Iyon's Story

This year, Transitional Housing Corporation (THC) is proud to honor Iyon Johnson with our Client Achievement Award at our 2014 Living in the City Benefit. In this video, she speaks more about her experience being homeless and her path to finding a permanent housing options for herself and her children. -- Housing Up builds thriving communities in Washington, DC by developing affordable housing and offering comprehensive support services to homeless and low-income families. We believe that people who have safe, affordable housing and genuine opportunities are empowered to transform their lives. Housing Up was founded on a belief in an equitable world, a belief in the human capacity for good, and a belief in human potential and what people can achieve when given a helping hand. We envision a city where all families have access to safe, affordable housing and the chance to lead stable, independent lives. Housing Up was founded in 1990 as Transitional Housing Corporation, after a generous bequest led a group of Christ Lutheran Church volunteers, together with volunteers from Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington and Community Family Life Services, to decide how to best use the gift to aid those in need in the District. They decided to help families attain safe and stable housing by buying an apartment building on the corner of Georgia Ave and Kennedy St NW. This building served 14 families in transitional housing and was named Partner Arms 1. Since then we have grown to serve more than 700 families in a range of housing programs and buildings across the District. In 2016, we rebranded as Housing Up, a name that reflects the full scope of our programs. The name Housing Up aligns with our move away from transitional housing programs and toward permanent affordable housing solutions. The rebrand highlights our status as one of the District’s most innovative and successful nonprofits serving families experiencing homelessness. Housing Up works as both a nonprofit developer and homeless services provider, developing housing and providing services to low-income families and families exiting shelter. We provide Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Rapid Re-Housing (RRH) and market rate Affordable Housing along with wraparound supportive services to District families that are low-income and/or exiting shelter. Once families are stably housed, we provide a broad range of support services to empower them to gain long-term independence. With our support, families maintain stable housing, gain employment, and further their education. Our unique combination of affordable housing and services builds vibrant, diverse communities where our families can thrive. Housing Up is proud to be a critical partner in Mayor Muriel Bowser’s plan to make homelessness “rare, brief, and nonrecurring” by 2020. Housing Up is one of the city’s largest homeless services providers and has a leading role in the DC Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Coalition of Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development (CNHED), and other government, public and private entities advocating for and creating system-wide change in DC’s housing and homelessness policies. Housing Up values: PEOPLE FIRST - We believe in treating each person with dignity and respect. We believe that each person is an asset, and honor the contributions of our families, colleagues, and supporters. EMPOWERMENT - We strive to create an understanding culture where families, colleagues, and supporters can work collaboratively. TEAMWORK - We believe that effective teams are grounded in initiative, communication, and accountability, and share training, tools, and responsibilities to achieve outcomes. RECOGNIZING ASSETS & STRENGTHS - We celebrate our successes and learn from our failures. We leverage the strengths of our families, colleagues and supporters to achieve excellence and provide quality services. - Affordable, housing, affordable housing, Washington, dc, Washington dc, District, the District, Columbia, district of Columbia, The District of Columbia, poor, low, income, low-income, transitional, rapid re-housing, permanent supportive housing, PSH, AMI, area median income, gentrification, classism, nonprofit, quality of life, expensive, cost of living, homeless, homelessness, at-risk, families, low-income families, social, work, social work, social worker, case work, case worker, case manager, case management, counseling, counselor, resident, resident services, family, family success, family success program, volunteer, donate, donor, donors