Our History

In the fall of 2003 a core group of five Richmond area churches came together with an idea to combine, streamline, and coordinate help for those who were just “one step away from homelessness” and who often showed up on congregations’ doorsteps seeking aid.  The Churches formed an Advisory Board called Area Congregations Together in Service (ACTS) to pool resources and share information and financial resources to more efficiently assist the families coming to these congregations for help.

Based on the success of this collaborative approach, the ACTS Advisory Board sought to expand the number of congregations involved and formalize the structure through which they delivered help. They took as their model, a prevention ministry in Charlotte, NC, known as Crisis Assistance Ministry (CAM). CAM was Founded in 1974 by a small group of churches, it has since grown to be the largest homeless prevention agency in the Charlotte metro area–a collaborative effort that disperses millions of dollars in aid and services to prevent homelessness. Following a visit to CAM, the ACTS Board representatives returned home inspired with the vision of creating a centralized organization for assisting families in crisis in the Richmond metro area.

ACTS began receiving clients in August of 2006. It has steadily grown and is now supported by more than 60 interfaith partners as well as community and corporate foundations. ACTS has served hundreds of persons dispersing hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial assistance as well as case management support services for 17 years! This vital service have kept most of these individuals and families from falling into the destructive and devastating cycle of homelessness.

In the Fall of 2018, ACTS partnered with the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care in order to operate the Homeless Connection Line (HCL). This program is a partnership between three other organization, HomeAgain, Homeward, Housing Families First and Senior Connections.. The HCL is the primary access point for homeless services in the greater Richmond area. Diversion Specialists field calls from the hotline and provide access to the homeless services system and provide diversion to those who are not within three days of becoming homeless or are literally homeless.

During the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, ACTS was designated as the local entity to provide covid Rent and Mortgage Relief and assisted in administering over 25 Million dollars in rent relief. Since the pandemic, ACTS has continued to grow, serving more people with a robust staff of 5 case managers.