A Valley nonprofit will use a half-million dollar grant to expand its transitional housing program in the East Valley.

“We see people moving to Phoenix for opportunity,” said Daren Strunk, chief operating officer of St. Joseph the Worker. “And if something goes wrong or they’re in a relationship and someone breaks up with someone else and it doesn’t work out and they’re not renting, do they have the money to move? Do they have money to get into a new apartment? Most people don’t have thousands of dollars saved up, and that’s just to get in. That doesn’t actually mean having any kind of buffer.”

Pandemic-era funds from the CARES, or American Rescue Plan Acts, Strunk said, planted the seeds for the Workforce Villages program.

“What the vision was for this was to mimic what the next step is before you get your own apartment,” he said. “And so it wasn’t to put people in that environment. Some of the motels were not in the greatest area.”

Instead of paying the program around $200 in weekly rent, participants save most of their paychecks while taking on-site classes on budgeting and navigating the workplace.

Strunk said that’s because, especially after the pandemic, the need for transitional housing has increased.

“People will resort to living in their cars,” Strunk said. “And if anyone’s ever been to a shelter, it’s not exactly a fun experience. There is an enormous cost to the individual in terms of trauma and to the taxpayer.”

With these new funds from the Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation, he said they will also be able to offer a 120-day version of the program added earlier this year in addition to the existing 90-day option.