Saint John’s Program for Real Change provides a safe space for women and children to heal and develop the skills necessary to transform their lives.
Our work is guided by a vision to end the generational cycle of trauma and homelessness. For 30 years, we have provided nearly 30,000 homeless women and children with the essential tools to rise above the devastating, negative elements of poverty and achieve improved health, job-readiness and self-sustainability. Founded in 1985 on the steps of the St. John's Lutheran Church in Sacramento, we have
03/24/2026
At Saint John’s, we celebrate every step forward for women and for their children. 🎓❤️
We recently got to celebrate Alicia as she graduated from our preschool curriculum, and it was such a special moment. Milestones like these remind us that real change reaches the whole family.
We are so proud of Alicia and all the little ones who are learning, growing, and thriving at Saint John’s.
03/16/2026
Today is the final day to vote for the SVP Sacramento Impact & Philanthropy Awards.
Saint John’s Program for Real Change is honored to be in the Top 3, and public votes help determine the winner.
If you have a moment today, please cast your vote and support women and children working to rebuild their lives through housing, healing, and hope.
Vote: Link in Bio
03/16/2026
Today is the final day to vote for the SVP Sacramento Impact & Philanthropy Awards.
Saint John’s Program for Real Change is honored to be in the Top 3, and public votes help determine the winner.
If you have a moment today, please cast your vote and support women and children working to rebuild their lives through housing, healing, and hope.
Vote here:
https://newyorklife.svpsacramento.org/
03/14/2026
We are deeply grateful to the Sundt Foundation for their generous $5,000 grant in support of Saint John’s Program for Real Change.
Ongoing support from partners like Sundt means so much to our program and to the women and children we serve. At a time when federal support feels uncertain, the strength of our local community makes a powerful difference in helping families in crisis find safety, stability, and hope.
Thank you, Sundt Foundation, for standing with Saint John’s and investing in lasting change.
03/05/2026
Last night, Saint John’s Program for Real Change had the honor of presenting alongside our incredible partners at WEAVE and Women’s Empowerment for a community education event in Natomas.
We’re grateful to everyone who showed up to learn more about the women and children we serve, and the services that help families move from crisis to stability: safe housing, childcare, behavioral health support, employment training, and long-term wraparound care.
Thank you for the warm welcome and for believing in real change. 💛
If you’re looking for a meaningful way to help, donations of goods, services, and financial support make a direct impact on families working to rebuild their lives.
WomensEmpowerment NonprofitCollaboration
03/02/2026
“Prison was never the plan I had for my life, but here I am learning from the choices I made and moving on into stability and confidence.”
On Friday, we celebrated a powerful milestone: six participants from Saint John’s Female Community Reentry Program (FCRP) — Leslie, Jessica, Jinea, Danielle, Hayley, and Maria — graduated. 💛
Each of these women is stepping into a new chapter with employment, housing, and the tools they need to navigate life with confidence. Programs like FCRP matter because reentry support works, helping reduce recidivism and creating safer, stronger communities.
At Saint John’s Program for Real Change, we believe in ending generational cycles and ensuring women and their families have the opportunity to build lasting stability. Behind every graduation is a story of courage, resilience, and real change.
Please join us in congratulating our graduates! 🎉
TraumaInformedCare WomenSupportingWomen SacramentoNonprofit HopeAndHealing
02/27/2026
Last week’s Guest Chef Dinner at Scott’s Seafood on the River was one for the books. 💛
To everyone who joined us, bid on raffle items, raised a glass, and helped make the night so special—thank you. A huge shoutout to our incredible partners who brought the evening to life: Scott’s Seafood on the River, The Sacramento Westin, Harney Lane Winery (our featured winery), and Guest Chef Eric Seeberger. We’re so grateful for your generosity and support.
Because of nights like this, women and children at Saint John’s Program for Real Change can access the support they need to heal, rebuild, and move forward.
✨ Next up: our remaining Guest Chef Dinners—tickets are on sale now!
