The Guest House is probably most commonly known as a Homeless Shelter for men, but it has really grown to be much more. The Guest House does provide emergency shelter for some 75 – 80 individuals each night of the year regardless of how cold or how extreme the heat may be on any given day. The Guest House also focuses on the education, training, case management and treatment aspects associated with eradicating homelessness, not only for the men we serve, but in addition, the men and women we serve through our 146 scattered-site permanent housing units. Soon we will be opening our new Prairie Apartments, a 24 unit high quality, low income housing complex that will house 24 more formerly homeless individuals. At a glance, the following core programs outline the integrated approach taken here at the Guest House to move people beyond the cycle of homelessness to break the revolving door phenomenon that has happened for so many in the past.

Emergency Shelter:
Men usually come to the Guest House simply seeking a warm, safe place to sleep. The emergency shelter meets this need and provides meals, hygiene supplies and facilities, storage for belongings, and a mail and message service. After meeting basic needs, our primary goal in the emergency shelter is to engage each man in the hope that he will make a commitment to fully address the problems that led to his homelessness by working with a case manager and engaging in the LEADS program. Immediately upon entry into the emergency shelter, each man is assigned a case manager and an Individual Service Plan (ISP) team to begin assessing and addressing his needs. If needed, a guest will also be offered immediate access to substance abuse treatment. Stays in the emergency shelter are generally limited to 30 days.

Transitional Housing Program:
The Guest House provides the opportunity to every man who enters our emergency shelter to make a commitment to fully addressing the problems that led to his homelessness such that they never become homeless again by entering our transitional housing program. It is our goal that every man who participates in the transitional housing program departs with independence—meaning permanent housing and self-sustaining income.

At any given point in time, a minimum of 38 men participate in the transitional housing program with a total of 600-700 served during the course of a year. Each man has an individual plan for independence based on his specific strengths and needs, developed with the support of his Individual Service Plan (ISP) team comprised of an interdisciplinary team of staff professionals.

Men are able to participate in the transitional housing program as long as they are making progress toward achieving their goals, up to a maximum of two years. We are proud to report that in 2007, 64 percent of the men who participated in the transitional program obtained permanent housing, exceeding the national benchmark for similar programs.

My Home Partnership with Milwaukee County
and Homelinc III Permanent Housing Programs:
The Guest House operates 146 units of scattered-site supportive permanent housing units for people who are homeless with disabilities (129 former and 17 for women and families). Participants in this program have very significant barriers to independence and therefore require long-term support to maintain an apartment in the 
community. In addition to a fully furnished unit or apartment, each client receives intensive case management, food and transportation subsidies. Clients with income are asked to contribute approximately 30% of their income toward rent. In 2007, 84% of permanent housing program participants maintained their 
supportive apartment or successfully moved into 
independent, unsubsidized housing.