Catholic Charities of Northwest California’s TRP, or Transitional Resident Program, is a two-year transitional shelter that functions as an emergency shelter rather than permanent supportive housing for participants. Located at the Caritas Center, the program supports clients who demonstrate a strong desire to return to the workforce and achieve independent living.
TRP members participate in workforce development through weekly volunteering at the Drop-In Center. They manage the showers, laundry, and mail stations, helping provide those services to the Drop-In Center clients. Each participant volunteers about 18 hours a week in exchange for room and board at the Caritas Center, including daily meals from the Caritas Kitchen. Every quarter, they complete a self-sufficiency assessment and an employment readiness assessment with staff.
“What those assessments do is help measure their progress in areas like social supports, finances, legal issues, healthcare, and transportation access, as well as whether they have the key documents and tools needed for employment,” said Barry. “Things like an ID, Social Security card, having a phone and email address, and getting their resume and reference letters together.”
One of the biggest challenges residents face is navigating the job market and finding steady employment. “Your options are very narrow when you don't have a good work history. You can probably work at Dollar Tree, Safeway, or Grocery Outlet. The lack of a robust work history is probably the biggest obstacle for the people who don't have jobs coming into the program,” said Barry.
“The ultimate goal of the program is to find paid work so that they can save money, because their expenses are going to be next to nothing while they’re in the program. Residents will have all their food provided, on top of housing. Let's say 18 months out of the two years a resident is working. Hopefully, they save most of that money, and then we can use our rapid rehousing funds to help secure them their own place. We can also help them with the deposit, first month's rent, part of the second month's rent, and then you're off and you're making your own money,” said Barry.
“I think my favorite part is when people start to get excited about employment. We help them get their resume done, and then we help them set-up their Indeed profile, so everything's all lined up. When the technology side of it is done, they can just do a one-press apply for jobs online. When people start getting excited and doing that on their own, and you're not pushing them, that's really cool to see,” said Barry.