🍷 Heringer Estate Winery — June 4, 2026
Featuring Guest Chef Suleka Sun-Lindley from Thai Basil
⛪ St. John’s Lutheran Church — December 10, 2026
Featured chef and winery to be announced soon
🎟️ Buy tickets: https://saintjohnsprogram.org/give-hope/events/guest-chef-dinner/
02/26/2026
Huge thank you to Sacramento NCL (National Charity League) for throwing an amazing campus-wide birthday celebration for everyone with a February birthday! 🎉🎂
Your time, energy, and care helped make our moms and kids feel truly seen and celebrated, turning an ordinary day into a joyful memory. We’re so grateful for your partnership and the love you brought to campus. ❤️
02/13/2026
Huge thank you to who spent their evening last night creating these beautiful, heartfelt cards for the women and children at Saint John’s Program for Real Change. 💛
Your kindness and encouragement matter more than you know and these messages will be a bright spot for our families as they continue their journey toward stability and healing.
Thank you for showing up with your time, creativity, and care. We’re so grateful for you! ✨
WomenAndChildren ThankYou ActsOfKindness
02/12/2026
Huge thank you to a truly special Saint John’s supporter, Christi DeBenedetti, for coming to campus today and sharing her story with the women at Saint John’s. Christi showed up with encouragement, honesty, and the kind of energy that reminds our clients what’s possible when you keep going—one step at a time.
This summer, Christi took that same spirit to the Tahoe Rim Trail, raising $20,000 in support of the women and children of Saint John’s Program for Real Change. 💛
Christi, we’re so grateful for your heart, your grit, and the way you show up for our community, on the trail and right here on campus.
TahoeRimTrail Gratitude
02/09/2026
Please join us in welcoming three outstanding new members to Saint John’s Program for Real Change Board of Directors! 🎉
We’re excited to announce that Joel Kimmelshue (Land IQ), Tom Orrock, LMFT (Creekside Counseling Associates), and Jennifer Reyes (BLVD Residential) have joined our leadership team.
Each brings unique expertise, community commitment, and a shared belief in the power of transformation. We’re especially honored to welcome Jennifer Reyes, a Saint John’s alumna, whose lived experience and leadership will help guide our mission forward.
Welcome, Joel, Tom, and Jennifer. We’re grateful you’re here. 💛
CommunityPartners WomenAndChildren HopeAndHealing
02/05/2026
Jennifer and her daughter know what it feels like when everything changes overnight, and what it takes to rebuild.
In 2012, Jennifer became homeless. After calling Saint John’s Program for Real Change every day for two months, she finally got the call back. Within a week, she and her daughter were on campus and beginning a new chapter.
Her daughter remembers it clearly: “When we first got to Saint John’s, it just felt different. It wasn’t necessarily scary, it was just new.” Before that, they were moving from house to house, sometimes sleeping in a car or a motel room.
Today, they are graduates of Saint John’s Program for Real Change, and their story is a powerful reminder that when women are given safety, support, and the time to heal, real transformation is possible.
This is the power of real change. 💛
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For 30 years, we have provided nearly 30,000 homeless women and children with the essential tools to rise above the devastating, negative elements of poverty and achieve improved health, job-readiness and self-sustainability. Founded in 1985 on the steps of the St. John's Lutheran Church in Sacramento, we have expanded from an emergency shelter that provided a roof and a meal to 20 women and children into an immersive up-to-18-month residential, continuum of care program supporting up 200 women and children every day. Saint John’s operates the largest residential employment training program in the Sacramento region, and the only one focused on serving homeless women and children. Our program's comprehensive array of 'dependence to independence' services for homeless families, all under one programmatic roof, is unparalleled in the region, as well as the State, based on research completed by Sacramento's Center for Strategic Economic Research.
Dedicated to the eradication of homelessness, a deep commitment is required of each woman entering Saint John’s. While sobriety is strictly mandated, this up-to-18-month comprehensive program includes mental health therapy, alcohol and drug counseling, parenting education, budgeting classes, healthy relationship training, and in a landmark approach to helping these individuals re-enter the mainstream, each woman must participate in Saint John’s Employment Training Program at one of our three social enterprises, Plates Cafe and Catering, Plates MidTown and First Steps, where the women build work ethic and on-the-job training skills in the restaurant and daycare industries.
We accommodate up to 500 women and children each year with 675 hours of comprehensive services each month. 96% of Saint John’s job training graduates secure unsubsidized employment, a crucial step in their journey to self-sustainability. As Saint John’s focuses on the root causes rather than the symptoms of homelessness, clients are able to break the cycle, learn how to become independent and make a life-long positive change.