In the early 1990’s, a group of leaders from both the public and private sectors became concerned over the growing number of homeless individuals in need of permanent stable housing. These concerns precipitated the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce to form a Homeless Committee with the purpose of finding solutions to a potential growing problem.
The Homeless Committee sought to create a more permanent solution to addressing homelessness and to prevent the repeat cycle of becoming homeless. It decided then to create a nonprofit entity whose mission was to provide both permanent housing and supportive services to help the formerly homeless to successfully reintegrate into society by helping them achieve their full potential.
In 1993, Carrfour, whose name means “Crossroads” in French, was founded by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce to undertake the development and management of affordable housing, providing residents with a range of supportive services to help achieve self-sufficiency and minimize their chances of being homeless again.
Since 1993, Carrfour Supportive Housing – in collaboration with various nonprofit organizations and for-profit developers – remains the leading provider of supportive housing in Florida, assembling over $200 million of financing, tax credits and subsidies to develop and manage thousands of affordable housing units across Miami-Dade County, serving over 10,000 men, women and children since its founding.