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Families in Transition

 

 

Entrepreneur: Maureen Beauregard

Address: 
122 Market Street
Manchester, NH 03101

Telephone: (603) 641-9441
FAX: (603) 641-1244

Email:mbeau@fitnh.org
Web Site: http://www.fitnh.org

Grant Amount: $15,000 (2001) Planning Grant; $150,000 (2002-3 to underwrite the development and operation of Family OutFITters); $75,000 (2004 for relocation); $119,066 (2007 to underwrite the start-up of Family OutFITters thrift store #2)

Mission Statement

To provide affordable housing and comprehensive social services to individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, enabling them to gain self-sufficiency, respect, and jobs.

Purpose of Grant

To help underwrite the development and operation of the Family OutFITters thrift stores (I and II), a social enterprise that provides retail training, experience, and employment to program participants and graduates.

 

Additional Information

Families in Transition (FIT) began as a program of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund in 1991 with one facility and the capacity to provide transitional housing and support services to five women and their children. FIT was incorporated into a non-profit agency governed by a Board of Directors in 1995. The organization has since grown into an agency that in 2005 assisted 116 single mothers, 7 single fathers, 195 children and 35 single women without children. FIT has five residential building in Manchester and two in Concord. The Manchester and Concord facilities collectively comprise 97 units of housing, as well as a health care clinic, child and youth rooms, computer training classrooms and Family Outfitter Thrift Store.

Families in Transition has expanded over the years to address the growing need of affordable housing and the services necessary to help folks break the cycle of homelessness. In 1997, Millyard I was completed, which is a refurbished mill building located on Market Street in Manchester. This facility provides the agency with the ability to house 12 single homeless women, with and without children. Five years later, Millyard II was built adjacent to Millyard I. In addition to housing 21 families, this building houses most of the administrative and clinical staff of the agency.

FIT was invited by the Concord community to duplicate its Manchester program there and in 2002 began the project which led to the refurbishment of two buildings in Bicentennial Square. In January of 2004, the units were ready for occupancy and afforded FIT the opportunity to provide housing and services to sixteen homeless women, with and without children.

In November of 2002, FIT officially expanded into the social enterprise arena with the opening of Family Outfitters Thrift Store. The business was developed as a revenue stream for FIT. In addition, Family Outfitters Thrift Store serves as an employment & training program for FIT participants and alumni who have the opportunity to gain retail expertise at all levels. In addition to retail experience, numerous classes are offered through the Employment & Training Program, including a comprehensive computer training program.

Although FIT has traditionally been recognized as a program for women, at the end of 2003, the agency began accepting homeless fathers and their children into the program. Housed in the agencies very first facility, that program is currently filled to capacity.

FIT’s most recent project, The Family Mill, was completed in June of 2005. This 60,000 square foot mill building is rich in Manchester’s history but was in desperate need of repair and is now a beautifully renovated structure that comprises 33 units of permanent affordable housing. Seventeen of the apartments offer supportive services for participants. The first floor of the building houses property management and maintenance staff of FIT, as well as Family Outfitters Thrift Store and the Employment & Training Program.

FIT has experienced unprecedented growth over the past years; however, programs have not been compromised. Its success rate of participants who complete the program moving into permanent housing continues to be almost 90%. FIT’s mission to serve homeless individuals has never wavered and the staff are proud of the valiant women and men who partake in our programs and commit to changing the course of their lives and achieving self-sufficiency.