Marin Peer Resource Community Collective (MPRCC): Empowering Lives Through Peer-Led Support in Marin County

At MPRCC, we are a dedicated peer-led collective, passionately committed to supporting our unhoused and vulnerable neighbors. We foster connection, provide essential navigation, and deliver compassionate community care, guided by the transformative power of lived experience.

MPRCC provides vital peer-led outreach, direct outreach and resource connection, and comprehensive resource navigation for individuals experiencing homelessness in Marin County. Our approach is deeply community-driven and dignity-centered, ensuring that every interaction builds trust and offers a pathway to stability.

Founded by Jenn Mallow and Carrie Bambi Klyse, MPRCC emerged from a profound moment of peer connection. When Bambi, volunteering with her church group, encountered Jenn experiencing homelessness, that genuine bond not only saved Jenn's life but also ignited the vision for MPRCC. This powerful origin story underscores our unwavering commitment to the peer-led model.

WHAT WE DO

MPRCC delivers impactful peer-led outreach, direct outreach and resource connection,

and expert resource navigation for our unhoused neighbors across Marin County. Our team, comprised of individuals with invaluable lived experience, builds immediate trust, significantly reduces systemic barriers, and empowers individuals to move forward on their own terms. We don't just offer services; we walk alongside, providing consistent support and advocacy.

OUR APPROACH

Our approach is fundamentally peer-led and deeply relationship-based. We firmly believe that individuals are far more likely to engage with support when they are met by someone who genuinely understands their experiences and treats them with profound respect. MPRCC doesn't seek to replace existing systems; instead, we expertly guide individuals through them, providing crucial direct outreach and resource connection, persistent advocacy, and diligent follow-up to ensure no one is left to navigate complex challenges alone. This commitment to sustained engagement is a cornerstone of our success.

WHY PEER-LED

The efficacy of peer-led support lies in its unparalleled ability to build authentic trust. Our dedicated team leverages their profound lived experience, intimate local knowledge, and extensive community relationships. This unique foundation enables us to effectively reach individuals often disengaged from traditional services, providing practical, compassionate, and highly effective responses. Our work is not theoretical; it is dynamically shaped by the realities we encounter and the needs we observe daily on the ground, ensuring our interventions are always relevant and impactful.

COMMUNITY & PARTNERSHIPS

MPRCC is actively advancing its long-term vision for a peer-led Wellness Campus and Workforce Housing Village. This ambitious initiative seamlessly integrates stable housing, comprehensive community care, and clear pathways to sustainable stability. This vision is a direct response to the daily needs we witness and our unwavering belief that everyone deserves safety, dignity, and opportunity. We warmly invite you to join us, whether you seek support, wish to volunteer, or are inspired to contribute. MPRCC thrives because of community, and there is a vital place for you within our collective.

You Are in the Right Place.

We see you. Whether you are unhoused, recently housed, or just need someone who truly understands — reach out directly. No paperwork. No judgment. Just real peer support from people with lived experience.

Or use the form below — we will get back to you as soon as possible.

How Can We Help You Today?

Everyone is welcome here. Choose your path below.

💦 I Need Help

If you are unhoused, at risk of losing housing, or just need help figuring out where to go for shelter, housing, or services -- we are here. No paperwork. No judgment. Real peer support from people with lived experience.

Reach Out to Us

❤️ I Want to Support

Volunteer your time, donate to our mission, or partner with us. Every contribution directly funds peer outreach and resource navigation for our unhoused neighbors in Marin County.

Get Involved

Our Impact by the Numbers

Six-plus years of peer-led outreach, advocacy, and community care — measured in lives changed and trust built in Marin County.

50+

Residents supported at Camp Compassion over 2 years

Camp Compassion residents successfully housed

Residents entered recovery programs through our support

76+

Individuals served through Lee Gerner Park camp

Only

Laundry available every Thursday at Bethany — the ONLY laundry access for unhoused neighbors in all of Marin County

Only

Showers available every Thursday at Bethany — the ONLY access to showers in Marin outside of Ritter Center (Mondays only)

Weekly

Sower Lunch Program at Bethany — community partners provide the food; MPRCC provides peer support, resource navigation, crisis intervention, supply distribution, and relationship and trust building

Emergency bags delivered to Anderson during a storm — tarps, blankets, and supplies

Tarps distributed to unhoused neighbors at Anderson during emergency storm response

Blankets delivered to Anderson residents during storm — direct peer emergency response

975+

People reached through Seeds of Hope events, where MPRCC volunteers as McLEAB members at the table and Sands donates the clothing

Years of continuous community service in Marin County

Co-Founding Members of Camp Compassion — Jenn Mallow and Bambi Klyse, alongside Jason Sarris, Robbie Powelson, and James Styles, co-founded Novato’s first peer-led sanctioned encampment, providing shelter and support to ~50 residents over two years

MPRCC holds a seat on the County Homeless Policy Steering Committee (HPSC) — Bambi Klyse serves as MPRCC’s designated representative, advocating for systemic, lived-experience-centered policy change at the county level

