Raphael House

They claim to offer case management, financial literacy counseling, family support groups and housing support services. NONE of this is true. I went INTO the shelter ready to get to work! Housing search listings, credit reports printed among other things. I met with the case manager ONCE my first few days, we met to complete my intake paperwork, after that NOTHING. I was left to do everything without any type of support from staff, case management or who they claim to be connected with. The facilities are “cleaned” once a day. No implementation of thorough sanitation for residents. The cleaning supplies are NOT disinfectant. The refrigerators are shared space, not labeled and is first come first served. I waited 8 days for a shelf to become available so that I could store food. Turning point(s): During my pregnancy I had a verbal altercation with a staff about being 30 minutes late for lunch. I overslept (at 8 months pregnant), went down asking for my lunch and was met with attitude and a lecture about sandwiches being placed in the refrigerator after the kitchen closes. Ultimately after MANY situations and a slip and fall accident I left because my stored breast milk and NEW groceries were thrown out. No explanation as to where my baby’s bottles were, no reimbursement for the groceries I had purchased 2 days prior. The following day I received a text saying the matter would be discussed in a meeting. 2 months after exiting, still nothing. To the donors: GO VISIT! Speak to the staff, speak to the families. Ask questions about the “programs” they offer. See for yourself where your money is being placed. I entered 8 months pregnant and exited 2 months postpartum. Raphael house is a shelter, nothing more. Continental breakfast (bagel, box juice, cereal bar, yogurt), bag lunch (pb&j, chips and a box juice) and a catered dinner meal (from local restaurants). If you need a place to sleep and food to eat this place is ideal. If you need additional help getting on your feet, don’t get your hopes up. I can say honestly the only types of organization they have is the meal forms which you submit weekly and laundry sign up.

10 year ago I stayed at Rafael House when I was at the end of my pregnancy and until my son was 6 months old. I will never forget the home and support I found there. My life is wildly different than it was then but Raphael House was the foundation gifted to me to start from SCRATCH. Advice: Put your head down, focus and take every single step and find every possible resource available and make choices in the right direction. You will succeed.

27 years ago, I was 17 years old with a 2 year son with no where to go, but you all took my son and I in as if we were your family! I will never forget how welcomed you all made us feel at that time! Thank you for helping me grow as woman and mom. With your help I was able to get housing and my self esteem back on track! I was only there 60 days, but that experience changed my life for the good! God is so good! Thank you!

I miss the best Christmas we ever had. I miss Father Tom, I miss the great food, I miss the team of people like Rachael who figured out how to teach me math so I could get my GED. I miss the structure and loving discipline they gave me. I miss having someone to call on like family.

The Raphael House was there for my family over 30 years ago. They made an impact on my life and my family that has shaped who we are today and how we see the world. Some of my best memories were living at the Raphael House as a child. I'm so glad that they are still here and are able to be for others what they have been for us. God Bless The Raphael House and all the people who make it what it is to so many families.

I appreciate the support they gave me and my children they need to be able to better support women with domestic violence issues and substance abuse. My experience was good met good people. But it would be helpful her they could have little more services for parents on parenting as well.

San Rafael house I will never forget how we would sing 🎶see the lil candle as we walked in to our rooms after a bedtime story for kids. My saviour put this place, sister Marie in our path and they provided us a safe shelter and gave us hot food, clothing, Thank you

My family and I lived here for a few months. It's a great place. Very kind people! My kids LOVED THE STAFF! They blessed us on every holiday, especially Christmas! I thank God for them 🙏🏽

So impressed by the compassionate treatment of residents here. Truly amazing work on a shoestring budget.

Years ago my husband And I together with our new baby were evicted when my landlord told us we had broken our lease when we had the baby. There I was still in the hospital with nowhere else to go. The social worker found us a place at Raphael House on Sutter Street. This was when there was a Brother Juniper coffee shop down below. My son is grown now but we have fond memories of the kindness shown to us when we stayed. God bless all the Brothers and Sisters

I love Raphael House! I used to know it well. The brothers and the sisters there are wonderful. The food was fantastic. It's been a long time since I've seen it. I would love to visit again~ soon!

On the roof is a beautiful painting protecting all that have lived there. By mesngr86

Volunteered for the first time tonight, and it was great. It was sad to hear that several days a week they don't have any volunteers. The only reason I found them was through searching yelp. I was looking for a place to volunteer for Thanksgiving and all the usual places were turning away volunteers, so happy I found this awesome organization. The pros- the kitchen is great! Big, clean, and well equipped. The staff is great, I was very late to my shift and the receptionist was understanding and the kitchen staff welcomed me in and took the time to get me up to speed. The amazing kitchen staff were personable, talented, dedicated and made the experience fun. I got to sample the food and it was delicious! The dinning rooms were so homey and lovely. The families were so appreciative and the kids were so cute! The cons- none. I am inspired to come back again and again.

I have been volunteering here for a little under a year. And I am truly bummed to be leaving the bay area and this is one of the reasons. Not only have I amassed an impressive collection of my own arts and crafts. But it really is just a great organization. Perhaps that is why this wonderful city dedicated an entire week of the year to it. The kids are great and totally excited to do anything and everything and the parents seem a bit more at ease being there. I will continue to send $ the way of RH after I, sadly, leave. Actually I am on my way in right now! I am excited to see some of the kids and hang out and not worry about the petty shit that doesn't really matter for the next few hours.

Raphael House does amazing work - People who devote themselves full-time to working with those who have fallen through the societal safety net are truly amazing and deserve your support. They really work with the families to get them back on their feet and to equip them with the tools they need to get back into society. For the children, it's the not knowing what's going to happen from one day to the next when they're homeless that can be really damaging, so the program is focused on creating stability and routine for the kids: family dinner at the same time every day, mandatory family time (no TVs) and mandatory bedtimes for the children. And right before bed is song time, and then a story, and then we take the guardian angel candle and drop all the kids off at their respective family rooms one by one. If you are looking for a place to volunteer or donate, this is a good place.

I've volunteered at Raphael House and it is a fantastic experience. Not only have I been able to do something fun, I cooked dinner there with my co-workers -- dinner for 80 people that is, but the place is impressive. It's clean and beautiful, everyone is so friendly -- nothing like what I'd expected from a homeless shelter. I'm going to start getting more involved there. I was really inspired.