Let TVCCA help you find emergency housing for your family.
The goal of TVCCA’s Home Again Project is to rapidly rehouse families experiencing homelessness and provide diversion assistance to families at risk of homelessness.
TVCCA is going through a transformative process that will result in the elimination of all of our shelter beds and lead to TVCCA functioning as a housing financial assistance triage center for families and individuals. We will be utilizing diversion, rapid re-housing and case management funds to keep families from ever living in a shelter.
Research has shown that any time that a child spends living in a shelter is detrimental to their development. It is our goal that no child should ever be homeless.
Even for some adults, a shelter may not be a safe place for them. Take the case of “James” – it was determined that a shelter would be a dangerous situation for him. His brother John was convinced to house him while the case manager worked to quickly locate an apartment for re-housing. John was economically challenged so he was given gift cards to a grocery store to help supplement the household budget while his brother stayed with him. That small bit of assistance kept his brother out of a shelter.
Families will, upon intake, be assessed for any diversion activity that may be used until permanent housing is secured. If there is no other option available, a family may be placed in a hotel on a very short term basis. Every effort will go into placing this family into housing as fast as possible. It should be said that some solutions may not involve re-housing a family in our area. Under the category of diversion, the best answer for some families who are not from this area originally is to provide transportation back to their community of origin. Some families when offered this assistance are quite willing and grateful to be returning to family and friends and all the natural supports that were left behind in an attempt to start a new life in a completely different part of the country.
Case managers will be working with homeless families to find housing, connect with natural supports such as family and friends, and to connect to mainstream services as deemed appropriate. The case manager will help with completing applications and gathering documentation for needed services such as heating assistance, pre-school education options, child care and DSS services (cash, SNAP and medical coverage). In extreme emergencies, hotel rooms will be secured. No one will have to be on the streets due to the fact that TVCCA no longer operates a homeless shelter.
In searching for housing options, TVCCA has an extensive list of “friendly landlords” that we negotiate with on a daily basis. TVCCA is the only Community Action Agency to manage a HUD Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8) and the state Rental Assistance Program. We are currently serving over 1,000 households in Eastern Connecticut. In addition to these programs, TVCCA manages 50 units of HUD Permanent Supportive Housing and an additional 15 units of Next Steps Permanent Supportive Housing units. Our contact list of landlords and property managers is fresh and up to date.
Donations are always appreciated. The support of the community has been vitally important to the continuation of these services. Due to our space constraints we cannot accept large clothing donations or appliance and furniture donations.
Speak to a friendly support staff member to see which services you may benefit from