HomeFirst has expanded significantly. During FY24 (ending June 30, 2024), we impacted over 10,000 individuals including youth, seniors, and veterans, across two counties (Santa Clara and Sonoma). Approximately 6,000 people received direct supportive services from HomeFirst and another 4,500+ benefited from our systems leadership.

Faces of HomeFirst - Amenaten

Faces of HomeFirst - Rocio

Faces of HomeFirst - Juan

Faces of HomeFirst - Maggie

Faces of HomeFirst - Cam

Faces of HomeFirst

Meet The Executive Leadership Team

René Ramirez

Chief Executive Officer

Kelly Vazquez

Chief Program Officer

B. Michael McFarland

Chief Development Officer

Art Stein

Chief Financial Officer

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Make the difference.

View our career opportunities and see how you can be a part of the solution in ending homelessness.

Careers

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Business Plan

HomeFirst is a leading provider of housing opportunities emergency, interim, and permanent to our unhoused and housing-insecure neighbors in the Bay Area of California.

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Financials

We are a $50+M organization. The majority of our funding comes from government sources with the remainder from corporate, foundation, and individual giving, and from rental income. View our financial information below

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Notice of Privacy Practice

We understand that information about you is personal. We are committed to protecting this information about you. This notice describes how health information about you may be used and disclosed. And how you can get access to this information.

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