Celebrating 30 Years of Impact
Carrfour’s sole mission is to develop and operate quality supportive and affordable housing. Because of this narrow focus, all of the services Carrfour provides are laser-focused on sustained housing stability, self-sufficiency, and independence. All staff, from the services staff to property management, understand this mission and are regularly trained on best practices to promote housing stability and self-sufficiency (which go hand-in-hand, as residents need to achieve some level of self-sufficiency to sustain housing stability).
As the largest provider of supportive housing for formerly homeless households, Carrfour is deeply embedded in local Continuums of Care and has strong partnerships with social service organizations in the communities we serve. These longstanding relationships are vital to ensuring that Carrfour’s residents have all the services and resources necessary to remain stably housed. There is no service that a resident has needed that Carrfour staff have not been able to either provide directly or rapidly coordinate with a partner organization.
Laying the groundwork for future housing stability begins with the very first encounter with a prospective applicant.
Carrfour uses best practices such as Progressive Engagement, Housing First, Motivational Interviewing, Trauma Informed Care, and Harm Reduction to engage applicants and create a welcoming, non-threatening environment that is consistent through every point-of-contact.
Carrfour has found that these initial encounters are critical to successfully engaging applicants so that they complete the application process, move-in, and then set the stage for long-term housing stability.
Carrfour also has a unique approach in viewing their permanent supportive housing as someone’s home that is part of a community and not as a program within a project. Carrfour has found that when residents are not treated like clients and staff understand that they are visiting someone in their home as opposed to a program, the dynamic shifts and residents’ housing stability outcomes improve. Residents want to stay in their homes and community. This understanding is critical to Carrfour’s successful housing stability outcomes.
