Basic Needs Resources
SBPL Adult Education staff can offer free, one-on-one assistance navigating community resources through our Community Connections office hours program. Visit our Adult Education Center at Central Library for a quick consultation or make an appointment with a Community Resource Specialist.
Community Resources
Groceries
Food Bank of Santa Barbara County: The Food Bank of Santa Barbara County has over 50 sites distributing groceries throughout the county.
Calfresh: Calfresh (California’s food stamps program) provides money for food to low income individuals and families. Recent legislation expanded access to Calfresh benefits.
Prepared Meals
Prepared meals are distributed by Food Bank of Santa Barbara partner agencies. Many of the programs do not require income verification, but may operate on a first come, first served basis.
Salvation Army: Provides showers and hygiene services to current program residents.
PATH Santa Barbara: Showers and hygiene services are available to current program residents only.
Showers of Blessing Santa Barbara: Provides free hot showers and compassionate, hygienic care to those in need. Find a current list of mobile hygiene stations on their website.
Fr. Virgil Cordano Center: Day shelter offering laundry services, mail pick up, hygiene services, and meals. A social worker is also available to assist with obtaining housing and other social services.
New Beginnings Safe Parking Program: Offers a safe place to park your vehicle and sleep overnight legally.
PATH (People Assisting the Homeless) Santa Barbara: Provides shelter, meals, employment counseling and other support. Residents are allowed to remain in facilities all day. Must be referred from a partnering agency such as Cottage Hospital, Department of Behavioral Wellness, or the Santa Barbara Police Department.
Salvation Army: Emergency shelters, transitional housing, and family service programs to those in need. Residents are required to abstain from drugs or alcohol.
Noah’s Anchorage Youth Crisis Shelter: Providing shelter for Youth ages 12-17; there are also housing resources for young adults (up to age 24).
Domestic Violence Solutions: Women and children may stay in confidential emergency shelters. Call the 24 Hour hotline: Santa Barbara 805-964-5245; Lompoc: 805-736-0965; Santa Maria: 805-925-2160; Santa Ynez Valley 805-686-4390
Transition House: Offers short term and longer term shelter for families.
Willbridge Santa Barbara: Local organization offering transitional housing with referrals Peer Outreach program also connects individuals on the streets to services.
Many of these organizations first require an application before receiving services. Contact the organization directly for more information.
Hotel de Riviera: 125 W. Carrillo St., Santa Barbara Phone: 805-963-6443
Santa Barbara City Housing Authority
Santa Barbara Community Housing Operation
Many popular email providers require an alternate email or a phone number to use their service. SBPL suggests these alternative providers if you do not have a secondary email account or phone.
Proton and Tutanota offer a free tier of service and are relatively easy to use as a regular email account to send and receive email. Sometimes Proton will require verification when a user is creating multiple accounts.
Guerrilla Mail allows users to send out emails and delete received emails after an hour. This is a great service to use when you are emailing someone you don't know well, such as responding to a Craigslist post.
Mailinator has free public email. With this service, users can only receive emails, and cannot send emails. Mailinator does not require a password, so it is a quick option to receive email in a hurry. Keep in mind that all inboxes are accessible to everyone, so don’t include private info while using this provider.
24-Hour Mental Health Referral Hotline - 211 - Toll-free line that provides mental health and substance-use information, referrals, and crisis response. Clinicians are available 24/7, weekends and holidays for all of Santa Barbara County. Services are available in Spanish and additional languages. If an individual is experiencing a mental health crisis that places anyone in immediate danger, call 911.
County ACCESS 24-Hour crisis line - 1-888-868-1649 - Provides inpatient, outpatient and crisis basis services for individuals with moderate-to-severe mental health and/or alcohol and substance-use conditions throughout Santa Barbara County. Services are available in Spanish and additional languages.
American Indian Health Services - Provides mental health services to members of the Santa Barbara community. Located at: 4141 State Street, 93110. 805-681-7356
California Health and Human Services Agency - Provides a youth mental health resources hub and has added a set of back-to-school mental health resources for youth, families, and educators.
Child Abuse Listening and Meditation (CALM) - Provides counseling for individuals and families, as well as treatment for trauma survivors and offenders. Located at: 1236 Chapala Street, 93101. 805-965-2376
Community Counseling & Education Center (CCEC) - Provides a wide range of counseling services. Located at: 923 Olive Street, Suite 1, 93101. 805-962-3363 Cottage Hospital Emergency Psychiatric Services - Provides phone assessments for psychiatric services and substance detoxification. 805-569-8339
Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (CADA) - Provides a variety of counseling services and treatment for substance abuse and addiction; services available for all ages. Located at: 232 East Canon Perdido, 93101. 805-963-1433
Doctors Without Walls/Santa Barbara Street Medicine: DWW/SBSM brings medical and mental health care to the streets. Find their outreach schedule on their website.
Domestic Violence Solutions (DVS) - Provides services to survivors of domestic violence/anger management. Address is unpublished for the safety of clients. 805-963-4458 24-Hour Crisis Line: 805-964-5245
Family Service Agency (FSA) - Provides counseling services for individuals, couples, and families of all ages, as well as a free caregiver support group. Located at: 123 West Gutierrez Street, 93101. 805-965-1001 Hospice of SB - Provides grief counseling and support groups. Located at: 2050 Alameda Padre Serra, Suite 100, 93103. 805-563-8820
Healthcare for the Homeless - Medical care and local shelters, mobile locations around the county, as well as county medical facilities.
Mariposas Project - Provides a variety of mental health services to individuals, couples, children, and groups for those with developmental needs or their caregivers. Located at: 621 West Micheltorena Street, 93101. 805-253-2547
Indigent Care Program - For individuals who are uninsured and who are not eligible for other health care coverage.
Mental Wellness Center - Provides recovery, education, and family services to adults and families affected by mental illness. Located at: 617 Garden Street, 93101. 805-884-8440
Pacific Pride Foundation - Provides services to HIV/AIDS and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender communities of Santa Barbara County. Located at: 608 Anacapa Street, Suite A, 93101. 805-963-3636
Project Recovery (program of CADA) - Provides adult treatment and perinatal support for those with substance-use issues. Located at: 133 East Haley Street, 93101. 805-564-6057
211 Helpline – dial 211 from a phone for referrals to services throughout the county
Community Resource Hub - A free, searchable database of local community resources from Sansum Clinic
California Rural Legal Assistance
City of Santa Barbara-Department of Community Development
Domestic Violence Solutions
Food Bank of Santa Barbara
Free Legal Resource Center (located in the Law Library, inside the Santa Barbara County Courthouse)
Healthcare for the Homeless
Independent Living Resource Center
Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County
New Beginnings
Noah’s Anchorage Youth Crisis Shelter
Santa Barbara Rescue Mission
Showers of Blessing
Transition House
United Way of Santa Barbara
Willbridge Santa Barbara