FAQ

G.I. Josie will be located in northern unincorporated Monterey County.

Eligibility will be determined by a thorough intake interview.

Residents do not have a maximum time frame in which they can stay. We recognize that everyone is different, and as such, will heal on their own schedule.

The state of California requires that all residents of transitional housing maintain residence there for a minimum of six (6) months. As such, we will abide by those regulations. At the end of the requisite six (6) months, if for any reason either the resident or the staff of G.I. Josie feel that we are not a good fit, the resident is more than free to move on. That said, the door will always remain open to her should circumstances change.

At the ranch, we will be offering a myriad of non-clinical programs such as The Equine Project, Write On!, The Blue Water Project, Gardening, Arts (an umbrella for several projects), Mind/Body, K9 programs, volunteering, music, etc. Currently, as we reopen from covid-19, we will be reopening the Blue Water Project, the Equine Project, Write On, Healing With Laughter and The Art Project. We continually re-evaluating projects and adding or removing them as necessary.

The programs will be facilitated by community volunteers who are experts in their particular field. The preponderance of volunteers have already committed to giving their time. G.I. Josie staff will arrange logistics.

Each resident will be an integral part of the ranch with ranch responsibilities such as caring for the animals living on the ranch, household chores, etc. Residents will rotate responsibilities so that everyone is an inclusive part of the ranch operation. Additionally, residents are will be responsible for maintaining their own appointments with their case workers and keeping any medications current. We Josie will not be overseeing these basic responsibilities. However, we will ensure that there is transportation to and from said appointments if necessary.

G.I. Josie will maintain transportation to and from bus stops as well as bus schedules to the local VA centers.

Residents will not be required to work off the ranch if they do not feel they can do so. This is a decision made between the resident and their caseworker. Nevertheless, they will still be required to work on the ranch itself. Residents will not be allowed to do nothing. Doing nothing is not an option. Transportation to and from an outside job is the responsibility of the resident. That said, Monterey County has an extensive bus line, so transportation issues should be minimal.

We do not have a set number of children that will become residents with their mom’s. We will determine eligibility on a case by case basis.

Boys will age out at 13. Girls will age out at 18. This policy is in place not because we feel there are problems with 13 year old boys. Rather, as boys mature, some of our residents may be uncomfortable as a result of their experiences which brought them to us in the first place. This is a classic ‘needs of the many outweigh the needs of a few’ scenario. That said, exceptions will be considered on a case by case basis.

There will be no male residents on the ranch.

If/when a father wants to meet with or pick up a child, that meeting will take place at the admin office. If the resident mother needs us to intercede for the pick-up, we will happily oblige.

Costs will be covered by grants and donations.

The only men allowed on the ranch on a regular basis will be the men on staff, whose interaction with our residents will be minimal. Families are welcomed , with advanced notice, from 9am – 6pm daily and on holidays and special occasions. All visits will be restricted to the Main Barn, administration building and common areas. It is important that we adhere to this policy for the comfort of our residents.