“Transition-in-Place” Housing Program

Online Forms & Documents

Are you homeless or helping someone who is? Find eligibility requirements and other information about accessing our transition-in-place housing services below:

• Applicant Pre-Screen Form
• Eligibility Document
• Waiting List Procedures
• 2010-11 Homeless Certification Form
• Agency Shelter Referral Form

Through our Transition-in-Place Housing Program, we serve an average of 23 homeless families per year. This represents half of the beds available tofamilies transitioning from homelessness to independence in Alexandria. Families usually are referred to Community Lodgings from one of Alexandria’s homeless shelters. Community Lodgings subsidizes rent and utilities for the family’s apartment. Participants set aside 30% of their monthly income to contribute to these costs, and are required to put and additional 5% into savings. When they enter the two-year program, families agree to attend monthly budget counseling sessions and to remain drug-free. In addition, each family that enters our program has access to the following kinds of support:

• Round-the-clock access to a caseworker and to bilingual staff
• One-on-one home visits from the caseworker to discuss program goals
• Educational workshops on issues affecting homeless families
• Job skills training
• Job counseling sessions
• Support group sessions
• Family therapy
• Afterschool programs for children (Mondays-Thursdays for ages 8 to 18)
• English as a Second Language courses (as needed)

HARRIET’S STORY 

“I know where I came from,” says Owusu, a young mother from Ghana with two small children. “I have no family here but knew I had to do something to make a future for my kids.”

Harriet and her two children came to Community Lodgings from a local domestic violence shelter in 2010. At the time, she traveled daily to Old Town to work at a retail store, but was often sent home when business was slow. The owners had so few hours for her, in fact, that she was paying more to commute than she earned at the shop.

Community Lodgings provided the support that helped her turn her situation around. After working with a case manager and budget mentor, she decided to quit her job, devoting herself full-time to the job skills training classes and English as a Second Language courses provided by staff at our Family Learning Center. She worked with a job counselor to strengthen her resume.

Soon, Harriet secured a job with INOVA health system. With coaching and guidance from her budget mentor, she saved more than $15,000 in just over a year.

Moreover, Harriet enrolled her three-and-a-half year old son in a local pre-school program, where his verbal skills and behavior have improved significantly. Community Lodgings staff and volunteers also worked closely with both of her children through our Read Aloud program. While their mother attended workshops, the children read to one another, improving their literacy skills.

The Transition-in-Place Housing program is funded in part by the City of Alexandria.