At The Road Home, we believe every child deserves a home. And we believe that by working together we can make sure every child in our community has one.
Our Mission
The Road Home Dane County provides opportunities for homeless children and their families to achieve self-determined goals and affordable, stable housing.
Our Vision
Every child deserves a home.
Our Values
- Respect and dignity for all
- Empowerment of those we serve
- Social Justice
- Anti-Racism
- Inclusiveness
- Results-oriented services
Our History
The Road Home Dane County (then known as Interfaith Hospitality Network of the Madison Area) opened our doors on April 26th, 1999 as an overflow shelter for families who could not be served by the existing shelters. In the years that followed, The Road Home played a growing role in securing funds and support for affordable housing and providing case management to help families find and maintain that housing. In 2018, we phased out shelter to focus on housing and support services. A 501(c)(3) organization, we currently operate ten housing programs and serve over 200 families with children in Dane County each year.
Why We’re Needed
While it might sometimes be hidden from sight, homelessness exists our community. In just one year, 1,865 school children were identified as homeless in Dane County. On a single night in July of 2019, over 600 people in our community didn’t have a place to sleep. There are currently around 150 families in Dane County without stable housing who are looking for it.
Our community suffers from a critical lack of affordable housing, pushing vulnerable families out of housing and leading to homelessness. Researchers estimate that there are between 7,000 to 27,000 more people in need of affordable housing in our community than there are affordable housing units available. They also predict that without intervention, this gap will grow. The cost of homelessness is high—putting families and children at risk for greater physical, emotional, and academic challenges.
How We Help
At The Road Home, we seek long-term solutions to homelessness by helping families find and maintain stable, affordable housing. We work with families, not only to relieve the immediate crisis of homelessness, but also to build skills, resources and relationships that set the stage for long-term success. We provide a variety of types and levels of supportive services and stable housing programs that best fit families’ needs and help them be successful. Over 95% of our families who could reach one year in stable housing do so. Learn more about our impact. We also seek to decrease racial housing disparities that exist in our community.
We work together with partners such as other nonprofits, government agencies, United Way of Dane County, people with lived experiences of homelessness, volunteers, businesses, congregations and donors to create solutions that work. You can become part of this effort. To learn how to join with us to end family homelessness, read more in our Ways to Give and Volunteer Opportunities sections.
We have earned the Platinum GuideStar seal of transparency. GuideStar is a 501 (c) (3) that gathers and disseminates information about every IRS-registered nonprofit organization. Participating organizations earn levels of recognition based on their commitment to transparency in answering a series of questions.