How we help our community

Plumb Place assists women by providing safe, transitional housing with case management and therapeutic services; Plumb Place serves women 18 years and older including unaccompanied youth ages 18 to 24. The women served by Plumb Place include those who may have physical or developmental disabilities, chronic health conditions, mental illness and substance abuse disorder as well as women who have experienced domestic violence.

Plumb Place complies with HUD’s housing first which means we operates on the belief that women who feel secure in housing are able to better make progress on their individual goals. Plumb Place has 17 dedicated transitional housing beds in 17 individual rooms and four emergency shelter beds in two large rooms for the ability to serve up to 21 women at a time. While the program is designed to help program participants work toward self sufficiency as quickly as possible, and several are helped each year in our emergency shelter program, many women benefit from the added support of the transitional housing program.

Entrance Process

Entry to Plumb Place is based on meeting HUD definition of homelessness and/or fleeing domestic violence. Through the use of the VI-SPDAT – HMIS version and Self Sufficiency Matrix offered by the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation, the scores of both of these forms are used to ensure program participants are entered into the appropriate Plumb Place program – emergency shelter or transitional housing.

Supportive Services

Plumb Place staff is held to the professional standards of their respective professions and the ethical standards set by the National Organization of Human Services. Participants are offered intensive case management, life skills education and a variety of supportive therapeutic and educational groups to address issues identified upon admission and throughout participation in the program.

Case Management and Life Skills Education

Intensive case management assesses needs and identifies barriers to permanent housing; this is a collaborative effort with the program participant to identify goals and objectives as needed to increase skills and income, build self determination and secure housing. As goals are achieved and documented, new goals are established to ensure permanent housing can be maintained upon exit from the program. Participants make use of the on-site resource center that provides, staffed by the program manager, hands-on instruction with budgeting, independent living skills, job search, resume writing and application assistance, as well as access to online education and software to improve educational functioning level.

Entrepreneurship Program and Transferable Skills Training

Training and experience occurs in a variety of transferable skills including event organization, decor, cooking, time management, planning, presentation and public speaking as well as other employment skills which close gaps in work history and increase the marketability of program participants to future employers. Plumb Place staff tailor the particular training and opportunities to the individual women and their goals whether that goal is to complete a GED or high school diploma, enter college, return to a disrupted career, start a new career, start a business, reconnect with family, begin and maintain sobriety, or any number of individual and unique goals that will help women at Plumb Place re-enter the community as contributing members filled with self-confidence and the ability to give back and take part in their town.

Community Engagement and Referrals to Community Partners

Program participants are also responsible for volunteer opportunities at the house or in the community, resulting in self-confidence and accountability.

Plumb Place is proud to work alongside SOS domestic violence shelter as we work to aid many of the same clientele as well as working closely with all other social services organizations in Emporia.

Plumb Place makes referrals to maximize the use of mainstream resources for participants based on individual need. Community agencies to which Plumb Place routinely refer program participants in need include:

Crosswinds Mental Health Center for additional mental health services and medication
Counseling Associates of the Flint Hills for additional mental health services
Kansas Legal Services for legal aid
ECKAN for a variety of service for low-income residents including Section 8 housing aid
Southeast Kansasworks for additional job search aid and employment services
Veterans’ Employment and Training Service through the U.S. Department of Labor for veteran program participants
DCF for family services and help with economic and food assistance
SOS for domestic violence advocacy, education, and support to residents in need of emergency shelter in an undisclosed location due to imminent danger
The Salvation Army, Catholic Charities Resource Bus, and Abundant Harvest for food assistance
Flint Hills Community Health Clinic for affordable and accessible health care on an income-based fee scale

Length of Program

While the HUD standard is two years placement for transitional housing, Plumb Place encourages stability and self sufficiency as quickly as individually possible for each program participant. The average stay is approximately nine to 12 months.

At Plumb Place, we understand everyone has their own individual needs, goals and challenges toward stable employment and individual permanent housing, and we are glad to be able to offer the variety and depth of services to the women in need who call Plumb Place home.