CELEBRATING 50 YEARS
SERVING SAN DIEGO COUNTY SINCE 1971
SBCS (formerly South Bay Community Services) is a community-based nonprofit organization providing a comprehensive range of services for children, youth, and families in San Diego county. Although we’ve grown to serve more than 50,000 annually through a wide array of services, SBCS started small and grew thanks to the support and donations of our neighbors. Our team is 100% fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
HISTORY OF OUR SERVICES
SBCS began its existence in 1971 as “Our House” – a drop-in center located in the City of Chula Vista. We focused our services on teens struggling with drug abuse by providing counseling and rehabilitation. As we worked closely with each youth, we learned that many of these teens were coming from homes with domestic violence issues, economic struggles, or other stressors that were impacting every essence of their lives. The more we listened, the more we learned that these issues are interrelated and better approached comprehensively through a suite of services.
Out of this need, we slowly expanded our services provide support for the dynamic issues facing our community. Today, that list includes 9 different groups of services, including:
- Housing assistance
- Independent living skills
- Employment readiness
- Financial literacy services
- Mental health counseling
- Domestic violence & child abuse intervention
- Juvenile crimes prevention
- Therapeutic educational programming
- Meals and nutritional support
While times have changed and our services have grown, our focus is unwavering. After more than 40 years working within the community, we are still based in the heart of the City of Chula Vista, serving communities throughout San Diego county.

OUR GROWTH
Originally housed under one roof, SBCS is now as expansive and diverse as the county we serve. As our services grew, we formed partnerships and grew our team, thus allowing our staff to operate throughout the region. Today, we have over 500 staff working in schools, police departments, family resource centers, and affordable housing locations. And, of course, we can always be found at our home in the City of Chula Vista.
None of our growth and success today would be possible without the support and contributions of our neighbors. Click here to learn more about how you can donate or volunteer for SBCS – you’d be surprised by the variety of ways you can help!
Most importantly, we believe that any growth must be smart growth – we want to ensure that every dollar we spend goes as far as possible towards providing services for those in need. SBCS carefully tracks every dollar we spend, using a data-driven approach to maximize impact and guarantee results. Click here to learn more facts about our by-the-numbers successes.
OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

From the day we opened the doors to “Our House” in 1971, SBCS has been an organization built around the idea that an open, accessible organization can best serve its community. We want our neighbors, clients, and partners to feel welcome in all that we do, everywhere we do it.
As the organization has grown and evolved, we have also expanded our engagement with the community through partnerships, a growing staff & volunteer network, and a series of events.
Our events take place throughout the year and give us the opportunity to personally thank our supporters, raise funds for our portfolio of services, and partner with new donors and organizations throughout the region. These include:
- The Big Giveback
- Stars & Stripes Tournament
- Change Their Lives
Factsheets
Our Factsheets are available below to be printed or shared for information purposes. Our Factsheets provide a quick overview. For more information, please contact SBCS at (619) 420-3620.
- SBCS General Overview – English | Spanish
- SBCS Quick Glance of Services – English | Spanish
- SBCS Domestic Violence Services – English | Spanish
- Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood Snapshot
- SBCS Youth Prevention and Intervention
- Tax Services
- SBCS Food Distribution Overview – English | Spanish
- Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood Overview – English | Spanish
- SBCS Healthy Development Services
- San Diego Promise Neighborhood Overview | Pipeline
- More to come