What Onward is: A home, a lease, and a path forward

By Crystal Madison

program manager

When people ask me what makes Onward different, I usually start with something simple: the young adults who live here are tenants. They have private rooms in a shared home, they sign leases, they pay rent, and they hold the same rights and responsibilities they would in any rental housing. This is their home. My role is to walk alongside them as they build stability and plan what comes next.

Onward exists to serve young adults ages 18–24 who have experienced homelessness or housing instability and are working or in school. They don’t need—or want—highly structured, 24-hour supervision. What they need is time, stability, and support that keeps them in the driver’s seat while helping them move toward independence.

Before coming to Onward, I spent years in traditional case management settings. I saw how well-intentioned systems can struggle to meet people where they are when flexibility is limited. Onward was created to fill a specific gap in the housing continuum: a place for young adults who are ready to take responsibility for their lives, but still need a bridge to get there.

Residents at Onward stay in the driver’s seat of their own lives. Our role is to walk alongside them—providing stability, guidance, and support as they set their goals and move toward independence.

At Onward, we provide case management that is responsive and individualized. We use evidence-based approaches like Critical Time Intervention (CTI), and our day-to-day work is guided by a strengths-based philosophy. Residents help define their own goals and the pace at which they pursue them. Progress is measured by growth and stability, not by punishment or compliance.

At Onward, that looks like:

Stability
Up to 24 months of housing, giving residents time to move from survival mode to planning for the future.

A dedicated advocate
Case management that functions as a partnership—working side by side to build a plan that fits each resident’s life, priorities, and strengths.

Life skills for independence
Support with financial literacy, understanding leases, education and career planning, and coordinating care in a way that reflects the whole person.

Aftercare
Continued support after move-out, so the transition to a permanent home is not just successful, but lasting.

Our goal is not to create dependence on a program. It’s to provide the tools and stability people need now so they won’t need something like Onward later. Experiencing housing instability is already traumatic enough; our work doesn’t focus on what someone lacks. We start with what’s working and build from there.

As one resident recently shared, “We all have goals. We’re just regular people who need a little help.”

That belief—that young adults deserve respect, stability, and the chance to direct their own lives—is at the heart of everything we do at Onward.