Housing is a fundamental human need.

“It is hard to argue that housing is not a fundamental human need. Decent, affordable housing should be a basic right for everybody in this country. The reason is simple: without stable shelter, everything else falls apart.” 
 

― Matthew Desmond, 

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City

 We provide shelter, meals, monthly buss passes and a place for our residents' belongings. Providing these basic needs enables our residents to address the underlying issues that caused them to be homeless. 

Shelter Phase

By converting these small community shelters into permanent very-affordable housing, we provide a transition that some of our residents need before moving on into independent living, and others need indefinitely due to disabilities or other issues.

Affordable, Community Living 

The Assisi House Impact

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The impact of Assisi House goes well beyond just providing housing. In many cases, residents have learned how to create a budget, manage money and utilize basic computer skills. In several cases the residents have used the stability of having a place to call home to reconnect with family members including their children.

How we sustain the model

Once each of our houses has been converted into a permanent home, the residents pay a minimal rent of about $250 a month and by doing so, we are able to run the house on a break-even basis. (The residents pay no rent during the initial four month winter shelter period.) The major expenses we incur are for the renovation of each new property we acquire and the operating expenses of the property during the initial shelter period.