ARCH Stories: Youth In Need finds Landlord Partnership through ARCH

ARCH by HomeScreen turns 4 this year, and we are celebrating housing over 150 people since launching the program. We are most proud of the connections we have made between landlords and local nonprofit organizations, like the connection between Youth In Need and The Apartments (name changed for anonymity):

I first met Sarah (and ARCH) three years ago, when I was searching for an affordable apartment for a Youth In Need client who was also a refugee from another nation. The client had no employment history, no credit, no rental history, and could speak very little English. Their situation was an emergency as they were fleeing domestic violence and trying to find their footing in a new country. There was only one St. Louis neighborhood that the client felt comfortable in due to its vicinity to public transportation, employment, and education opportunities. That particular community is not known to have many options in terms of affordable housing, and I did not have any landlord relationships there. Sarah’s property was the one and only property we ever applied to for this client. This was my first time ever completing an ARCH application and I was able to tell the client's story in a more thorough way,  which I had never seen room for on other tenant screening platforms. We had an amazing experience with Sarah - she was clear, concise, understanding, and efficient. She approved our client quickly and was helpful at every step of the way. We learned about her other properties and have been working with her ever since. We recently housed our 6th client with her, and she is the first landlord we reach out to when we need housing in her neighborhoods. She is always willing to be flexible to fit our needs and provide creative solutions to accommodate her tenants. We are so appreciative of her hard work and dedication to providing quality affordable housing in the St. Louis community.

If you own rental property and would like to join ARCH by HomeScreen, please reach out to ella@towergrovecdc.org for more information.