What Sonoma CAN Does — and How Sonoma County Residents Can Get Help
Sonoma Community Action Network — known as Sonoma CAN — is one of Sonoma County's primary nonprofit agencies for low-income families and individuals, running programs that span emergency housing help, early childhood education, job training, and long-term family stability work.
This page is a guide to understanding what Sonoma CAN currently offers and how to access it — because knowing which program fits your situation before you call saves significant time. The organization serves people of all backgrounds across the county, from Santa Rosa neighborhoods to more rural parts of the region where other resources are harder to reach. The office is at 141 Stony Circle, Suite 210, Santa Rosa, CA 95401. The main number is (707) 544-6911. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Season of Sharing — emergency rent, deposit, and utility help
For Sonoma County residents facing an immediate housing crisis, the Season of Sharing Fund is the most direct program Sonoma CAN administers. Funded through the San Francisco Chronicle's Season of Sharing initiative, it provides one-time grants paid directly to landlords, utility companies, or other service providers on behalf of qualifying residents.
What the fund can cover includes back rent to prevent eviction, security deposits when a household needs to move into new housing, and utility arrears. Grants are not paid to clients directly; they go straight to the bill or the landlord. For tenants seeking other options for paying rent, see the Sonoma County rent assistance page.
There is an important detail that matters right now: applications open on a monthly basis with limited capacity, and the program frequently reaches its monthly limit within days of opening. If you miss a window, the application must be resubmitted the following month — prior submissions do not carry over. The application is submitted through Sonoma CAN's online portal. While waiting or if you've missed the window, dialing 211 is the recommended next step for connecting with other local agencies that may have parallel resources available.
Sloan House — transitional housing for women and children
Sloan House is Sonoma CAN's transitional housing program for women and their children. It provides temporary shelter alongside supportive services — case management, community outreach, and resources designed to move families toward stable, permanent housing rather than cycling through emergency shelter. The program serves women facing eviction, homelessness, or unsafe living situations. Contact Sonoma CAN at (707) 544-6911 to inquire about current availability and the intake process.
Head Start and Early Head Start
Sonoma CAN runs one of the more substantial Head Start operations in the North Bay, serving children across Sonoma County through 13 centers operating four days per week, ten months per year. Head Start serves children ages three to five with early childhood education, developmental screenings, health and dental services, and family engagement support. Early Head Start extends the same model to infants and toddlers from birth through age two, as well as pregnant women.
For parents, the practical value of Head Start goes beyond child development: quality early education also creates stability during the day that makes it possible for caregivers to work, pursue training, or handle other family needs. Enrollment is income-based. To find a center near you and ask about current openings, call (707) 544-6911 or visit https://www.sonomacan.org/our-work/early-childhood-education/.
Thriving Families — whole family case management
The Thriving Families program is the backbone of Sonoma CAN's direct service approach for families. Rather than treating housing, employment, child development, and financial stability as separate problems to be routed to separate agencies, Sonoma CAN assigns family coaches who work with households across all of these areas together. The goal is specifically to avoid the situation where a family gets one need addressed and then cycles back into crisis because the underlying conditions weren't touched. Coaching is goal-oriented and built around the family's own priorities, not a prescribed checklist.
This approach — sometimes called a Whole Family or two-generation model — means that if you're a parent enrolled in Head Start, you may simultaneously have access to coaching on employment, financial literacy, and housing stability without needing to find those services independently.
Workforce Pathways — job training and career development
Sonoma CAN's Workforce Pathways program provides job skills training, coaching for upskilling to higher-paying employment, and support for adults seeking to enter or advance in the workforce. It is designed to work alongside the Thriving Families coaching structure rather than as a standalone job placement program — meaning the employment piece is coordinated with whatever else a family is working on at the same time. Contact the main office for current program details and enrollment.
Community Schools
Sonoma CAN operates as a Community Schools provider in partnership with local school districts, embedding family support resources and services directly inside school settings. The model is designed to meet children and families where they already are — at school — and reduce the barriers that come with navigating multiple separate agencies. For families with school-age children who are connected to a participating school, services may be accessible without a separate intake process.
CalAIM Enhanced Care Management
For Medi-Cal recipients in Sonoma County with complex physical health or behavioral health needs, Sonoma CAN provides CalAIM Enhanced Care Management — a care coordination program that connects clients to health services, housing supports, and social needs resources through a single coordinator. This is a relatively new program structure under California's Medi-Cal reform effort and is particularly relevant for residents who have struggled to stay connected to services due to multiple overlapping needs. Referrals can come from health plans, providers, or individuals directly.
Water Bill Assistance
Sonoma CAN administers a water bill assistance program for income-qualifying Sonoma County residents facing difficulty paying water and sewer charges. This is a less visible program than the housing and food assistance many residents associate with the organization, and worth knowing about for households whose financial strain shows up specifically in utility bills. Call (707) 544-6911 for current eligibility details and to ask whether the program has open capacity.
Free tax preparation — VITA
During tax season, Sonoma CAN provides free income tax preparation through the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program for qualifying low-to-moderate income households. VITA preparers are trained and certified by the IRS and can help with both federal and state returns, including Earned Income Tax Credit claims — a credit that many eligible families leave unclaimed because they don't know they qualify. Watch sonomacan.org for current season dates and appointment availability.
Contact information - applying
Sonoma CAN was founded in 1967 as Sonoma County People for Economic Opportunity and has operated under various names across nearly six decades of service. The rebrand to Sonoma CAN reflects an internal shift in how the organization describes its approach — community-led, network-oriented — rather than a change in the populations it serves or the programs it operates. The online intake portal for most programs is at https://www.sonomacan.org/.
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