Winter Warming Services

Stable shelter. Intensive support. A direct path to housing.

Traditional warming centers keep people safe through the winter. For people with the highest barriers to housing, a place to sleep is not enough. What they need is stability long enough to complete the housing process, and someone in their corner who will stay in it until they get there.

That is what MAD's Hotel-to-Housing program does.

Each winter, in partnership with the Community Shelter Board, MAD provides intensive case management and stabilization services inside a non-congregate hotel placement program for individuals experiencing homelessness who are eligible for Permanent Supportive Housing but cannot safely access or remain in traditional shelter environments. These are people with serious medical needs, physical disabilities, behavioral health conditions, pets, or long histories of homelessness that have made every previous shelter attempt fail. The hotel model meets them where the system has consistently fallen short.

MAD serves as the primary case management and stabilization provider. Our team works onsite and in the field, clearing the barriers that most often derail the housing process: missing IDs, incomplete documentation, stalled benefits, legal issues, housing application requirements, and the logistical gaps that cause people to miss their one shot at a placement. We also coordinate weekly case conferencing with street outreach partners from Mount Carmel and Southeast Healthcare to keep the pipeline moving and placements filled.

Winter 2025-2026 outcomes:

72 individuals served. 30 exited to Permanent Supportive Housing, a 73.2% housing exit rate, more than double the Franklin County shelter system average of 35%. Fewer than three police calls, two emergency room visits, and no overdoses during the entire program period.

For participants who received a PSH referral while stabilized in the hotel, housing placement occurred in an average of 35 days.

These are not typical results. They are what happens when people are given stable shelter, consistent support, and a team that removes obstacles instead of adding them.

MAD is actively exploring how to sustain and expand this model beyond the winter months. The outcomes from Winter 2025-2026 make a clear case for hotel-based stabilization as a year-round housing intervention. If you are interested in supporting that expansion, contact us.