BARN, Inc. Transitions local Families into Permanent Homes

Transitional Housing BARN, Inc. administrators: Executive Director Colin Davis, Progress Manager Fadumo Ahmad and Case Manager Dina Nay.

Transitional Housing BARN, Inc. in Bristow successfully serves western Prince William, providing temporary housing for homeless families and assisting them in transitioning to more permanent homes.

 BARN was founded by the Benedictine Sisters in 1997, BARN is 501CE nonprofit. 

Officially, BARN stands for Benedictine Aid and Relief for Neighbors, but really it was named for the barn on the sisters' property, Executive Director Colin Davis explained. 

“The sisters were going to convert the old dairy barn, so it became known as the Barn Project,” Davis said. 

Finding it would be more cost-effective to build a new structure, they decided to do that instead.

“The sisters decided should stand for something, and the name barn stuck,” Davis said.

BARN is small, but effective. It serves anywhere from 5-12 families at a time, but has a 90-95 percent success rate at transitioning families into permanent homes. Those at BARN considers it a permanent home when the head of the family leases a dwelling in his or her own name. 

BARN helps mostly female-headed households with children, and all of the families are homeless before they enter into the transitional housing.

Outdoor patio space at BARN allows families to eat outside.

“We are really focused on getting families into homes,” Davis said.

BARN houses families together in one of three housing units. Each family is given one large bedroom and their own refrigerator. They share two attached kitchens, a living room, a multi-family dining room, office nook, play room and bathrooms with up to three other families. Families also have access to a shared outdoor patio, playground, pool, bicycle port and green space.

BARN works to keep all of their housing updated and freshly painted, and families can take their Eva Mattress with them as they move onto to permanent housing.

BARN living quarters includes a  kids' play room with books and toys.

However, BARN offers more than a safe place to sleep. It also provides programs and mentorships to help people turn their lives around.

“We’re sort of that parent, police, friend and mentor. We just take families as they are. We meet them where they are, and take them where they want to go,” Davis said.

BARN provides a plan of action to help people find work, establish a budget, get out of debt and save money for an apartment. Often times, families cannot afford a security deposit, so living at BARN allows them to save up for that expense.

Davis notes that many families in Prince William County who struggle with homelessness do so in silence. A mother might still show up for work, and a child may still attend school even while they are living in their car and washing up in public bathrooms.

The kitchen area has multiple refrigerators, one for each family.

BARN is a better alternative. It keeps families off the street and also keeps families on track to achieve their goals.

Families can stay with BARN up to two years, but the goal is to get them into their own place as soon as possible. Davis said staying too long in a group home leads to fatigue. For that reason, staff tries to take advantage of the time when families are most motivated. They immediately begin working with the adults on setting their financial and life goals, and creating a plan. Besides money matters, they also have sessions on relationships and other life-skills.

Many of the women at BARN are starting over. Some have left an abusive spouse or partner, so in addition to housing, they benefit from the support of the people at the organization and the counseling they offer. Others end up at BARN because they have been evicted, or a landlord had told them there were too many families living in one dwelling. Often it is an unexpected upheaval.

Outdoor playground on the BARN campus provide a play for kids to play, and sidewalk pathway is a great place to ride bikes.

During the recession, BARN saw more previous middle-class families than they had in the past. It happened when a parents was laid off, or their homes or even rental properties were being foreclosed upon. 

Despite the different issues families may face, Davis believes that staying at BARN makes a difference in their lives. He believes BARN offers an individualized approach to helping families overcome their obstacles.

“We are one of the smaller in the county, so we are focused on high-quality service instead of volume,” he said.

BARN receives most of their funding through federal and state grants. However, to access those grants they need to provide 25 percent of their funding from other sources. Currently, BARN does not receive any county funding. For that reason, BARN always needs private funding. They are always accepting donations as well as looking for volunteers.

Family bedrooms at BARN fit parents and several children.

To help fund BARN, employees and volunteers host a yard sale every other Saturday. In November, they are throwing a black-tie gala with a 'Hooray for Hollywood' theme. And, they are currently looking for sponsors whose donations would allow them to continue to providing their services.

Perhaps if more people realized the need for BARN, they would donate or volunteer. Davis believes do not realize that most people do think that homelessness is a problem in Prince William.

“You are used to homelessness in D.C. where you see people sleeping on the street corner. You don’t notice it when people are sleeping in their cars,” he said.

Those at BARN know homelessness is a reality in Prince William and its nearby cities, and they are doing what they can to change that difficult situation for parents and children. Thanks to BARN and places like it, families are securing bright futures once again.

Readers can contact Transitional Housing BARN, Inc. at barninc.org.