New Beginnings (NB) had a big hit of a fundraiser this year — the thought-provoking and entertaining play Every Brilliant Thing. It both raised awareness of mental health issues and raised funds for NB’s mental health counseling programs serving low-income residents.
Fresh from its run in London’s West End, the play was performed at Center Stage Theater and was followed by a patio reception where guests got to chat with Jonny Donahoe, the one-man show’s star and playwright, and with Associate Director Paddy Gervers. The highly acclaimed play has been performed in 70 countries and in 50 languages. While in town, the duo also performed its new production, Jonny & the Baptists.
When asked why he was willing to bring the wildly successful play to our relatively small town, first in 2022 and again in 2025, Donahoe smiled, turned to Executive Director Kristine Schwarz, and said “it was all Kristine.” Calling her a kindred spirit, Donahoe related the bond they formed because of their background in the entertainment industry and their focus on raising awareness about people struggling with mental health issues. He also pointed to a particular desire to start a conversation about mental health in Santa Barbara because of the prevalence here of people living in opulence alongside others who are homeless.
Earlier in her career, Schwarz spent 13 years as a film and television production executive. She is also a seasoned clinician and educator. In an interview, she explained that through a play, audiences can connect deeply with stories, without the discomfort that a client recounting his or her success story could engender. There’s a different filter when you’re learning something through entertainment or art, she maintains, enabling a real understanding.
Every Brilliant Thing, performed in the round with audience participation, is about a boy whose mother attempts suicide. The story follows him through adulthood as mental health affects myriad aspects of his life. The play dovetails nicely with New Beginnings’ work. Since COVID, it has seen substantial increases in people seeking counseling for depression and anxiety. Emphasizing the gravity of mental health issues, Schwarz stated, “We have to make it safe to talk about it.”
The conversations among guests at the post-show receptions, Schwarz related, were really heartwarming and moving, with guests sharing their own and their family members’ struggles, enabling great connections to form.
Under Schwarz’s leadership, New Beginnings has flourished from a nonprofit in 2012 with a budget of $450,000 and four employees to one with an $11 million budget and 80 employees. The number of volunteer counselors and volunteer clinical supervisors has also grown considerably, to 40 and 12 respectively.
In 2023, to accommodate its expansion, the nonprofit moved into a new space which, thanks to grant funds, they have turned into a vibrant, welcoming environment for its counseling and case management services and for a community space where other nonprofits hold events.
When people walk in, they exclaim, ‘Oh, wow,’” Schwarz recounted, and having a nice environment really makes a difference, she added. Both clients and employees want to come to the space because it is warm and has a palpable energy. Also, for the clients, a nice environment helps them feel respected. The program has been growing, with more than 700 clients served in the last fiscal year.
New Beginnings has also seen significant growth in its other programs, including its nationally recognized Safe Parking program, where people living in their vehicles have access to 200 spaces in 31 lots provided by government agencies, churches, nonprofits and businesses. Established in 2003 by Catholic Charities, with New Beginnings taking over the program in 2004, it is the longest running safe parking program in the country. Last year, 897 clients participated. New Beginnings seeks to expand the program, but is constrained by a lack of space. Despite remarkable outcomes and little incidents, Schwarz laments, business owners are reluctant to participate.
NB created a manual years ago, which it is now updating, for other jurisdictions to follow. In the early years, Schwarz got calls from localities in the western U.S., but now she fields inquiries from across the country. New Beginnings will soon become the first accredited vehicle shelter in the country by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities.
NB’s Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF), a federally funded program, has also gotten national attention. Remarkably successful, this program reduced veteran homelessness from a few hundred families in the county in 2013, when it first received federal funding, down to 50 individuals, though there has been a recent uptick. The program has served as a model for other jurisdictions.
Across all of its housing assistance programs last year, New Beginnings provided more than $3.4 million in temporary financial assistance, primarily through the California Encampment Resolution Fund (CERF) and SSVF. The aid included funds for rent, vehicle repairs, and medical bills.
It takes a village, Schwarz insists. The center needs landlords offering affordable rentals, entities offering parking lots for its Safe Parking program, volunteers teaching life skills, and donors providing funds, especially with COVID-era programs ending.
Spanish Clinic Intake Coordinator & Operations Support Specialist Elvia Hernandez, Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program Manager Jamie Naylor, and Safe Parking Program Director Cassie Roach | Gail Arnold
Safe Parking Program Housing Retention Specialist Tim Griggs and Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program Intake Coordinator Marc Durham | Gail Arnold
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