One of the apartment interiors at Cultivating Community
Cultivating Community is a 35-unit transitional housing program serving houseless individuals as they transition into permanent housing. It provides 24/7 onsite staffing to support residents, including clinical and housing specialist services. This low-barrier, short-term housing allows individuals to build a positive rental history while obtaining treatment and essential life skills training. This stepping-stone can be an essential part of many participants’ journeys to stable housing and a life of their choosing.
We are excited to share the story of one of our tenants; we will call him “Mark”. Mark had been houseless since the ’90s and experienced significant barriers to accessing housing due to misdemeanors that occurred within that period. When Mark entered the Cultivating Community program, he was struggling to meet with his medical team due to feeling misunderstood. Additionally, he was experiencing constant transportation issues with ride providers not being able to provide the necessary mobility accommodations.
Once in the program, Mark was connected to Metropolitan Public Defender Law, resulting in an expungement of all of his previous misdemeanors from his record. Mark was also supported in advocating for a new prescriber and has remained engaged in treatment with his new team. This engagement led to Mark receiving an ESA letter which allowed him to get a cat that he loves dearly and assists him in navigating everyday activities. Additionally, Mark was connected to Tri Met Lyft in order to receive consistent and accessible transportation. All of this led to Mark getting into a subsidized apartment through New Narrative partner Coordinated Access. With the support of his care team and program staff, Mark was able to receive furniture for his unit. Mark will be leaving the Cultivating Community program to his own apartment where he will continue working with his in-home supports. Through the collaborative efforts of New Narrative’s teams with New Narrative Intensive Case Management (ICM) and external agencies, we are working to best support each participant by offering housing-first, creative collaboration for access to resources to truly meet people “where they are at”. We are proud of Mark’s progress and excited for his future!
