Our vision is to make a significant contribution to the community by reducing the number of homeless men, women and children in Washington State. Our vision is to dramatically change the lives of the homeless by providing housing and services, enabling our residents to avoid homelessness, poverty and abuse in the future.

Description:
The Single Mothers' Program provides transitional housing and case management for homeless single mothers and their children. Residents are encouraged to stay 18 months to two years to receive the support and education they need to help them move into permanent housing and provide sufficiently for themselves and their families. Longer stays are allowed when women are obtaining four-year degrees. Residents are required to abide by the Vision House no tolerance policy to drug and alcohol use and to meet with case managers weekly to help hold them accountable for their treatment plans, and their pursuit of educational and career goals. Our goal is to integrate families back into the community by providing life skills and parenting classes; money management assistance; Christian counseling if desired; mentoring; children's activities; and access to medical and dental care, childcare and transportation. The Single Men's Program is a group-housing situation that provides a stable environment for homeless men who have completed a drug or alcohol treatment program. Residents are required to abide by the Vision House no tolerance policy to drug and alcohol use during their 12 to 15 month stay. Case managers meet weekly with residents in groups and individually to help hold them accountable for their sobriety, treatment plans, and their pursuit of educational and career goals. Residents receive life skills classes; mentoring; referrals for medical and dental needs; Christian counseling if desired; and assistance on obtaining vocational or academic training.

History:
Vision House was founded by John and Susan Camerer of Renton, Washington in 1990. The vision came after viewing a made-for-television movie about a single mother who, through a series of events that were no fault of her own, became homeless. The heartbreaking conclusion of the story was in the closing scene when the mother reluctantly placed her young daughter in the care of the state because she felt she could not give her the care she needed while she was living on the streets. That night after the movie, the Camerer's felt a very strong calling to meet the needs of the homeless in their community.

Contact people:

Lindsey Perkins, Volunteer Coordinator, (phone), (email) Melissa Freeman, Office Manager, (phone), (email) John Camerer, Director Of Operations, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (425) 430-9590

Address:

450 Bremerton Ave. NE Renton, WA 98059 This location is handicap accessible (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.vision-house.org

Directions:

Please call for directions.

Miscellaneous Information

Liability
	Yes
Does your organization welcome court-ordered community service volunteers?
	No
Does your organization have volunteer positions for youth 12-18?
	Yes

Overall Experience   
Homelessness has the face of a child.

I have volunteered for Vision House in differing capacities, the most rewarding, however has been working with the children. I used to casually talk about the "issue" or perhaps even the "plight" of homelessness. While I understood that these were real problems for our society I had no emotional connection to them. Today when I talk about homelessness I see the faces of children I have held in my arms. I am broken by the stories these mother's tell, which despite what anyone might think, could easily be the story of any woman. I am moved by their courage. I see families previously without hope, working hard to overcome the obstacles that life has placed in front of them and surmounting them to achieve a quality of life they would never have allowed themselves to believe possible before. My children have volunteered with me and their perception of homelessness has been similarly effected. I would highly recommend this experience. posted by elliott2842 on January 5, 2006