ON THE RISE INC
341 BROADWAY, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02139 www.ontherise.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: ON THE RISE CREATES A COMMUNITY WHERE WOMEN HAVE THE RELATIONSHIPS, SAFETY, AND RESOURCES THEY NEED TO MOVE OUT OF HOMELESSNESS. WE ENGAGE WITH THOSE MOST IN NEED AND SUPPORT THEIR INITIATIVE AND STRENGTH AS THEY MOVE BEYOND CRISIS AND DISCOVER NEW POSSIBILITIES.

SAFE HAVEN: Through compehensive daytime direct services, OTR engages and annually assists approximately 400-500 severely disenfranchised women, providing emotional, practical, and professional support that helps the women achieve and sustain extraordinary accomplishments - from improving health to getting jobs and finding housing. The goals of the progam are: 1) Provide a safe space 6 days per week where women can find practical necessities and a supportive community to begin to explore the steps needed to move out of homelessness and increase their quality of life. 2) Provide advice, assistance, accompaniment, and advocacy for women addressing housing, abuse, trauma, physical/mental health, legal, and other urgent needs and issues. 3) Ease women's access to and tarnsition into specialized and single-issue programs and eventually out of homelessness.OTR relies on a collaborative network with approximately fifty other human service providers. This network helps facilitate a womans access and success in programs such as domestic and sexual violence services, detoxification programs, emergency and transitional shelters and housing, legal and healthcare services, and more. OTR does not duplicate other services, but fills in the cracks to make the whole system work better for women who need it the most.Many women at OTR cope with complex physical and mental health conditions. A program participants struggle often is complicated by the fact that she cannot set a daily routine, she has no sense of place in a family or in a community, and she has little control over when and what she eats, where she can sleep, and other basic survival needs. Wellness activities improve well-being by providing positive care to minds and bodies in the Safe Haven, as well as facilitating access to emergency, primary and preventative healthcare through referrals, support, accompaniment and advocacy with women at community health centers, hospitals and other services. These and other strengths-based group and individual activities are key components of OTRs success.

Keep The Keys:With the help of OTR and other service providers, over time many formerly-homeless women have succeeded in securing housing. In housing, the women continue to address the long-term challenges that existed during their homelessness - addiction, mental and physical health issues, domestic and sexual violence, financial struggles, unemployment, legal issues, etc. - while also facing the challenges and responsibilities associated with independent living - and while facing new opportunities for well-being that were not available in homelessness. About 1/3 of the 400 - 450 women OTR works with each year, are housed.Participants in the Keep The Keys program maintain their connections with OTR staff and the Safe Haven community, and receive a range of services designed to support housing retention and help them build the neighborhood connections and independent living skills they need to sustain and continue to improve their quality of life. Services include home visits, goal-setting, support with life skills, and weekly support groups. KTK participants are also welcome to visit the Safe Haven during certain hours, and participate in OTRs social and wellness activities.

The Community Outreach and Education Program:Integral to OTRs mission is its responsibility to raise awareness and facilitate public discourse about the issues that affect the women who participate in OTRs programs. Through the Community Outreach and Education Program, OTR informs the broader community about the interplay of homelessness, trauma, mental illness, addiction, and domestic violence, and helps individuals and groups participate in creating a safe, supportive space for homeless and formerly-homeless women, as the women heal and strengthen their connections with community and mainstream resources.

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Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (public 990 form dataset) from: https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202031719349301103_public.xml