Housing is the only proven solution for ending homelessness, which is why it’s the lynchpin of Crossroads efforts to reduce homelessness in the Ocean State.
Housing:
In 2023, we helped 1,764 adults & children either find a new place to call home or maintain their housing.
Housing
Last year, we are proud to report that we helped 1,764 adults and children either find a new place to call or maintain their housing.
Of those, 207 families received temporary rental assistance and case management support through our Rapid Rehousing Program, which allowed them to move into market-rate apartments throughout the state.
"When you have your own private space, your mind can focus on other things and you can begin to move forward with your life.”
- George Brooks, Residential Caretaker, Harold Lewis House
Another 529 households moved into permanent housing, most of them properties that Crossroads owns.
These apartments are deeply subsidized, allowing for extremely low or no-income residents to live safely with the housing-based services and supports they need to maintain their housing.
Housing Problem Solving:
We provided housing problem solving supports to more than 1,750 households.
Housing Problem Solving
Not surprisingly, one of the best ways to address homelessness is to help prevent people from entering the homeless services system in the first place.
Housing problem solving is a highly effective intervention that relies on client-centered, housing-focused conversations that help people explore their options when they are in a housing crisis situation.
“I love linking people to the resources they need and being their calm in the middle of the storm."
- Sandy Fasulo, Case Manager, Rapid Rehousing
The goal is to get people safely stabilized, off the streets or out of shelter and into safe housing quickly and cost effectively. Solutions vary from client to client but include things like help with security deposits and utility arrears.
Last year, we provided housing problem solving supports to more than 1,750 households, distributing more than $600,000 in assistance, or about $2,042 per household.
Emergency Shelter:
We served more than 1,400 people, including 124 children.
Emergency Shelter
When people can’t be diverted, temporary emergency shelter is sometimes needed.
In response to our state’s growing housing crisis, Crossroads operated seven emergency shelters last year, including shelters for families, men, women, survivors of domestic violence, and a new 40-bed shelter for couples on Hartford Avenue in Providence.
We served more than 1,400 people, including 124 children. In a disturbing new trend, we also noted a 33 percent increase in seniors over the age of 65 experiencing homelessness.
Of those who accessed our shelter programs last year, more than 300 were able to move out of the shelter and into permanent housing.
"Through our work, we are
literally saving lives.”- Daynah Williams, Senior Shelter Advocate, Harrington Hall