Thames River Community Service, Inc.

Pathways to Hope


Transforming Lives with Thames River

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Who We Are

Thames River Community Service, Inc. (TRCS) was established in 1992, dedicated to providing critical housing and support services to formerly homeless individuals and families primarily of New London County. We serve area youths ages 18-24 who are at risk of homelessness. We offer a range of comprehensive services include counseling referrals, job readiness, and transitional housing. Our mission is accomplished by promoting family and individual wellness, by empowering an achievable plan for successful independent living, to pursue significant employment, to acquire life skills and to maintain stability.


At Thames River Community Service, Inc., we believe that every person deserves the chance to thrive, and we are committed to ensuring that our clients have the support they need every step of the way. Whether you are a client, partner, or donor, we invite you to join us in making a positive impact in Southeastern CT.

About Us

Who we serve:

Thames River Community Service, Inc. (TRCS) proudly serves homeless individuals and families primarily of New London County. We serve area youths ages 18-24 who are at risk of homelessness.

Our Programs

Through a combination of proven support strategies, including educational programs, employment readiness training, medical service referral, mental health and substance abuse referral, legal aid and beyond referral, we help young families and individuals embrace the great possibilities of their lives, overcome steep barriers to independence and make every effort to achieve their goals.

We affirm BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals and utilize positive youth development to help young families/individuals access housing, support services and skills needed to break the cycle of homelessness.

THAMES RIVER FAMILY PROGRAM (TRFP)

Thames River Community Service, Inc. was established in 1992 with the creation of Thames River Family Program (TRFP), which was a response to the rising number of families headed by single women who were homeless and living in poverty. Located in Norwich, CT and serving Southeastern CT, TRFP is a 24-hour staffed, transitional housing program with 21 apartments, where 3 apartments are dedicated to crisis housing.

Advocates and other supportive staff work closely with families coming from shelters to assist them in becoming employed and/or more employable, helping them to gain financial literacy by learning to budget and improve their credit, to acquire tenancy skills and to overcome criminal histories. There also is a great deal of effort to provide support and resources around the needs of their children by working collaboratively with other area social service providers and the educational system as well as mental health and wellness facilities. Staff works together with families to establish achievable goals in these areas so that they can leave TRFP for permanent housing in less than a year. Today, our families are parenting youth ages 18 to 24 years old. We are the only Youth Transitional Housing Program serving families in Connecticut.


As a transitional housing program with a length of stay of one year or less in Norwich, we serve new families as other families complete the program.

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Supportive Housing Program (SHP)

In 2008, the agency’s Supportive Housing Program began with a grant received from the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS). Program participants receive rental assistance and support from staff who partner with the nine families to provide comprehensive, individualized services in safe and affordable scattered site housing units. Head of households have mental health and/or substance abuse disorders, are chronically homeless and have income at or below 50% of the median income of this area.

A home helps them to get adequate treatment and start on the path toward recovery. But some conditions make it difficult for people to maintain a stable home without additional help. Supportive housing, a highly effective strategy that combines affordable housing with intensive coordinated services, can provide that needed assistance.


Staff aim to help tenants remain housed. Our case managers help people find suitable housing, build relationships with their landlords, and understand their rights and responsibilities as renters. They also intervene to prevent evictions.

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RAPID REHOUSING PROGRAM FOR YOUTH (RRH)

In December 2018, our agency was awarded funding through the CT Department of Housing to provide a Rapid Rehousing Program for young adults ages 18 to 24 years of age. We rapidly move youth from homelessness into permanent housing. Housing Advocates offer short- to medium-term financial assistance and provide developmentally appropriate case management and services. 


The overall goal for our Youth Rapid Rehousing Program is for participants to obtain and retain permanent housing. RRH will be designed to allow youth to successfully acquire the life skills necessary to remain stably housed. Specifically, youth will have:

Immediate access to permanent housing with no preconditions such as employment, income, absence of criminal record or sobriety, 

Once housing is established, services will be offered according to the unique needs and choices of each youth, using a low barrier approach that emphasizes community integration, stability and recovery. 

Goals are individualized and client driven. They will have input and final decisions on action steps and timelines, as well as housing and service options.

There are three components of rapid rehousing: (1). Housing Identification, (2) Rent and Move-in Assistance, (3) Case Management and Services

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YHDP Crisis Housing

In 2023 the agency’s YHDP Short-Term Crisis Transitioning Housing began, funded under the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program, which operates like crisis housing, providing low-barrier, temporary housing to young adults aged 18-24 at program entry who are homeless. Young adults must be engaged in a diversion/problem-solving conversation upon initial contact and admitted only if they are without a safe place to stay that night. YHDP Short-Term Crisis Housing must follow local CAN prioritization within funding guidelines.

Our goal is to quickly bring youth sleeping outside or in their vehicles into a safe and warm environment. Residents are linked to a case management, life skills and access to public benefits while waiting for more stable housing options in transitional or rapid rehousing program.

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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement


Thames River Community Service, Inc. (TRCS) believes everybody deserves to live with dignity and respect, and we are committed to supporting policies and practices of racial, cultural, and economic equity that empower a just, inclusive, and equitable world.


Fundamental principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion arise from our inherent desire to care for all individuals in our community on a human level and we understand that feeling included is fundamentally essential to thrive both professionally and personally.


This commitment informs our mission to help low-income families and families experiencing homelessness reinforce family bonds by achieving stable housing and financial independence. Existing and historic systems of power in our society grant privilege and access unequally, based on factors such as race/ethnicity, age, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, socioeconomic status, involvement in the carceral system, geography, and ability.


We recognize that our community is directly impacted by these factors of exclusion, and we are committed to combating this inequality and working towards justice for all. TRCS aims to ensure that our organization embodies the values, policies, and practices that ensure that all people are represented in the development of our policies and programs, and in the fair distribution of programmatic, financial, and informational resources.


As an employer this means that we are examining policies and practices regarding hiring, professional development, internal advancement, wage equity, employee support, board recruitment, and internal communications. We engage in intentional dialogues that nurture respect and communication that encourage our staff, volunteers, and board members to reflect, listen to each other, and learn from one another’s experience.


As a service provider this means we acknowledge that structural racism is intimately tied to the causes of homelessness. We are examining our outcomes to identify areas where we can improve our policies to combat bias and be more equitable and inclusive in our services. We aim for our staff, volunteers, and board members to be allies for each other and understand that vulnerability is needed in order to address the nuances and complexities of this work.


These are important reflections for us at TRCS as we continue to learn what it takes to fully implement our commitment to equity in all of our work, including the collective effort to end homelessness. We look forward to ongoing conversations with funder colleagues, nonprofit leaders and community members. It is critical to work together to change the systems driving homelessness. Only then will we begin to see an enduring transformation.

Life is Good

At Thames River Community Service, Inc. we help families to gain solid footing again. Everyday life moments happens here for children and family members.

Here are what some of our families have to say about us:

Our Supporters

Many local and national corporate partners, cities, and foundations have joined TRCS, providing grants, donations, and sponsorships supported by philanthropic initiatives. Our work would not be possible without the generous support we receive, and we welcome the opportunity to partner with companies and foundations interested in supporting our mission.

GFWC Unity in Diversity

Bank of America

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