We would be honored if you would join us for the Grand Opening of Fortify Home this October. ​

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Throughout our work at Fortify Life, we've learned that where hardship hides, the impact of a community thrives. It was this spirit of connection and opportunity that ultimately made a way for Fortify Home to exist.  

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In DeKalb County, like many rural communities, there is a large gap in care: no family housing shelters, and very few places for people in a housing crisis to turn when they need a safe place to land. When someone lost their housing, the options were too few and often too far away. We recognized how much this need wasn't being talked about in comparison to the scope of the problem. ​​

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We started by paying for hotel stays. From December 2021 to August 2022, families and individuals who had nowhere else to go were offered short-term housing through local hotels. Though the rooms were helpful, they were unsustainable. What people needed was more than a room for the night; they needed a safe, steady place to regroup, rebuild, and move forward. It was this need that planted the seed for Fortify Home.

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In August 2022, Fortify Life opened the doors of a former Days Inn on 7th Street in Auburn, Indiana and turned it into a transitional housing shelter. With 13 rooms, families could stay together, neighbors could breathe again, and staff could walk alongside them toward jobs, childcare, permanent housing, and long-term stability.

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​It is the love and generosity of this community that has allowed Fortify Home to take root.

 

Volunteers, donors, and local partners have poured time, resources, and heart into making it grow. A major grant in 2023 made it possible to plan renovations and expansion—more rooms, family-friendly kitchens, laundry space, and places for community programming. The process has been deeply rewarding. 

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At its core, Fortify Home is proof of what happens when people choose to show up for each other. It’s neighbors helping neighbors. And sometimes, that’s exactly what changes everything.

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Read more below to discover the impact we've made amidst the transitions, the process of renovations and the many community members who have helped along the way.