ECHO expands Transitional Living program with city-gifted home

Correction: This story has been updated with the correct date.

JANESVILLE — Gather at Fourth Ward Park on Tuesday, Aug. 20, from 5 — 7 p.m., for a special tour of ECHO’s newly acquired Transitional Living home.

Launched in 2019, ECHO’s Transitional Living program provides 18 months of affordable housing and supportive services to homeless families in Rock County. Attendees can also enjoy games and a free hotdog meal at the park, at 410 W. Racine St.

The program obtained its first home after the City of Janesville gave ECHO a tax-foreclosed home in 2019. It is a two-bedroom home on South Fremont Street that was rehabbed in 2020 for around $160,000.

The program received a second tax-foreclosed home at the end of 2023. After renovations, the home will open to new tenants on Sept. 1.

“We’re super excited to get somebody moved in there,” Jessica Locher, executive director of ECHO said.

ECHO received a $165,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to rehab the home. The community raised $25,000 to match a grant from Janesville Foundation Inc., providing an additional $50,000 to go towards rehabbing the home.

“This program is modeled after similar initiatives throughout Rock County,” Locher said. “The city had some tax-foreclosed homes and asked if any nonprofits were interested in turning them into affordable housing. That’s when we came up with the idea of creating a transitional housing program using one of those homes.”

The program provides homeless families in Rock County with housing where they contribute 30% of their income toward rent. Families participate in weekly case management sessions to help them set goals and overcome barriers to self-sufficiency, with the ultimate goal of transitioning to permanent housing after 18 months.

“We’re teaching them how to be good tenants, how to communicate with their neighbors, landlords, but then they’re also getting that supportive service by assisting them with trying to find more employment. So all of our families that are moving into the units are employed, but it may be a part time job, so we’re working on trying to increase that,” Locher said. “They have to be under 80% the county median income and be a household with children.”

Additionally, the program is expanding with the construction of three duplexes, funded through a grant secured by the Wisconsin Partnership for Housing Development in collaboration with ECHO. These two- and three-bedroom units are expected to be completed by the end of 2024, bringing the total number of transitional housing units to eight—two single-family homes and three duplexes—to serve homeless families in Rock County.

ECHO’s mission is to provide basic needs such as food, housing and other supportive services while helping individuals achieve self-sufficiency.

Locher explained that ECHO’s board decided to expand its focus on housing and homeless services, addressing a gap in their offerings.

“We already have a street outreach program to connect with the homeless and get them the services they need, an emergency motel voucher program for temporary housing and a rental assistance program to help people maintain their housing during tough times,” she said. “The transitional housing program allows us to work more in-depth with participants, providing more frequent case management than federally funded programs and we believe this connection leads to greater success.”