As many of us prepare to have a nice Thanksgiving meal at home with our family, some people will be hosting their first Thanksgiving in a long time. For most of the RCI Village residents, the thing they are most thankful for this year is a place to call home.

It’s hard to believe, but the RCI Village program has completed one year already. There have been many high points, difficult moments, and new learnings. The need for good, affordable housing and a supportive community remains consistent. Many of our residents would still find themselves in unsafe and unstable living if it were not for the RCI Village program. At our open house in September, one resident said, “I would still be stuck in my cycle of moving place to place if it weren’t for RCI Village.” We see success and hope in the lives of our residents who have gained stability. Having a place to call home is at the center of stability. When you don’t have a place to sleep and rest, it affects other areas of your life. You may miss work or school, your health is put at risk, and you develop stress and depression. We are grateful to help the people in our program, but we recognize the need is still great. For every individual or family we were able to help, there were 5 more in the same situation in need of stability. That is a hard reality to live with.

This hard reality drives us to be creative and press forward. We continue to find ways to expand the program so that others may find stability. In the past two months, the RCI Village welcomed two new families and were able to provide good housing and stability. A young mother now has a community that she trusts and friends to count on when she’s depressed. A couple is no longer living in a tent in the woods, allowing one of them to secure a full-time job. This is what the RCI Village is all about. Stability and community. Helping people to find a place to call home.