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Families in Transition (FIT) is a subsidized Transitional Housing Program committed to helping families find affordable housing and improve their circumstances. Just over 15 years ago FIT was started by concerned members of Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church who became aware of camps of homeless people living in wooded areas off of the Route 1 corridor. Today FIT is administered under Mount Vernon Presbyterian Social Ministries, in conjunction with Robert Pierre Johnson (RPJ) Housing Corporation and Fairfax County.
FIT provides housing to families by renting three apartments, two townhouse condominiums and both halves of a duplex from RPJ. FIT then sublets these units to tenants, requiring that they pay 30% of their income in rent. The goal is that when tenants graduate from the program they will be prepared to pay market-rate rents. Presently, nine adults and 15 children are served by the FIT Program.
Not only does FIT collect rents and make repairs to the units; FIT provides opportunities for families to improve their circumstance. The foundation of the FIT program—what makes it all work—is the mentor/mentee relationship. Members of Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church are partnered with FIT families and serve as mentors. Mentors meet with their family at least once monthly to fellowship, assess goals, and consider available resources and opportunities. The mentors meet once a month together with the Program Manager and Assistant to share reports and support one another.
Over the last fifteen years the FIT program has enjoyed many successes. The Program started off with two apartments, four volunteers and a budget of four thousand dollars. Today the Program has two paid staff, six mentors and an operating budget in excess of twelve thousand dollars. More than fifty families have graduated from the program and due to their hard work and dedication, with the support of their mentors, have gone on to rent their own apartments and even own homes.
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