Transitional housing may be divided into three types:

1.) FREE – This housing is either provided by the state, emergency shelters, or privately owned houses that find some way to subsidize the related costs.  In our experience, such housing is often in the worst neighborhoods and offer minimal structure or assistance to help those who stay with them transition back into society.

2.) SLAVE LABOR – This housing is usually tied to some profitable venture and thrives on the “free labor” of its guests working in their stores, selling banana bread, arts and crafts, etc.  The problem is that these programs seldom offer any kind of exit strategy and, in fact, often guilt their members into staying lest they return to drugs, etc.

3.) BOARDING HOUSES – These houses are often privately owned, in poor neighborhoods, offer more or less structure, and capitalize on packing in multiple renters paying $300/mo. or more.  Even when faith based, such boarding houses seldom offer any meaningful assistance at helping the person become successfully reintegrated.

There are “faith-based” options that fall within each of these types of transitional housing.  If funding is available, the best option is to 1) find a church that will pair your loved one with a team of mentors and 2) find a boarding house that is easily accessible by all concerned.