A young couple with a baby and another on the way are among Nevada County's homeless residents who could get into a place of their own with the help of a federal stimulus grant.

The couple is among nine families living at the Booth Family Center, operated by the Salvation Army's Grass Valley Corps. The federal grant will give the Salvation Army and six partner organizations new tools to respond to job losses and rising homelessness.

The Booth Center in the Grass Valley area is one of those tools.

When people lose their house to foreclosure or get evicted, a shelter like the Booth Center can be a better transitional step as they get their lives together.

“When you're dealing with getting a place, you need routine,” said Capt. Martha Sheppard of the Grass Valley Corps.

The Salvation Army took what was formerly the Manzanita House and renamed it Booth Family Center two years ago, after the Army's founder William Booth. In those two years, the economy has taken a nosedive, and the Booth Center has seen even more demand for its services.

To live at BFC, families must prove they have no other resources or possible living situations. The family must have at least three members and must have children.

The nine rooms at BFC accommodate three to seven people each, and occupants share a community room and kitchen.

Each family is expected to cook for themselves — it cuts down on spats about sharing food and reinforces personal responsibility.

Staff start families off with 90 days in the shelter, then re-evaluate on a case-by-case basis. Families can stay for up to six months.

Part of the BFC experience is stability and developing routines, such as daily room inspections and household chores, that many residents aren't used to.

“It's tough when you're homeless,” said BFC Director Robbin Swales. “Every day is survival. You spend half your life spinning your wheels.”

A few months of accountability often is enough to get a family back on track, Swales said.

“When you hold them to a standard, they'll rise to it,” she added.

Preventing homelessness was a major goal of the federal Recovery Act. In California alone, $42.7 million in grant money was distributed to combat the problem.

The local Salvation Army was the lead organization in applying for and winning a $1.6 million grant this fall. It will receive the grant money quarterly over three years.

Six other groups are sharing the funds: Hospitality House, Nevada County Housing Development Corporation, Community Recovery Resources, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalition, Legal Services of Northern California and Truckee Resource Center.

Each organization has a slightly different target population, Sheppard said. The money will be used for projects and resources they can share, such as case managers and an online database to synchronize the organizations' efforts.

Almost $600,000 of the grant is set aside for rapid re-housing efforts, which includes helping families who are living in shelters to find their own places.

More than $1 million is earmarked for homeless prevention, focusing on counseling and assisting people who are about to lose their homes so they don't end up on the street in the first place.

The grant includes implementing and maintaining a $176,000 computer system to track homeless people in Nevada County.

Tracking will ensure people are not double-dipping and makes it easier to determine what services homeless people have used, currently use and will use in the future.

Without it, Sheppard said, county organizations interacting with homeless people don't have an overall picture of needs in the community.

With it, “we can allocate funds where they need to be, not where we think they should be,” Sheppard said.

Computerized systems are part of the federal government's goal of holding homeless aid organizations accountable for grant money.

Implementing the system will now enable other organizations in Nevada County to apply for federal grants to combat homelessness.

A major goal of the program is educating needy families about the financial practices that will prevent homelessness in the future.

A big chunk of the grant will fund case managers who counsel families on the brink of financial trouble about how to stay afloat.

It could mean helping them set up a budget, find aid and restore spoiled credit. Sometimes, it's legal help for those involved in disputes with landlords.

Another big chunk is the cost of re-housing families. The Salvation Army finds landlords willing to rent to high-risk families and accept special terms, such as not requiring a long-term lease.

That part has been difficult, Sheppard said. Participants are usually far from the ideal tenant, and many carry eviction histories and poor credit.

If applicants make it through the vetting process, the Army helps with rent, security deposits and utilities. With rent and utilities for a two-bedroom apartment in the area averaging $1,000 monthly, the money goes quickly.

Only a handful of families can take advantage of the program each month, but those who do, have good chances of being financially independent in the near future.

“We're not going to place them until they're going to be successful,” said Swales.

While families are losing jobs and homes on a daily basis, Swales said most clients have been homeless before. Many first-time homeless families probably are still scrambling to survive on their own and haven't asked for help.

One family the Salvation Army is working with this season is a married couple living with their young child in a single, tiny bedroom. She's pregnant and was planning on moving to Oroville without her husband because the room wouldn't fit when the new baby came.

With the grant money, the Salvation Army can subsidize the couple's rent in a larger apartment while the father-to-be works off his debt. The family can stay together, and in three months they'll be self-sufficient.

“That's the kind of success story this grant is all about,” Swales said.

To contact Staff Writer Michelle Rindels, e-mail mrindels@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4247.