Our Mission: Expanding Access to Structured Housing
Step One Halfway House exists to provide safe, structured housing for men rebuilding their lives. We believe stability should not be delayed by temporary financial hardship.
Our housing model offers immediate access to a furnished living environment, basic necessities, and a structured community designed to promote accountability and forward momentum.
Rather than focusing solely on housing, we focus on rebuilding responsibility, confidence, and independence.
Upon admission to our program, clients sign and commit to a ninety-day contract agreeing to perform volunteer labor at our various contracted work sites. We screen them for experience, knowledge, skills abilities, as well as various trade specialties. They are strategically matched and assigned to job sites where they will thrive in their performance. Some of the work venues may include but are not limited to, skilled construction, landscaping, demolition, and trade gopher. We actively continue the growth of our i-Host program so that we can expand our outreach within our surrounding communities for those in need of our programs and services. Our growth has encompassed many new types of work such as sporting event concession stands as cashiers, cooks, parking and sanitation, dishwashing, prep cooking, and telemarketing.
Upon completion of their ninety-day contract, our Transitional Living program offers many options to our clients. Many are offered direct employment through the job sites where they volunteered, others become gainfully employed through other workforce options, and others re-sign another scholarship contract. Those who become employed have the option to become a paying client either on our main campus or in a ¾ house, while others feel ready to move forward into traditional independent living.
At Step One, clients find our staff to be competent, compassionate, and relatable. Every staff member initially arrived at Step One as a client struggling and in need of assistance. Most of them began their journey through the i-Host | In-House Opportunity Team. Without this program, they would not be celebrating the many successes that they do today. They chose to remain as volunteers to pass on to others what had been so generously given to them.
Purpose of the i-Host Program
A core part of our housing model is i-Host (In-House Opportunity Team) — our voluntary internal leadership and accountability initiative built around our Work Therapy philosophy.
i-Host promotes:
- Shared responsibility within the home
- Peer leadership development
- Community engagement
- Readiness for external employment
Participation in i-Host is voluntary and designed to build confidence and structure. It is not employment and not a licensed clinical service.
How You Can Help?
In the past year, Step One has provided structured housing and support to hundreds of men in transition. Many have secured employment and moved into independent living.
For just $25 per day, your sponsorship helps cover:
- Housing and utilities
- Furnishings and basic necessities
- Operational costs that keep our homes stable and safe
Your contribution directly supports safe living environments and structured accountability for men working toward independence.
All donations are tax-deductible under Step One Halfway House’s nonprofit status.
