The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, and other partners, today joined St. Vincent de Paul in announcing a major expansion of this cutting-edge program, which has proven to significantly reduce the length of time that families are homeless. The Front Door Program aligns with Baltimore’s 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness, which recognizes a critical need to support alternative housing models. Rachel Garbow Monroe, Weinberg Foundation President and Chief Executive Officer, was among the featured speakers at today’s Front Door launch event.
According to St. Vincent de Paul, families who are homeless – nationally and in Baltimore – represent about one third of the homeless population, and have been the fastest growing segment of the homeless population in recent years. They are also one of the most difficult populations to serve, because of the many barriers to housing they face including: mental health, substance abuse, domestic violence, lack of education and unemployment and underemployment.
One of the national best practices for reducing family homelessness is rapid re-housing, which has proven to significantly reduce the length of time that families are homeless, thereby lessening the negative impact of homelessness on both adults and children and increasing the annual numbers of families able to be served. St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore’s Front Door Program has achieved significant success with rapidly re-housing families over the past three years, placing 150 families into permanent housing.
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