Rainbow Village is unique in that it is a long-term shelter serving families who have experienced homelessness. After applying and being accepted into the program, families stay on campus for a minimum of one year and up to two years. Other shelters often offer accommodations for 30, 60, or 90 days, maximum. Rainbow Village started as a short-term shelter in a humble duplex called Rainbow House. Over the years, organizers found that short stays didn’t offer enough time for families to stabilize.

Each family is assigned social workers to help them work through the turmoil brought on by chaos, abuse, or being stuck in a cycle of generational poverty. They learn the skills to break out of those cycles or how to climb out of situational poverty that is caused by job loss or divorce. Even after families are stable enough to move to a home of their own and be self-sustaining, they are still in touch with staff and a support network of other alums of the village. This enables them to continue building the life skills they need to keep working on a five-year plan that each family develops while at Rainbow Village. Support Rainbow Village as they work to break the cycle of homelessness, poverty, and domestic violence.