VALPARAISO | At a time of crisis in the housing market and a rising numbers of foreclosures, a new partnership is working to give at-risk women the skills to find and maintain stable housing for themselves and their families.

Housing Opportunities, a social services agency that offers transitional housing and an array of support services for low- and middle-income people across the region, will be the beneficiary of a fall fundraiser by the Valparaiso service organization Friends Assisting Women in Need.

FAWN treasurer June Wilson said the three-year-old nonprofit selected Housing Opportunities for its annual fundraiser because "they fall right within our goals" of housing and education for women and children in need.

FAWN raised $16,000 for domestic violence shelter The Caring Place last year and is aiming at $20,000 for Housing Opportunities with a September dinner and fashion show.

Housing Opportunities, which started out under the wing of disability services provider Opportunity Enterprises and is now in the process of becoming an independent agency, helps clients become self-sufficient through transitional housing and other services.

Caroline Shook, chief operations officer for Housing Opportunities, said the agency was particularly appropriate to partner with FAWN since women head up 90 percent of the households in Housing Opportunities' transitional housing.

Besides help in securing temporary housing, the agency provides the job preparation, skills training and other services its clients need to find and maintain long-term housing, Shook said.

In that way, the agency works to deal with the root causes of what plagues its clients and break the cycle of bad habits and choices, Housing Opportunities President John Seibert said.

To help clients find stable housing, the agency offers training in home purchase and ownership. It also offers loss mitigation counseling and reverse mortgage counseling.

One of the fastest-growing programs is foreclosure prevention. Since its inception in 2000, Housing Opportunities has helped more than 1,000 families, with only four suffering foreclosure, Shook said.

Clients are required to work or attend school at least 40 hours a week, unless a disability prevents it. Their children must also attend school, and any medical problems must be addressed.

Besides operating temporary and rental units, the agency has built 28 houses over the past five years and has five more in the works, Shook said.