Why do families become homeless?
Families may become homeless for any number of reasons. But, while every family’s story is unique, there are common experiences that push families into living in an emergency shelter, a tent, a trailer (with or without running water), in a car, or on the street. These include:
- Living in poverty and in an unstable housing situation
- Job loss or unemployment
- A family member becomes injured, ill, or dies
- Unexpected bills
- Change in public benefits
- Divorce or separation
- Domestic violence
- Mental and/or physical health challenges
- A lack of a healthy support network
Is there any good news?
Yes – the good news is that in many instances, families only need short-term assistance to regain stable housing. Some can even successfully maintain their housing going forward after receiving one-time assistance. It is encouraging to know that with the right intervention, families can move from homelessness to home in a short amount of time and not become homeless again.
Two important tools for helping families
The more quickly a family’s homelessness is ended the better! The longer a family is homeless, the more traumatic, complex and dire their circumstances become. In addition, homelessness is expensive, so it is much more cost-effective to help a family secure a home.
Diversion Services and our Housing Relief Fund
Often times families who come for help can maintain their housing on their own after receiving coaching from Housing Solutions Center staff and one-time financial assistance (for rental application fees, deposits, and moving expenses). Our Housing Relief Fund is a dedicated resource funded solely by private donations to provide this effective one time assistance. 100% of each contribution provides timely and targeted assistance to households currently experiencing homelessness.
Read Stories of Home
You can make a contribution to end a family’s homelessness at this link: Home is Where It All Begins. Simply write “Housing Relief” in the comments section.
Rapid Re-housing
Rapid Re-housing is a form of housing assistance that includes short-term rental assistance and case management. Rapid Re-housing is offered through social service agencies in Clark County and accessed through our Housing Solutions Center. Click to read Rapid Re-housing successes from around the United States as told by the National Alliance to End Homelessness.