Both founders hold individual seats on MCLEAB — the Marin County Lived Experience Advisory Board — ensuring peer voices shape county policy

California Homeless Union representatives for Marin County — Jenn Mallow and Bambi Klyse both serve as union reps

6 years of educational outreach at Novato Farmers Market with Marin Housing for All

Bethany MPRCC Project (every Thursday) — the ONLY laundry in all of Marin County for unhoused neighbors, and the only showers outside of Ritter Center (Mondays only). MPRCC also provides peer support at the Sower Lunch Program — community partners bring the food while MPRCC is on the ground offering resource navigation, crisis intervention, supply distribution, and relationship and trust building

Hamilton encampment peer support leadership through Bethany Project — providing direct peer services to residents in transition

Active service provider at Binford Road vehicle encampment — named in Bay City News (Jan 2026) alongside county-contracted providers

Marin VOAD partnership — Bambi serves on Marin VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters), which is working to establish emergency temporary shelter spots — day-use and night-use — for unhoused neighbors during dangerously wet, cold, or hot weather

Emergency storm response at Anderson — MPRCC delivered 23 bags of supplies, 12 tarps, and 30 blankets directly to unhoused neighbors during a storm, providing immediate relief when it was needed most

975+ people reached through Seeds of Hope events — MPRCC volunteers as McLEAB members at the table, with Sands donating the clothing to community members in need

Read Our Full Impact Story

Meet the Founders

MPRCC was born from a real moment of peer connection. When Bambi, volunteering with her church group, met Jenn during a period of homelessness, that genuine bond saved Jenn’s life — and ignited the vision for MPRCC. That origin story is not background; it is the mission.

Jenn Mallow

Founder & Director, MPRCC

Jenn Mallow is a peer housing navigator, peer advocate, and community organizer whose own experience of homelessness in Marin County transformed into a life of service. As a founder of MPRCC, Jenn brings firsthand knowledge of what it means to navigate systems without support — and what it means to have someone walk alongside you.

Jenn has been a persistent voice for unhoused neighbors at Novato City Council, in the press, and on the ground at encampments across Marin County. She is recognized by Bay City News, ABC7, and the Marin IJ as a frontline advocate and peer housing navigator.

Jenn specializes in housing navigation: once a community member has a housing voucher, she handles all landlord paperwork, advocates directly with landlords to accept Section 8/RFTA, and navigates Housing Authority processes and disputes on behalf of her clients. She does not issue vouchers — she helps people use them successfully.

Civic & Organizational Seats

Individual seat — MCLEAB (Marin County Lived Experience Advisory Board)
Housing navigation specialist — Section 8/RFTA landlord advocacy, Housing Authority issue resolution, and voucher utilization support
Marin County Representative — California Homeless Union
Former 2-year member — Novato Homeless Policy Steering Committee
Co-Founding Member — Camp Compassion, Novato’s first peer-led sanctioned encampment (co-founded with Jason Sarris, Robbie Powelson, and James Styles)

Carrie “Bambi” Klyse

Founder & Director, MPRCC

Carrie “Bambi” Klyse is a community organizer, peer advocate, and the founder whose act of compassion sparked the creation of MPRCC. When Bambi met Jenn through her church volunteer work, she recognized that real change begins with genuine human connection — not programs or paperwork.

Bambi is MPRCC’s designated representative to the County Homeless Policy Steering Committee, where she brings the lived-experience perspective directly into county-level policy discussions. She is a recognized leader in Marin’s homelessness advocacy community, named in Pacific Sun as a Camp Compassion co-founding member.

Civic & Organizational Seats

Individual seat — MCLEAB (Marin County Lived Experience Advisory Board)
Housing navigation specialist — Section 8/RFTA landlord advocacy, Housing Authority issue resolution, and voucher utilization support
MPRCC Representative — County HPSC (Homeless Policy Steering Committee)
Marin County Representative — California Homeless Union
Co-Founding Member — Camp Compassion, Novato’s first peer-led sanctioned encampment (co-founded with Jason Sarris, Robbie Powelson, and James Styles)

In Their Own Words — As Covered by the Press

MPRCC’s founders have been recognized by local and regional media as frontline advocates for Marin’s unhoused community.

“The hundreds of people who live outdoors here will not have the means to protect themselves. No sleeping here, no camps, no sleeping bags, no tents, subject to arrests and misdemeanor citations.”

— Jenn Mallow | ABC7 News, Dec 2024

“We, the founders of Camp Compassion, the residents and the union deeply appreciate your contributions to ensuring accurate news worthy information gets to the public.”

— Bambi Klyse | Pacific Sun, Dec 2024

“This camp provides [vital support]... 76 people have been through the camp since it was established.”

— Jenn Mallow | Marin IJ, Oct 2024

MPRCC named as an active service provider for encampment residents alongside county-contracted organizations — with Jenn Mallow photographed on-site providing peer-led housing navigation and advocacy.

— Bay City News | Local News Matters, Jan 2026