The “Secret Sauce” Of Successful Homeless Programs

When we were building our homeless program which went from a house with five men to over 500 a night in various shelter options we thought we were in the housing business. We were creating housing options in multi-levels to move people up from the streets to self-sufficiency.

But, one day a wise director of a local foundation told us we were not in the housing business, but in the business of changing lives. Our supportive services program with five levels and steps to follow in each level was our “secret sauce.”

He was right.

There are many wonderful homeless housing programs across the county. There are homeless shelters, villages, and housing projects, but often the results are far from noteworthy. A popular concept is “housing first” which prioritizes getting the homeless in some type of housing. Too often nothing changes in the belief system and behavior of the homeless individual and he/she ends up back on the streets.

The “secret sauce” we created gave us amazing results and we were able to watch people move from crisis to thriving. In our apartments, we had 80% success. Our recovery houses had 75% success and our tiny house village was around 50% successful. All participants were required to go through the “secret sauce” program and they were excited to see their lives change in significant ways.

The “secret sauce” program encouraged people to deal with their addictions, their education, their employment, and their financial situations. We found participants finding jobs and getting enough income to get off subsidies. Their credit scores improved. They were purchasing cars and homes. They became taxpayers in the community and wonderful employees.

Any homeless program being created needs the “secret sauce” to be successful. We can help design it and train staff to work on it.