We are home to nineteen men and eight women. The average length of stay at Little Portion Friary is approximately three weeks, but guests have stayed up to two months.
Admissions
Looking at the admission procedure, each guest is interviewed by a senior volunteer and asked a variety of questions regarding past issues as well as future concerns. This interview determines the eligibility of a guest. An individual must be homeless, at least 18 years of age, 24 hours free of drugs and alcohol, willing and able to follow house rules, able to be out of the house daily from 9 am to 4 pm and linked with or willing to be linked with services, especially when counselor referred. If an individual, such as one with a mental illness, does not have the appropriate links, a twenty-four hour window can be given to allow that person time to apply for needed services. Phone referrals can be taken providing there is an open bed, but LPF does not have a waiting list. Since the stay is day-to-day if the house is full when first contacted, homeless individuals and counselors are requested to call back daily to inquire about availability
Referrals
Most of our guests are referred by counselors or have previously stayed in our house. When dealing with the homeless population, it is not uncommon to see the same faces over again for a variety of reasons. Many of the homeless have mental illnesses and/or substance abuse problems, which can cause a person to relapse, putting them back into a homeless situation. One of Little Portion Friary’s goals is to give our guests the tools to help prevent a relapse from happening.
Resources
LPF does not have any required in-house programs that all guests must attend during their stay. On the other hand, many guests are required to attend outside programs depending on their individual issues. For instance, a person with a prior or present history of drug and alcohol abuse must attend two to five AA/NA meetings per week depending on their length of sobriety and other programs they may be attending. Also a person diagnosed with a mental illness must have counselor contact and access to required medication if lack of either interferes with every day living. LPF also has communication with the community. Once a week, an advocate from Neighborhood Legal Services comes to LPF to speak with any guest regarding legal questions, or those who may require any legal assistance. In addition, a person from Crisis Services comes two to three times a week to speak with guests who need assistance with direction regarding services such as applying for Social Services or hooking up with mental health counseling.
Weekly Interviews
To further help the guests, every Friday a representative of LPF meets with those guests who have resided in the house over a week. This meeting is to get an update of their progress and an understanding of what is expected of them to continue staying at LPF. This is where education, prevention and/or treatment programs are introduced for those individuals having problems moving forward. Although housing is the first concern, this is not possible without some type of financial means. This can be in the form of a job or applying for some type of benefit such as Medicaid or cash assistance.