Homeward Bound Marks 40 Years on Oct. 18

Homeward Bound of Marin, the county’s largest provider of services to homeless families and individuals, marks its 40-year anniversary with a free community celebration from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18.

Neighbors, supporters, volunteers, staff and residents are invited to festivities in The Key Room at 1385 N. Hamilton Parkway in Novato that will include cooking demonstrations, music, remarks by graduates of Homeward Bound programs and a 40-foot-long cake.

“The entire Marin community should celebrate this anniversary with us! Together we’ve created programs that have saved lives by providing housing, training and hope,” says Mary Kay Sweeney, Homeward Bound’s executive director. “People have found their way home for good through this extraordinary community effort.”

Homeward Bound was founded in 1974, when it opened a single family shelter in San Rafael with support from Marin’s interfaith community. In four decades, the nonprofit has served 30,000 people and expanded to provide a continuum of services with 14 residential programs.

The agency operates the only year-round emergency shelters in Marin for homeless adults and families as well as transitional and long-term housing for a total of 450 beds. Homeward Bound programs, which include counseling and job training, serve an average of 1,200 people yearly.

Next year, Homeward Bound will launch Oma Village, a program offering 14 modern and efficient rental homes in Novato for low-income families transitioning out of homelessness.

“We are looking toward our next decades with Oma Village, which is a model for small-scale housing for the future,” Sweeney says.

No RSVP is needed for the event in The Key Room. The venue, which is open for public rental, is operated by Homeward Bound of Marin in conjunction with Fresh Starts Culinary Academy, an on-site job-training program.