The Road Home announced it has been selected to receive an exclusive grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) that will total $1.9 million over the next five years.
The nationally competitive grant was awarded to only 33 organizations in the country and will be used to fund The Road Home’s Rapid Re-housing program.
This grant will allow The Road Home to deliver an enhanced Rapid Re-housing program to 150 families experiencing homelessness, particularly those who have previously experienced homelessness and require additional support services to resolve their housing crisis. The Road Home’s Family Assistance and Support Team (FAST) is a multidisciplinary team that delivers short-term rental assistance and 12 months of supportive services during a critical time of a family’s life. The grant will enable FAST to connect families to permanent housing. The team will use a suite of assessment tools to accurately determine each household’s unique needs such as employment, child development services, behavioral and mental health treatment, and community resources. The overall goals of the program are to increase housing stability, improve child wellbeing, enhance parent functioning, and reduce returns to shelter.
Currently, The Road Home provides housing services to approximately 1,500 households per year, using Progressive Engagement and Permanent Supportive Housing models. Progressive Engagement is the practice of rapidly re-housing families with minimal financial and support resources. This model allows households to maintain a sense of self-determination by offering them ample support to end their homelessness, including light-touch case management. Permanent Supportive Housing is reserved for the more vulnerable households. In this model, The Road Home adheres to a Housing First framework, which prioritizes helping homeless people into housing, and then provides individualized supportive services as needed. The Road Home’s innovative housing programs have an 87 percent success rate.
“We are thrilled to have been chosen to deliver a service that will benefit families experiencing homelessness in our community,” said Matt Minkevitch, executive director of The Road Home. “Since 2009, we have served over 3,000 households with the Rapid Re-housing and Progressive Engagement model. We’re very appreciative and excited for this opportunity to continue our efforts in supporting those in need.”
Partners for this program include the University of Utah Criminal Justice Center, Artemis Associates LLC, The Children’s Center, Department of Workforce Services, Utah Community Action, Division of Child and Family Services and school districts within Salt Lake County.
For more information on The Road Home, visit theroadhome.org.
