The Next StepTransitional Christian Living Community offers 58 rooms for those transitioning from shelters to a living community.
- The grand opening for the space will be Saturday the 27th, on Monday the first group of residents will start moving in.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
To move forward you have to take the next step. I'm your Boise Bench neighborhood reporter Jessica Davis. Boise Rescue Mission Ministries are helping people transition from shelters to living communities.
Bill Roscoe is the President and CEO of Boise Rescue Ministries, he explains, "This will be 58 apartments for people who are taking that next step from being homeless to being completely independent back in the community again.”
The Next Step Transitional Christian Living Community is the mission's largest living community, with over 50,000 square feet of space, full of donated furniture. The facility houses men, women, families, seniors, and veterans.
Roscoe adds, “For people who have been homeless and gone through the shelter process and recovery programs it's a little harder to find a place to live, other barriers that they have to overcome. So this facility will give people the time to clean up the credit report and establish themselves back into the workforce.”
Jean Lockhart is the Chief Operating Officer for the Boise Rescue Mission. She says, “We have ten rooms specifically designated for veterans, we will probably have more than 10 veterans here, but these are specifically designated.”
Some are studio apartments while others are 2 bedrooms with a living area.
Lockhart adds, “The Rescue Mission has never been full and we don't really anticipate it being full because we're moving people through the programs and the goal is to get people out of homelessness into apartments, and then help them sustain that.”
Programs for job readiness and keeping up with living space will be some of the many resources that will be available to residents to help them transition into permanent housing.
"Housing costs generally have gone up a lot in the last four or five years and that's part of the reason why we're seeing so many people homeless suddenly displaced. So this facility is really unique in that, you'll have a place to live but we're right on a major corridor right here in Boise,” says Roscoe.
Saturday's grand opening is followed by Monday's move-in day for everyone living in the facility and then they'll be moving in as the week continues.
