Preble Street assumed operations of Answer House on Sunday, February 2, 2025, from Penobscot Community Health Center (PCHC). Answer House is dedicated to making sure every individual affected by domestic violence can find refuge and freedom. Answer House Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization, provides services to adults with developmental disabilities exclusively in their own homes or apartments — regardless of how complex their disabilities may be. Transitional housing is temporary housing for the working homeless population and is set up to transition their residents to permanent housing.
Vanessa
In a year’s time, she was able to cover her expenses and begin saving for a down payment for a house. Alejandra found out that she was pregnant just days before her 17th birthday. An “A” student who had spent her first three years of high school taking IB and college classes, as well as working, Alejandra wasn’t sure what her life would look like as a teen parent. Alejandra hid her pregnancy until she was about six months along, and eventually told her parents and friends. She felt shamed and scared, and she was struggling with preeclampsia and migraines as she got closer to her due date. Eventually, Alejandra got connected to Answer House through clinic staff at the office where she went to get ultrasounds.
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She also completed our Parenting, Healthy Relationships, and Financial Literacy classes – as well as an internship at Head Start. “For the first time in my life, I feel stable and stress free. And I couldn’t have gotten here without Answer House to get me started,” says Brittani.
The Salvation Army’s transitional programs move people from the streets to stability to employment and finally to a home. At Answer House, children find a safe, alcohol and drug free place to call home while their parents get back on their feet. Answer House provides a safe and clean environment supported by 24-hour, seven-day-a-week case management and supportive services. They complete drug and alcohol treatment, reunite with children, get jobs, pay debt, start saving money and learn valuable life skills to help them become self-sufficient.
We are making a difference, two generations at a time.
- Her living situation with family was chaotic and unsafe all throughout her pregnancy, but at 16—with little support or encouragement—she gave birth to her son Julian.
- We believe recovery starts from within, and that our job is to do whatever it takes to provide the support needed on your recovery journey.
- Individual and group counseling, support groups, and family therapy for adult and child survivors.
- At Answer House, children find a safe, alcohol and drug free place to call home while their parents get back on their feet.
- Janelle and her boys eventually became homeless — sleeping in a car, on the ground, or in homeless shelters.
Since 1996, The Salvation Army’s Answer House in Medford has helped Jackson County’s homeless get back on their feet. Answer House is a drug and alcohol free transitional living facility that accommodates single men, single women and families. Living facilities include individual rooms and dorms for single men and women. For families, home is one large room when they first come to Answer House. Partnership with the Independence Police Department to provide crisis intervention services, advocacy, and resource referrals and linkages to survivors contacting the police for assistance. The Co-Responding Advocate also coordinates revisits to survivors’ homes with Independence Police officers to offer additional support and resources.
Stephanie’s last requirement was to find full-time employment. Brittani named her baby girl Deavyne and set out to create a different life for her daughter than she had known growing up. One of her friends told her about Answer House, where she earned her GED so she could go on to college. She also met with her Answer House mentor regularly and took Parenting classes at Answer House.
High-quality professionally run shelters, like Preble Street Answer House, provide more than just a place to sleep for a night. They provide staff who are trained in trauma-informed care and harm reduction, housing navigation services, case management, healthy and nutritious meals, and more. Shelters also divert the most vulnerable from relying on the most expensive services like hospital emergency rooms, jails, police, emergency response systems, Review Answer House and the child welfare system.
Donate to Answer House
If you’re looking to reduce your Missouri tax liability, you should consider making a donation to Answer House. Donations to Answer House of $100 or more qualify for the Missouri Domestic Violence Tax Credit Program. The tax credit may be the equivalent of 70% of the value of your qualified donation and you may qualify for federal tax deductions on the difference. Answer House is proud to offer comprehensive services to survivors and their children, no matter where they are in their journey. We will work with you on an individual basis to create a plan that meets your specific needs.
Established in 1990 out of the need for homeless services for women and children, Answer House serves over 5000 homeless and impoverished individuals and families in Hancock County each year. In addition, Answer House serves as the Front Door for rental housing assistance in Hancock County. Fatima heard about Answer House through a friend of a friend, and after having joined the program, she quickly began working on her high school equivalency through Penn Foster. She also applied to and was accepted into the Residential Program. Fatima and Julian moved into the house and started making friends with other moms and staff.
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- As a preteen, she was given freedom without the tools to navigate it.
- The mission of Preble Street is to provide accessible barrier-free services to empower people experiencing problems with homelessness, housing, hunger, and poverty, and to advocate for solutions to these problems.
- Low-barrier shelters do not require background checks, credit checks, or income verification, previous program participation, sobriety, or ID for access to services.
- Their children had aged out of Hampton Roads’ special education system, and were ready for adult services and support.
Answer House programs that include Professional Case Management so families receive a hand up not a handout. Since becoming a Answer House Mom, Alejandra has been able to finish her GED through Penn Foster in February of 2022 and is incredibly thankful for the support and motivation she had through Answer House Staff. She attended the GED graduation in May 2022 and gave the graduation speech. Janely, Alejandra’s 9-month-old-daughter, is also enrolled in the Early Learning Program. Alejandra has also taken other classes including Parenting 101, Relationship Classes, and Self-Care classes. By age 14, Janelle was pregnant, and that same boyfriend became abusive, leaving her with bruises make-up couldn’t cover.
Shelter for Women and Children
She dropped out of school in 10th grade and became a mom at age 16. Unfortunately these are common realities for a young woman growing up in poverty. However, not only did Vanessa grow up in generational poverty, she also grew up in an environment that did not trust the police force and actually hated police officers. Through classes at Answer House, Fatima learned how to set boundaries and establish healthy relationships.
Answer House also helped her get a car, a paid internship with Jefferson County and an apartment. Life felt so intensely depressing that Fatima feared she would have a miscarriage. Her living situation with family was chaotic and unsafe all throughout her pregnancy, but at 16—with little support or encouragement—she gave birth to her son Julian. She has been living in the same duplex for two years, which is longer than she has lived anywhere in her life. Brittani and her boyfriend are working on their credit score so they can buy a house.