April 8, 2010

The National Alliance to End Homelessness recently published a Best Practices Case Study on the pilot phase of our innovative transitional housing program, the Empowerment Project.

Excerpt from the case study summary:

Between 2007 and 2008, DASH piloted the Empowerment Project, a transition-in-place program that provided families with time-limited rental assistance and case management to help them quickly transition to housing in the community.

The document includes the following information about the Empowerment Project:

• Program History
• Program Description, including Targeting/Eligibility, Funding, and Services
• Outcomes
• Lessons Learned

The 2007-2008 Empowerment Project pilot served six families, each of which was able to successfully retain its housing.

Home-visiting is seen as being critical to the success of the pilot program. Home visiting and building connections with community-based organizations prevented isolation for the families, an issue that had initially concerned providers. The home visits also allowed the Empowerment Advocate to continue to get to know the family and understand their needs on a deeper level as they transitioned into their new housing.

One of the biggest lessons to emerge from the Empowerment Project pilot is that families can transition more rapidly out of housing and into the community with housing search assistance, time-limited rental support, and supportive services.

>>  To read or download the entire case study, click here.

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