Footsteps Initiative: A Progress Report
A recent Community Fair with Catholic Charities’ Rotary Mobile Medical Clinic in the Seven Trees neighborhood
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County is changing how we accompany families on their journeys out of poverty—putting long-term relationships, personalized support, and community-based care at the center of our work. Following its launch in 2022, the Footsteps: Pathways to Self-Sufficiency initiative continues to grow, bringing real progress and real partnerships to the neighborhoods we serve.
Now active in the Santee and Seven Trees neighborhoods, and South County, Footsteps combines two powerful models: integrated services and long-range engagement. With every connection, we are working toward a future where families can set and achieve their goals with support that’s comprehensive, coordinated, and centered on their unique needs.
Neighborhood Reach
Santee & Seven Trees: 7,299 families served (FY 2024–2025)
South County (Gilroy, Morgan Hill, San Martin): 2,787 families served (FY 2024–2025)
Through relationships built in trusted neighborhood spaces, families accessed food, housing, education, medical care, youth programs, and more—supported by staff trained to work together across programs and partners.
Personalized Service Guidance
A cornerstone of Footsteps is our Service Guidance model. Families work with dedicated service guides to build self-sufficiency plans and track progress across six life domains: Housing Access and Security; Economic Mobility; Learning and Empowerment; Childcare and Family Supports; Connected Neighborhoods and Safe Communities; and Mental and Physical Wellbeing and Belonging. As of July 2025, 108 families were actively engaged. Power BI dashboards support real-time insight, and community feedback is helping us refine our approach. Families overwhelmingly preferred phone and text communication, but asked for shorter surveys and more face-to-face options—a change already underway.
What Families Experience
Integrated services with a seamless welcome
Neighborhood-based, family-centered support
Promotoras and peer leadership programs
Trust, dignity, and collaboration
We’re learning as we go: from families, from data, and from each other. Whether through mobile clinics, school partnerships, or parent leadership cafés, Footsteps is rooted in the real lives of our community members.
What’s Next
Looking ahead to 2025–2026, CCSCC will deepen neighborhood integration, expand the Promotoras program, and enhance family engagement in Washington and Mayfair neighborhoods. We’re also aligning efforts with the San Jose Children and Youth Services Master Plan and launching new trauma-informed care training and tech tools for staff.
Footsteps is more than a service model: it’s a shared promise to walk with families on the path to dignity, self-sufficiency and economic mobility. Together, we’re building stronger families—and stronger communities.
