Resource Spotlight: Families in Transition

Stable housing can affect almost every other part of someone’s life. It can make it easier to keep a job, get children to school consistently, manage healthcare, plan expenses, and build routines that are difficult to maintain when housing is uncertain. 

For people experiencing homelessness or trying to avoid it, getting into housing can be only one part of the process. There may also be food needs, health concerns, financial challenges, employment goals, substance use treatment, or other issues that need attention along the way. 

Families in Transition works across those different areas in New Hampshire. The nonprofit’s mission is to prevent and break the cycle of homelessness, with programs that include housing, emergency shelter, case management, food assistance, homelessness outreach, and substance use treatment. 

In 2025, the organization reported serving more than 16,000 people through its housing, shelter, food, and treatment programs. 

Housing Looks Different Depending on What Someone Needs

There is no single type of housing that works for every person or family. 

Through its housing programs, Families in Transition offers several options designed for different points in someone’s housing journey. Its housing properties are located in Manchester and Concord, and the level of assistance available depends on the program and the needs of the household. 

Affordable housing is one option. Individuals and families who meet income requirements can live in their own unit while receiving long-term housing assistance. These units give people an affordable place to live while they work toward greater financial and housing stability. 

Families in Transition also offers transitional supportive housing for people who need temporary housing before moving into something permanent. Participants typically stay between 18 and 24 months and have access to case management while they work on goals such as finding permanent housing, securing employment, developing support systems, and addressing other barriers. 

Permanent supportive housing provides long-term affordable housing with additional support. Residents who live in their own apartments and work with dedicated case managers who can help them identify goals, connect with resources, and address challenges that may affect their ability to maintain housing. 

Each program serves a different purpose. Together, they give Families in Transition more than one way to respond when someone needs housing support. 

Emergency Shelter Can Be a Starting Point 

Families in Transition also operates emergency homelessness services for adults and families with children in Manchester. 

The organization’s emergency shelter programs operate around the clock and provide a safe place for people experiencing homelessness while they work toward longer-term housing. Participants can also connect with case management and other services during their stay. 

That support matters because finding permanent housing often involves more than locating an available apartment. Someone may need help gathering documents, applying for programs, finding employment, managing income, connecting with healthcare, or working through other issues affecting their housing situation. 

Emergency shelter can give people a place to address immediate needs while beginning that longer process. 

Case Management Helps Connect the Pieces 

One of the main parts of Families in Transition’s service model is case management. 

Case managers work with people participating in housing and emergency shelter programs to identify their needs, set goals, and connect with resources. Depending on someone’s situation, that might include support with housing applications, income and employment, public benefits, life skills, healthcare, or substance use recovery. 

Families in Transition also works with healthcare organizations, first responders, housing providers, and local and state agencies. Those connections can help people navigate services that may come from several different organizations. 

The organization’s homelessness outreach team works in a similar way. Outreach staff connect with people who are living without stable housing and help link them with available services, including emergency shelter, housing, healthcare, mental health support, and substance use treatment. 

For someone trying to manage several challenges at the same time, having help finding and navigating those resources can make the process easier to manage. 

Food Support Is Part of the Work Too 

Housing stability and food access often overlap. 

Families in Transition includes food assistance as part of its broader work through its food programs. Its dining services prepare meals for people staying in emergency shelter and recovery housing programs, while its Manchester food pantry provides groceries to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity. 

The pantry operates more like a grocery shopping experience, allowing households to choose from available foods, including fresh produce, meat, bakery items, and nonperishable groceries. 

That gives the organization another way to support people whose housing situations may already be putting pressure on their budgets. 

For someone moving into housing, trying to catch up on bills, or working toward greater financial stability, reliable access to food can help free up limited income for rent, transportation, healthcare, and other expenses. 

Housing and Recovery Can Be Connected 

Families in Transition also operates the Willows Treatment Center, which provides substance use treatment and recovery services. 

Through its broader programs and services, the organization offers outpatient and intensive outpatient treatment, along with recovery housing for people working through substance use challenges. 

Recovery housing provides a substance-free living environment where residents can receive support while continuing treatment and working toward longer-term stability. 

This part of the organization’s work recognizes that housing, health, and recovery can affect one another. Someone working toward recovery may have difficulty maintaining progress without a safe place to live, while substance use challenges can also make finding and keeping housing more difficult. 

Providing treatment alongside housing and other support gives people more ways to address those needs together. 

Stability Can Affect More Than Housing

Families in Transition uses a Housing First approach, which prioritizes getting people into stable housing and building additional support from there. 

The idea is fairly straightforward. When someone has a safe place to live, they have a more stable starting point for addressing other parts of life. 

Looking for work is easier when someone has somewhere to sleep and prepare for the day. Managing health appointments becomes more realistic when a person has a consistent address and routine. Children can have more stability around school. Families can begin thinking further ahead instead of constantly responding to immediate housing needs. 

That is why Families in Transition’s work extends into case management, food access, treatment, outreach, and other services. 

Housing may be the foundation, but maintaining that stability can involve several different parts of someone’s life. 

Finding Help or Supporting Families in Transition 

People in New Hampshire who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of losing housing can begin by connecting with the appropriate service. 

Families in Transition directs people seeking emergency shelter to 211 New Hampshire. People looking for housing support can contact the organization at 603-641-9441, extension 257. Food pantry assistance is available through extension 221, while substance use treatment and recovery housing inquiries can be made through extension 401.

The Families in Transition website also includes information about housing, food assistance, homelessness services, treatment, and other available resources. 

For people who want to support the organization, Families in Transition offers opportunities to volunteer, donate money or high-need items, support its food programs, and participate in community events. Volunteers help in areas such as the food pantry, meal service at the adult emergency shelter, and the organization's Outfitters Thrift Store. 

Housing stability rarely comes down to one need or one solution. Families in Transition’s approach reflects that by giving people several ways to find support as they work toward a safer and more stable place to live.