A Circle of Support Ensures Housing Stability

Circles of Support
Compassion Coalition of Knoxville

Social workers and those who serve in similar lines of work acknowledge the critical role supportive relationships play in an individual’s success. For the recently re-housed, the social networks established while homeless often do not provide adequate support for the transition into housing stability and self-sufficiency.

Circles of Support, a mentoring program operated by Compassion Coalition in Knoxville, Tennessee, creates these supportive relationships through team-based mentorship. This program targets “Neighbors”, chronically homeless individuals who have just become housed. In 2011, 20 neighbors were each partnered with a team of 4 – 5 volunteers from the faith community. Although the volunteer Mentors often come from local congregations, Neighbors and Mentors need not be affiliated with any particular faith to participate, and the program is not a vehicle for proselytizing.

Here is how it works:

• Compassion Coalition partners with local homeless services programs and with the faith community.

• Neighbors are recruited through their case managers; Mentor teams are recruited through local congregations.

• Both Neighbors and Mentor Teams participate in trainings; topics include setting boundaries, listening, confidentiality and relationship building.

• Neighbors and Mentors create a Mentor Plan that complements the Neighbors’ case management plan (for example: if a Neighbor has a goal to learn how to care for their new home, the Mentors can encourage him or her to keep it clean, learn to cook, find inexpensive decorations, etc. Mentors need not be professionals.

• Commitment: Neighbors and Mentors agree to participate in the program for a minimum of 12 months; two mentors each week visit with their neighbor for about 1 hour; during this time they build relationships and work on the Mentor Plan.

• A typical meeting between two Mentors and the Neighbor might involve playing a game, going to the grocery store, learning a new skill, taking a drive, sharing a meal together, etc.

The results of this program include the formation of healthy community relationships and increased likelihood of ending chronic homelessness. It also helps members of the faith community serve in a meaningful way, turning the focus away from “transactional” help that manages homelessness, such as serving in a soup kitchen, to long-term solutions aimed at ending a person’s homelessness.

To learn more about Circles of Support, visit http://compassioncoalition.org/home/circles-of-support/ or email jessica@compassioncoalition.org

Speak Up for Innovation Among Nonprofits

Protip Biswas, Vice President of the Regional Coalition on Homelessness in Atlanta, Georgia, pushes funders to support innovative approaches to serving the homeless population. Read his thoughts, recently posted to the Funders Together blog:

http://funderstogether.org/blog/view/speak-up-for-innovation-among-nonprofits