Making Room for a New Start

These keys represent the individuals and families who have moved from RITI into housing since 2021.

While we celebrate these big moves, RITI’s support does not stop there.

We believe ongoing support is the real key to helping these households find permanent stability. That’s why we knew we needed the Housing Stabilization Team.

Why Housing Stabilization?

If a household is unsupported after gaining housing, becoming unhoused again is likely without assistance. Research shows that between 15-20% of people who move into housing return to homelessness within two years. Over 7% return within the first six months.

The reality of homelessness is that every day is a crisis. Our guests have been living in a constant state of emergency – only able to address the immediate problem and need in front of them, and often having to prioritize multiple crises at one time.

Even when someone is able to navigate the complicated systems and secure the resources to move into housing, those constant feelings of chaos and instability do not just disappear. While housing is necessary to be able to begin to plan in more long-term ways, the trauma response of day-to-day living does not have a magic switch that turns with the key in the door.

The assistance that often leads to housing has a timeline. Case management typically ends when a person transitions into housing. Rental assistance occurs for a set amount of months. Meanwhile, each day still has challenges to put food on the table, find transportation to work, juggle childcare, etc, and those months are over in the blink of an eye.

At RITI, Housing Stabilization offers an extra problem-solver to the challenges faced when guests leave our doors for their own.

While in the Family Inn or Recuperative Care Center, guests will meet the Housing Stabilization Coordinator, Cole Hoffman, who works with our program staff and guests to understand each guest’s unique needs in seeking stable housing. When the guests move into housing, Cole and Hospitality Coordinator, Lolita Crittendon, will continue to follow-up with them, checking in on a regular basis to see what challenges they are facing. 

 Both during their stay and after, RITI guests are offered support such as coaching for personal budgeting, financial planning, resume building, and a listening ear. They are assisted with the processes of applying for benefits, such as social security and disability. They have someone to call when the utility bill has skyrocketed and they can’t afford the payment. The voice on the phone will help them know that the unpaid bill does not have to mean the end of their housing, and instead they can be connected with community resources and continue planning to be ready for those unexpected expenses. 

 A cycle that has too often been “Shelter to Housing to Shelter” is broken with the help of Housing Stabilization. The new story is “Shelter to Housing to Stability.”