What We Do
Quality housing is connected to many aspects of our lives: employment, education, transportation, physical and mental health, and more. By reducing homelessness in our community, ACTS keeps kids in schools, keeps working people in jobs, and creates a healthier and more equitable community for all.
ACTS Program works includes our Emergency Financial Assistance Program, the Homeless Connection Line, and dispersing public funding for rental and utility assistance.
Emergency Financial Assistance (EFA): ACTS’ caseworkers assist households: prior to problems arising; before they are late on their payments; in advance of them receiving late notices or court hearing dates; and especially before they find themselves homeless. l Through the EFA Program, ACTS: provides financial assistance to our neighbors; offers referrals to other organizations to meet their needs; gives donated toiletries and other essential cleaning and hygiene products; and creates sustainable outcomes by helping our neighbors prepare budgets to better prepare themselves for the future.
One of the first things done in an assessment is to examine the client’s individual budget. In many cases this is the first time the client has ever done this and, with guidance from the professional caseworker, they begin to see more clearly, often for the first time, that the key to making ends meet is to ensure that expenses do not exceed income. The case worker helps the client grasp this fact and suggests solutions to overcome this situation if it exists.
EFA does not offer a hand-out or a band-aid to the crisis, but offers real and practical solutions with a focus on long-term sustainability and well-being of our clients.
Funds provided by ACTS via our EFA program are most often used to pay for rent, mortgage and utilities to keep families intact and stably housed.
Homeless Connection Line (HCL): In collaboration with four other agencies, ACTS’ HCL program assists households who are within three days of losing their housing to problem-solve, connect to community resources, or connect to shelter as well as provide other guidance as needed.
In 2020, ACTS financially assisted 3,335 households comprising 8,540 people in the Richmond Region through our EFA Program and COVID Relief Funding for Rent and Utilities.
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