The Road Home

Rapid Rehousing

A breast cancer bout put Ella and Bill’s family behind on bills—and out of their apartment. They turned to Rapid Rehousing for help. Read their story here.

child's drawing of a home

Children served by The Road Home drew photos of homes during a community art program, Little Picassos

Our rapid rehousing programs help families who may have encountered a short-term crisis or roadblock overcome that and get rehoused as quickly as possible. The National Alliance to End Homelessness defines three tenants to all Rapid Rehousing Programs:

  1. Help families locate housing.
  2. Provide rental assistance.
  3. Support families with case management services.

Our Rapid Rehousing programs include:

    • Housing Stabilization works with families who successfully move into housing and choose to continue working with The Road Home for up to a year. No rental assistance is provided with this program. However, case managers continue to help each family develop and work toward goals, address budgeting and credit repair issues, maintain a positive relationship with the landlord and seek additional skills and resources. Families accepted into The Road Home’s Housing Stabilization program also receive practical assistance such as transportation solutions to appointments, bus tickets, personal hygiene items and household goods.
    • Building Futures (formerly known as Second Chance Apartment Project) creates affordable transitional housing throughout Dane County through a partnership with the YWCA – Madison and sponsoring organizations. A sponsor helps families experiencing homelessness reach stability by paying their rent and providing mentors trained by The Road Home. Participating families receive intensive services from the agencies for two years. The number of families this program can help depends on the number of sponsors available. Sponsors, which can include businesses, congregations, or individuals, provide $10,000 a year for two years for a family. Interested in being a sponsor? Learn more here.
    • Rapid Rehousing provides housing for about 45 families experiencing homelessness annually. Households accepted into the program will have their first month rent and security deposit paid by the program. They will also receive a shallow rental subsidy for up to the next 11 months. They will also participate in intensive, broad-based case management services. The Rapid Rehousing program is a collaborative effort between three agencies who work with homeless individuals and families: The Salvation Army, The Road Home, and the YWCA- Madison. The project is funded through a grant written and administered by the United Way of Dane County.
    • RISE is a program designed to help families obtain stable housing as quickly as possible. Carried out in partnership with The Salvation Army, RISE serves 10 families in our community. RISE supports families in scattered housing sites by providing a security deposit, monthly rental assistance and case management. The program is designed to last one year. Funding for RISE comes from HUD (US Department of Housing and Urban Development).
    • Heart Room creates stable housing for six families in our community by combining three years of rental assistance with flexible and family-driven support and services. It is a partnership between Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ (ORUCC), The Road Home, Joining Forces for Families (JFF) and Early Childhood Initiative (ECI). The Road Home provides housing support, JFF assists with employment needs, ECI focuses on children, and ORUCC funds the rental assistance.