The goal of the LSF Housing Program is to provide safe, clean, temporary and permanent housing for homeless families with young children. The transitional programs New Day and New Beginnings are designed to gradually move families through several stages until they are able to become independent. The permanent housing programs ACCESS, Partners, and CHANCE, are designed to assist families with locating and moving into their own housing with support from LSF.


HOMELESS FACTS

• 40% of homeless are FAMILIES

• 1 out of 5 homeless persons in Miami is a CHILD who is less than 8 years old

• 707 Children are homeless tonight

• 11,000 public housing units — 63,850 on WAITING LIST

TRANSITIONAL HOUSING

When a homeless family is referred to LSF by the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, they are placed in the Transitional Housing Program and assigned a Case Manager who conducts an initial assessment to determine the services required to assist them. The family is then placed in the most appropriate facility within the Transitional Housing Program which includes:

• New Beginnings

• New Day

LSF Case Managers work closely with parents and provide referrals to day care assistance and healthcare professionals. Special Parenting Classes help the adults develop good parenting skills. The LSF Employment Program helps parents find jobs and Case Managers help them plan to put aside a portion of their income regularly so they will have savings for the future.
 

PERMANENT HOUSING

• Access

• Partners for Homes

When the family completes the Transitional Housing Program, they progress to the next stage--the Permanent Housing Program. At this level, LSF contracts with agencies to help the family find an apartment, pay the first and last month's rent and security deposit, and also supply basic furniture and household items. If the family or individual has a qualifying disability, they may be placed in subsidized housing.

• CHANCE (Children Having a New Choice Everyday)

CHANCE is a Housing First model that provides permanent housing to individuals and families with the opportunity for a client driven, team approach, that provides longer subsidies for rent, basic utilities for move in, with little to no cost to the client.