About Us
Program Expertise
Our experience in the field includes assisting government agencies and non-profit organizations in setting up successful homeless prevention and rapid housing programs. We created successful screening tools and assessments for individuals and families seeking assistance. This included creating a homeless services phone hot-line and access to case management. This prevention effort coupled with a Rapid Re-housing and Housing First approach has helped reduce homelessness 15-25% over a two year period in some communities.
Maroon Consultants offers all of the administrative and management consultation required to initiate Start-up and Management of Housing First programs including centralized intake for homeless families that may be residing in short-term shelters and aid stations. This expertise helps organizations spend their money on these programs wisely and cost effectively to meet the needs of a variety of stakeholders. These services include screening, assessments, financial assistance and mental and physical health support.
Supporting Housing First Initiatives
Housing First is a relatively recent innovation in human service programs and social policy regarding treatment of the homeless. Rather than moving homeless individuals through different "levels" of housing, known as the Continuum of Care, whereby each level moves them closer to "independent housing" (for example: from the streets to a public shelter, and from a public shelter to a shelter run by a state agency, and from there to a transitional housing program, and from there to their own apartment in the community) Housing First moves the homeless immediately from the streets or homeless shelters into their own apartments.
While there are a wide variety of program models, Housing First programs all typically include:
- Assessment-based targeting of Housing First services
- Assistance locating rental housing, relationship development with private
- market landlords, and lease negotiation
- Housing assistance – ranging from security deposit and one month’s rent to provision of a long-term housing subsidy
- A housing placement that is not time-limited
Rapid Re-housing is a set of strategies to help families quickly move out of homelessness and into permanent housing. It typically involves:
- Housing search and landlord mediation assistance
- Short-term or flexible rental assistance
- Transitional case management services
These strategies are consistent with a Housing First approach which prioritizes a focus on helping individuals and families access permanent housing as rapidly as possible and providing services primarily following a housing placement. Some communities that adopted Rapid Re-housing strategies as part of a Housing First approach were able to substantially reduce homelessness among families or prevent shelter stays altogether.
By helping families exit homelessness more rapidly, shelters are able to accommodate more families without increasing capacity.
We believe that communities can significantly reduce the amount of time people experience homelessness and multiple displacements through instituting these programs. A central tenet of the Housing First approach is that social services to enhance individual and family well-being can be more effective when people are in their own home and therefore able to function as community members.
This philosophy and purpose has been at the core of a successful Housing First model: to help people access and sustain permanent, affordable housing and to provide assistance toward re-employment and individual well being.