R.I.S.E. Transitional Living

The R.I.S.E. Transitional Living Program is a comprehensive program for young adults, 16 – 21,* who are homeless, living in unsafe situations, or have been in the state foster care system. R.I.S.E. stands for Responsibility, Independence, Support, and Encouragement, which are the foundations of our program. Our role is to provide a safe and stable place for at-risk youth to live, along with needed support, advocacy and guidance in helping them achieve their goals. Services are designed to assist young people in gradually and successfully moving toward self sufficiency through increased responsibility and the promotion of positive self-esteem and relationship building, independent thinking, and basic problem-solving skills.

This is not just a place to live, but a support program which makes it possible for youth to work on their goals, complete their education, and find or keep a job.  Program participants are required to pay thirty percent of their income for rent; depending on which part of the program they are in, half of that amount is saved and refunded to the participant when he or she successfully completes and graduates from the program. We also provide ongoing workshops and service learning opportunities in an effort to support continuing education and community involvement.

* Please note that limited living space means we cannot always provide immediate housing to R.I.S.E. participants. Nevertheless, we encourage youth to apply in hopes that we can add their names to our waiting list.

Where do R.I.S.E. participants live?

Community Youth Services maintains a number of housing sites. They include a duplex for young parents, an Independent Living House, a Safe and Sober house, two one-family homes, and various sized apartments that are scattered throughout the community. We do our best to match each person with the right living situation. Residents can stay in the program for 18 to 24 months as long as they follow the requirements of their lease documents and work with their case manager(s) to reach their individual goals.

How does a youth get started?

The first thing an interested young adult must do is fill out a R.I.S.E. program application, which can be picked up at the front desk on the third floor of Community Youth Services or downloaded by clicking here. Completed applications should be submitted to the front desk at CYS; within two weeks, a youth will be contacted for his or her initial interview with Megan Burr, Admissions Case Manager, who can be reached at (360) 943-0780 x133.