from homelessness to home

CREATING A FOUNDATION

First 30 Days

• Match with a housing navigator

• Conduct in-depth needs assessment

• Provide emergency shelter for priority families

• Meet other basic needs - food & clothing

• Create household budget & develop housing plan

• Begin workshops

MOVING TO PERMANENT HOUSING

Goal 60 Days

• Locate neighborhoods near family's school & work

• Connect family to landlords & properties

• Inspect property and affirm safe environment

• Assist with arrears & rental/utilities deposits

• Support family at their lease signing

MAKING A HOME

12 Additional Months

• Provide rental assistance: 1-3 months typically

• Provide one-on-one coaching with home visits

• Complete 7-part workshop curriculum

• Provide personal credit counselling and financial health training

• Provide job readiness & employment support

Our Housing Strategies

In 2019, Families Together launched an Affordable Housing Initiative as market-rate rental units became out of reach for extremely low-income families. Our goal is to build a portfolio of affordable housing owned and/or managed by Families Together where homeless families can move quickly as our team works with them to obtain permanent housing and achieve long-term success.

WE PROVIDE:

EMERGENCY SHELTER:  When a permanent home is not immediately available, Families Together provides emergency relief for children and their families who might otherwise be forced to separate without our help. We do this by welcoming families into one of our six private 3-bedroom apartments and connecting them with one of our Mentor Advocates. Families live at no cost in these units while they save money and work to overcome barriers such as domestic violence, unemployment and poor credit.  The goal of this program is to help each family move into a permanent home in the community as quickly as possible.

PERMANENT HOUSING PLACEMENT:  Whether a family is staying in a partnering shelter, one of our shelter apartment units, or living in a low-cost motel or in a car, the main focus for Families Together is to get them into a home for good.  We work with families to identify and overcome obstacles that are causing a family to be homeless. Our Mentor Advocates help families develop budgets and locate housing that fits within their income, is near the child’s school and otherwise meets their household needs.  FT provides temporary rental and utilities assistance and links to landlords in our community. We inspect every home to ensure its safety and we sign an Open Communication Agreement with the landlord and family so that we can intervene and address problems before they escalate.  Once in a permanent home, the family continues to work with their Mentor Advocate for up to a year to help navigate the new path to independence. In 8 out of 10 placements, families successfully graduate by attaining a year of holding a lease in their own name or achieving other successful housing outcomes.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING: This new strategic initiative was launched mid-2019 in response to our community’s growing affordable housing crisis. Our goal is to create an array of new housing options for families experiencing homelessness that are owned and/or managed by Families Together. They include:

• Bridge Housing and Master Lease transitional housing for families living in motels and referred by the school system. Families live for 3-18 months in units owned or leased by FT and work toward housing goals while paying a modest program fee that allows them to save money and “graduate” to permanent housing.

• Permanent rental housing in a unit owned by FT for extremely low-income families with complex barriers to permanent housing where they pay no more than 30% of their income for rent.

In the first 18 months of the Affordable Housing Initiative, Families Together added 18 new affordable units serving extremely low-income families to our community .