HOUSING
Housing is a complex issue, requiring a multi-pronged approach.
Housing is the basis for safety, and a foundational step in moving our most vulnerable
out of cycles of addiction, jail, and poverty.
DID YOU KNOW?
Formerly incarcerated people are almost 10 times more likely to be unhoused than the general public.
Individuals who have been incarcerated in prison more than once have rates of homelessness that are 13 times higher than the general public.
Read more below about our housing programs:
Housing Coordination
OAR Housing Coordination assists people seeking temporary and permanent housing. Demand exceeds supply, each year we work with 200-300 clients seeking stable housing.
We typically support 80-100 clients each year.
Emergency Housing
Friday night at 7pm, when our community outreach workers are scrambling to find a bed for an 18-year-old girl who has been kicked out of the shelter, OAR provides a hotel for 3 days while navigating DSS and local youth programs for a permanent solution.
Just one example of at least a dozen situations from 2024.
ENDEAVOR HOUSE
Endeavor House provides a sober living space for five men returning to our community from prison, who are ready to undergo life changes. The goal of the program is to maintain a safe, sober, and affordable transitional housing for men working toward independent living and to encourage and assist residents to become and remain financially self-sufficient.
MISSION STATEMENT:
The mission of Endeavor House is to provide a decent sober living space for five men to our community from incarceration, who are ready to undergo life changes.
GOALS:
To maintain safe, sober, and affordable transitional housing for men working toward independent living. To encourage and assist residents to become and remain financially self-sufficient.
Endeavor House officially opened on February 1st, 2018, for our first cohort of residents. We are always accepting applications, though expect a waiting list. This program supports transitional residents typically staying between one to two years
peer crossings
Provides rent, utilities, and case management for women returning to the community from substance use treatment facilities. Quality wrap around supports support individuals seeking to reach their short-term and long-term goals.
Two-thirds of individuals returning from Substance Use Treatment use within weeks of returning home, 85% relapse within a year - according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This program aims to lower these numbers and empower clients to create their own care plan.
PEER CROSSING - ARTHAUS
MISSION STATEMENT:The mission of the Peer Crossing program is to provide a safe living space for TWO women returning from a treatment center for substance use disorders.
GOALS:To maintain safe, sober, and affordable transitional housing for women working to acclimate themselves back into the community, continued their sobriety, and independent living. To encourage and assist residents to become and remain financially self-sufficient.
Peer Crossing started in June of 2025 the program provides temporary housing from 3-6 months.
SUNflower house
In December 2021, OAR explored additional housing options for people leaving jail/prison. This effort has resulted in a dozen new rooms dedicated to parolees OAR provides robust and effective wrap around services that ensure our clients have an opportunity to reach their goals.
To date Sunflower has housed (60) people
MISSION STATEMENT:
The mission of Sunflower House is to provide low-barrier affordable housing for formerly incarcerate and court-involved men.
GOALS:
To create a clean and safe space for individuals working on their successful transition back into the larger community and/or social and economic stability.
Sunflower Houses provide a transitional sober-living space for men re-entering society through court involvement. This collaboration with INHS & URO strives to offer a stable living environment for court involved men conducive for independent living and the exercise of individual agency. This program is for men only, a transitional living program, where residents typically stay between 8 to 14 months.
Sunflower House officially opened at the end of December of 2021, and we are always accepting applications. Please keep in mind there is a large pool of applicants and preference is given to residents of Tompkins County, especially those who are on community supervision, in recovery, and/or court involved from Tompkins County.
SUNflower house
assessment
HOMELESSNESS:
80% of Sunflower residents entering the program came from homeless with 10% released from institutions (jail, prison, rehab). Upon leaving our housing program 63% of residents had secured temporary or permanent housing, an amazing accomplishment. For the few who returned to homelessness, each was asked to leave the program due to behavioral issues.
WRAP AROUND SUPPORT & SERVICES:
Another impressive milestone for the SUNFLOWER HOUSE program is our wrap around support and services. From the chart on the left you can see employment, substance use supports, drug rehab, mental health, college, DSS, and SSI followed by outcomes PH (permanent housing), TH (temporary housing), Homelessness, and Jail/prison. SFH (Sunflower House current resident and number of days engaged.
DIVERSITY:
OAR addresses racial disparities within our Criminal Justice System by attempting to mirror the disparities created by the same system. Sunflower House was 50% POC in 2024.
RECIDIVISM:
Although as time moves on, we expect our recidivism to increase, we are encouraged by our current numbers and hope that as we become better at what we do, and how we do it, our numbers will continue to improve year after year. For 2024 our recidivism was 9%.
Read the full 2025 Sunflower House Assessment Report here: