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Transition House
is a complex with five apartments designed to provide transitional housing to families who are homeless upon entering the program. The program is designed to house families for up to two years while educational and vocational goals are accomplished. Upon entering the program, each family meets with the housing case manager to establish individualized, tangible goals that will enable the family to achieve self-sufficiency and attain permanent housing upon exit from the program. The housing case manager then meets with each family on a weekly basis to ensure that appropriate steps are being taken to accomplish long-term goals.Due to the flexibility within the program to meet the specific goals of each family, Transition House has had the opportunity to serve families from a variety of backgrounds with a variety of aspirations. In the last fiscal year, Transition House has seen four families graduate from the program and attain permanent housing. One of these four graduates was homeless on and off for eight years prior to entering the program. Since graduating from the program, she has finished her associate of arts degree and will soon complete her bachelor of arts degree. She is in permanent housing and building a life with her daughter as she pursues her goal to become a school teacher. She credits her success to the support she received throughout her time at Transition House.There are currently five families in the program at Transition House, each of whom is working to complete goals designed to match their individual talents and interests. The goals of those who are currently in the program include attaining careers in substance abuse counseling, medical billing, and computer technical support. Each goal is as unique as the individual behind it, and Project Understanding seeks to empower each of these families to achieve self-sufficiency. Simultaneously, life skills are taught to each family. These skills include budgeting skills, parenting skills, self-advocacy, accessing mainstream programs, building credit, and attaining permanent housing. All of this is crucial to successfully prepare families for graduation from the program.Like every other program, donations and volunteers help make this program possible. The needs of this program, though, are unique and often unpredictable. Often when families enter the program, they are without any furniture or household necessities. Therefore, donations of household items are crucial to families as they get settled into the program, though this typically only occurs a couple of times a year. Life skills classes could also be taught by volunteers in order to draw from a wide variety of educational backgrounds and experiences. To learn more about the specific needs of this program, please be in contact with Project Understanding throughout the year. |