A Way Home: What a Decade of Data Tells Us About Housing Stability
For families experiencing homelessness, stable housing can feel just out of reach. A lost job, medical emergency, rising rent or unexpected crisis can quickly unravel a family’s foundation.
Those pressures are even more acute today.
Across the Charlotte region, housing costs have climbed faster than wages, emergency savings remain thin or nonexistent for many working families and economic shocks — from inflation to health crises — continue to push families to the brink. For thousands of households, homelessness is no longer tied to long-term unemployment or chronic poverty, but to a single moment when the math no longer works.
That reality is why, more than a decade after its launch, A Way Home remains urgently relevant.
In Charlotte, this innovative community model has spent the last 12 years helping families not just recover from crisis but regain long-term stability.
A Way Home, an initiative of Foundation for The Carolinas, creates pathways to housing stability by combining temporary rental assistance with personalized support services delivered through trusted nonprofit partners. The result is more than housing — it is a path toward long-term independence for families across our region.
When A Way Home was created in 2014, community leaders were grappling with how to respond to growing housing needs in a meaningful and sustainable way.
At the time, many affordable housing developments faced resistance, slowing progress and limiting options for families in need.
That challenge sparked a different idea.
“We were seeing affordable housing projects delayed or stopped altogether due to neighborhood opposition,” said Judy Seldin-Cohen, an early leader of the initiative. “We began asking how we could help families move into existing market-rate housing, provide short-term rent support and surround them with the services they needed to succeed.”
The concept was simple but effective: move families quickly into homes, pair them with social workers who could help remove barriers to stability and create a model focused on measurable outcomes.
And just as importantly, make it sustainable.
“If we could create an endowment, it would grow over time and continue to fund families as housing costs rise,” Seldin-Cohen said.
Foundation for the Carolinas became the first and only stop for the idea — helping bring together philanthropic, public and corporate partners to launch the initiative.
More Than a Roof Overhead
Today, A Way Home is not a direct service provider. Instead, it invests in nonprofit agencies that work directly with families every day, including Charlotte Family Housing, Freedom Fighting Missionaries, Another Chance House of Refuge, The Relatives and Safe Alliance.
These partners help families move into homes across more than 18 zip codes while providing the wraparound support needed to stay there.
That support can look different for every family.
“Families need more than rental assistance,” said Dr. Titiksha Fernandes, program manager for A Way Home. “They may need childcare, employment, transportation or help navigating a personal crisis. Our role is to help agencies meet those needs so families can stay on the path to self-sufficiency.”
Fernandes says one of the program’s greatest strengths is flexibility.
Because A Way Home is not bound by the same restrictions as many traditional funding sources, it can respond to real-life situations as they happen.
Fernandes recalled one mother in the program who unexpectedly lost her one-year-old child while working hard to support her family.
“She was doing everything right — working, paying rent and trying to move forward,” Fernandes said. “But suddenly she had funeral costs and had to take time away from work. We were able to step in and help in that moment so she could continue moving forward.”
That kind of timely support can be transformational.
It is reflected in families like the Johnsons, who arrived in Charlotte nearly two years ago seeking a fresh start. With support from Another Chance House of Refuge, they were able to obtain stable housing and provide them with the resources needed to succeed.
Each member of the family has made meaningful progress. Their oldest daughter, a recent social work graduate, secured a position with Roof Above, now serving others in the same community that once supported her. Their mother earned a promotion and raise, while their middle child is pursuing electrician certification and the youngest continues to grow academically and socially.
Grounded in their faith, the family has also remained committed to giving back, actively serving in their church and community even as they rebuild.
The Johnson family shares how A Way Home helped them move toward stability and a stronger future.
“We came here with hope, but also a lot of uncertainty,” a member of the Johnson family shared. “Having stability and people who believed in us made all the difference. Now we’re not just getting by — we’re building a future.”
“It’s moments like that which remind us this work is about more than housing,” Fernandes said. “It’s about helping families regain stability, dignity and hope.”
Results That Change Futures
From the beginning, A Way Home was built with accountability in mind.
Families were tracked not only while receiving support, but for two years after leaving the program to measure long-term success.
Early outcomes exceeded expectations.
“Our original goal was that six out of ten families would remain stable,” Seldin-Cohen said. “When 75% of the first cohort were still successfully housed two years later, we were thrilled.”
Later cohorts performed even better with a 90% success rate. And the impact reaches beyond parents and caregivers.
A Way Home has supported more than 1,000 children across 500+ households, gaining the security of stable housing, continuity in school and a stronger foundation for the future.
“When children grow up in stable housing, we’re helping shape the next generation’s opportunity,” Fernandes said.
A Model Rooted in Partnership
A Way Home’s success is driven not only by funding, but by collaboration.
Its board includes representatives from philanthropy, government, business and community organizations — creating a shared table where challenges can be solved together.
“That’s what makes this model so special,” said Keva Womble, current board chair. “This is a true public‑private partnership in action. You have the city and county working side by side with financial institutions, family foundations and nonprofit leaders, all aligned around a common goal: strengthening families and creating lasting, community-wide impact.”
The initiative also helps strengthen the broader housing ecosystem by convening agencies, sharing best practices and breaking down silos.
“Organizations that may once have seen each other as competitors are now collaborating as peers,” Seldin-Cohen said. “We’re not just helping families — we’re helping make the whole system better able to serve families.”
Looking Ahead
Even with more than a decade of progress, the need remains urgent.
Housing costs continue to rise. Many working families remain one unexpected expense away from instability. And the demand for proven solutions continues to grow.
But A Way Home has demonstrated what is possible when community partners work together around a model that works.
“We’re not limited by land,” Seldin-Cohen said. “We’re limited by resources. If we had more funding, we could help more families move into housing right away.”
For Womble, the long-term vision goes beyond numbers housed.
“Success would be a future where families no longer need this program,” she said. “Until then, we’ll keep doing the work.”
To learn more about A Way Home visit fftc.org/AWayHome.
