Cross-sector collaboration between nonprofits, corporations, and governments is strategically important in creating a viable social safety network. The convergence of economic and social pressures fosters such collaboration. Felton Institute is appreciative of its partnership with Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC) in weaving that local safety net. TNDC is a community-based nonprofit committed to serving low-income individuals in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood by providing the most basic foundation for prosperity: a place to call home.
TNDC rallies behind three objectives: helping people thrive by building affording homes, supporting individual and community health, and championing the voice of the Tenderloin Community. Felton and TNDC are partners in technology exchange, cross-referrals of program clients, and community building with overlapping objectives of serving low-income and People of Color communities.
Currently, TNDC provides affordable housing and services for over 4,100 residents in six San Francisco neighborhoods, building community and promoting equitable access to opportunity and resources. By 2025, TNDC will operate 54 buildings—expanding to Hayes Valley, Bayview, Sunset, and Richmond—and provide homes for nearly 10,000 people. One of TNDC’s latest projects – Casa Adelante at 199 Shotwell Street – is a joint venture with Felton Institute’s CYF-TAY Division. Casa Adelante will be the newest location of Felton’s Early Care and Education learning center. The housing development, which will comprise 143 affordable rentals, is slated to open in Summer 2021. Felton’s ECE Center will be operational by Fall 2021.
Director of Supportive Housing Services Delene Rankin, who has been with TNDC for over two decades, talks about TNDC’s partnership with Felton Institute. “Over the last 20 years, TNDC has grown into portfolios of senior housing, family housing, single adults and SRO housing. Every single time that TNDC builds a new building, it requires us to come to the table as a community developer and think about what we need to do beyond the building. In 2016, we went from paper documents to an access database, (an Excel sheet), before we adopted CIRCE. CIRCE lets us do our work and understands who we are serving and how we’re serving. The data connects outcomes and impacts, especially in our theory of change and strategic plan.”
The TNDC CIRCE Super User Admin Group meets weekly to discuss their performance goals and find new innovative ways to use CIRCE in their programs. From left to right: (clockwise) Delene Rankin, Kamillah Gallofin, Zhiquing Li, Rebecca Barajas, and Shelley Dyer.
CIRCE Software was first developed for and by Felton Institute as a complete cloud-based case management software. TNDC partnered with CIRCE in 2017, and the software is now being used across TNDC’s programs. According to Senior Health and Wellness Program Manager Kamillah Gallofin, data is everything. “We tell our story through data, and with CIRCE, we are able to utilize a system that can reflect social work. It has been outstanding in generating reports. It stays true to what it means to be a nonprofit, and what it means to serve real people and solve real problems with real client-centered data. CIRCE has been a huge vehicle in transforming our work.”
The mission and vision of both TNDC and Felton Institute overlap in many areas. Felton clinicians, who work with adults and older adults, who have serious mental health, substance abuse, and chronic health conditions, have partnered closely with TNDC for many years. The Senior Division, TAY, and Adult Mental Health Services all report that some Felton clients living in TNDC buildings receive intense case management services such as outreach, medication, support services, and therapy. Felton staff meet once a month with TNDC on-site case managers and property management to best support clients. Both teams share housing first and harm reduction models and an overall commitment to strengths-based, whole-person care.
Looking to the future, TNDC and Felton Institute continue to fortify this partnership in additional ways, such as developing programs and joint staff training opportunities to address the needs of their mutual clients.
TNDC and Felton Institute is a partnership that continues to grow and emerge as both nonprofits seek new engagement strategies with their communities that will have greater relevance and higher social impact.
For more information on the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, visit their website at www.tndc.org
About Felton Institute: Founded in 1889, Felton Institute responds to human needs by providing cutting edge, evidence-based mental health and social services that transform lives. Felton Institute is a tax-exempt organization registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit under EIN 94-1156530.
Offering more than 50 acclaimed and honored programs that address homelessness, mental health, prenatal, adolescent, adult, and senior needs, Felton Institute provides services in San Francisco, Alameda, San Mateo, Marin, and Monterey counties. Felton’s social services and programs utilize the latest scientific research, combining cultural sensitivity, deep respect for client and staff, and a commitment to social justice.
Felton is the oldest non-sectarian and nonprofit social services provider in the City and County of San Francisco. For over a century, Felton Institute has been at the forefront of social service innovation, pioneering new approaches to meet underserved populations’ emerging needs. At the heart of our work is the belief that individuals and families in crisis must have access to services and resources to help them build on their inherent strengths and develop self-sufficiency. www.felton.org