PH: 803-708-4861
FX: 803-708-4803
2025 Main Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Programs & Services
To engage and equip homeless adults of the Midlands to transition into stability and permanent housing.
No one else in the Midlands offers both residential and day services to homeless adults, both men and women. Transitions offers an unequaled combination of services, resources and benefits:
The only center to provide homeless adults both day services with a place to spend the day and residential services
The only facility that accepts both men and women without children
The first Homeless Court in the state
The only facility to offer bathrooms, showers, computers, classes and laundry facilities to both residents and non residents
The most comprehensive homeless jobs program
The most meals cooked and served
Degreed case managers for all case-management services
The most beds – 260 – in one location
4-Star rating from Charity Navigator
HOUSING
260 Beds
There is often a wait list for a bed. Until a bed is available, we do offer daily access to all of our programs and services to homeless men and women using our Day Center.
There are 3 types of beds available:
1Emergency: 82 Beds (51 Male, 31 Female)
A person may stay in an emergency bed for up to 30 days. During that time, they receive on-site services, assistance & 3 meals a day. By the end of the 30 days, the resident must decide if they’re ready to move into a Program bed & start working towards getting their life on track & moving towards independence & self-sufficiency.
2Program: 114 beds (84 male, 30 Female)
These beds are available to men and women who are committed to developing the skills they need to secure employment and to overcoming any medical or addiction issues that are preventing them from becoming self-sufficient.
3Extended Program: 64 Beds
These smaller rooms with just 4 beds and semi-private bathrooms are designated for specific programs described below, and for clients showing exceptional progress in working and saving money so they can transition back into the community.
How to receive a bed
Individuals wishing to receive a bed at Transitions can be referred by staff, outreach workers, and/or partner agencies. Anyone without a referral who wishes to receive a bed is advised to sign up at the Reception Desk in the Day Center; beds are assigned beginning at 9:00 am Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays. If you want to learn more about how to get a bed, please contact Services@TransitionsSC.org.
Eligibility to receive a bed (Adults 18 and older):
1 Clients must be able to perform all activities of daily living without assistance. That means they need to be able to bath, dress themselves, monitor their own medications, and enter the Day Center for meals.
2A person who has a criminal conviction for sexual assault and is listed on either the National Registry of Sex Offenders or Richland County Sex Offenders list is ineligible to stay at Transitions. However, they may use the Day Center.
OUTREACH INTO THE HOMELESS COMMUNITY
Transitions has Outreach Coordinators who visit areas around town where homeless people tend to congregate. Equipped with bottled water, MRE’s, hygiene kits, and blankets, our Outreach Coordinators work with local officials to identify new encampments and then forge relationships with the men and women they meet. Many of these people tend to be suspicious of authority, and it can take numerous interactions with these men and women to build trust. The goal of our Outreach Program is to engage people, offer support, and encourage them to utilize the services available at Transitions.
Thanks to the generous support of the Mungo Foundation and ESG, Transitions has been able to expand our Outreach Program to include three Outreach Coordinators and serve both Richland and Lexington Counties.
MEALS AVAILABLE EVERYDAY
Feeding those in need is no small task. At Transitions, we serve three meals a day, 365 days a year. On an average day, we serve approximately 575 meals.
Our community partner, The Salvation Army, prepares all meals in our commercial-grade kitchen. Volunteers are on hand to help serve meals on a cafeteria-style steam line. Due to COVID-19 safety precautions, volunteers now work on the line to box food into to-go containers, and those containers are distributed to clients through a pass-off window.
Resident clients receive three meals a day. If a client has a job and will not be on-site for a meal, we prepare a sack lunch or dinner that they can take with them to work. Non-residents who are spending the day at Transitions can enjoy mid-day lunch and any other snacks that are available throughout the day.
Our menus are prepared to be as nutritious as possible. We are able to keep the cost of a meal at just $2.08, thanks in large part to our Food Recovery Program. In addition to purchasing basic food supplies, we incorporate food donated on a weekly basis from institutions within our community; Whole Foods, Publix, Costco, and numerous area restaurants all donate food to Transitions. We also pick up food and produce from Fort Jackson 5 days a week, as well as from UofSC Dining. Our Transportation Team helps to coordinate this effort, utilizing our refrigerated van to keep these donations at peak freshness. Last fiscal year, Transitions received 153 tons of food through our Food Recovery Program.