Bethany House Services

We provide emergency shelter, mental health assessments, transitional housing, and permanent housing.

Emergency Shelter

BHS provides a sanctuary for desperate homeless families in need of help to achieve stable housing and income. Our shelters meet each familys immediate needs for safety, housing, food and other necessities. While in shelter, parents receive the resources and information needed to help them obtain a living income, organize a comfortable home, and provide a nurturing environment for their children. Perhaps most important, parents themselves feel cared for and realize that they will develop a realistic plan for a better future for themselves and their children while they are guests of BHS.



Housing









Rapid Re-Housing programs, considered by the Department of Housing
& Urban Development (HUD) to be the best housing practice for
alleviating homelessness, provides financial assistance and supportive
services to families experiencing homelessness. The goal of the program
is to expedite housing and stabilization of the family as quickly as
possible. It is easier and more efficient for families to sign up for
benefits or apply for jobs when they have the stability that a home
provides. They are also less stressed and better organized at home than
when in shelter.

The program provides several forms of assistance, including:
identification of affordable housing suitable for the familys needs;
short-term or medium-term rental assistance and housing relocation and
stabilization services, including such activities as mediation, credit
counseling, security or utility deposits, utility payments, moving cost
assistance, and case management. Housing case managers and a housing
specialist assist each family to develop a housing plan, serve as
liaison between family and landlord, and manage complex issues such as
lease options, contracts and apartment inspections.


Shelter DiversionShelter diversion programs are identified by the National Alliance to
End Homelessness as best practice for prevention of homelessness for
families seeking to enter a shelter. This strategy avoids the trauma of
homelessness for families by helping them to identify immediate
alternative housing arrangements while connecting them with the services
and financial resources needed to achieve permanent housing. The case
manager guides the family through the process of developing a
comprehensive, reality-based plan for ensuring a secure future in stable
housing.
This program conserves shelter beds and assistance for those who
truly have no resources of their own and no options other than a
homeless shelter or the streets.