Families Forward
PROGRAMS
Housing Program
Through a blend of prevention, affordable housing, and supportive services, our Housing Program serves low-income families with children who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. In 2025, our Housing Program helped 671 families achieve housing stability, which includes 2,289 children and their parents. With your investment, we can house another 600 families in the coming year while deepening our engagement with them to ensure long-term stability and economic mobility. The Housing Program integrates the following key activities: Homeless Prevention: Emergency rental assistance, landlord mediation, short-term case management, and budgeting support to help families avoid eviction and prevent homelessness Housing Placement Support: Tailored support to locate, secure, and sustain safe housing, including document readiness, rental applications, and housing search Case Management: Ongoing, 1-on-1 support to help families set and achieve goals around housing retention, economic mobility, self-sufficiency, and family well-being Affordable Housing Support: Stable, below-market housing paired with wraparound services for low-income families living in one of 130+ units owned or operated by Families Forward. Incentivized Economic Mobility: Households in our Housing Opportunities for the Underserved through Savings and Employment (HOUSE) program build savings, reduce debt, and improve credit, unlock match incentives upon successful exit, and increase access to permanent housing.
Baseline assessments are completed at intake, capturing housing history, income, employment, family composition, health conditions, and other demographic data. Family progress is tracked through our internal case management system and the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), a HUD-approved database used countywide. Upon program completion, clients undergo an exit evaluation, and follow-up surveys are conducted at 6 months and 12 months post-exit to assess housing status and income stability. To validate outcomes, we cross-reference graduate client names with the Orange County HMIS database, which tracks all individuals receiving or awaiting homeless services. This provides independent verification of whether a client has re-entered the system.
The primary outcomes of our Housing Program are as follows:
1. Housing Security: At least 600 low-income families with children will secure or maintain safe, stable housing through prevention, affordable housing, or placement services.
2. Housing Retention: 90% of families will remain stably housed one year after completing the program, reducing the risk of returning to homelessness.
3. Family Stability: 80% of clients report feeling stable and more self-sufficient upon program completion
4. Child Wellness: 82% of clients report that all school-age children are enrolled in school and attending on a regular basis upon program completion
5. Food Security: 80% of clients report they can meet their family's basic food needs without assistance upon program completion
CONTACT
Families Forward
8 Thomas
Irvine, CA 92618
Amanda Benedetti
abenedetti@families-forward.org
Phone: 949-426-2554