08/06/2026
We are excited to announce that the Homeless Outreach Support Team (HOST) is joining the Ames Romero House family.
Over the years, HOST has developed an innovative outreach model that brings together professionals from the Ames Police Department, ARCH, Mary Greeley Medical Center, and The Salvation Army to serve our unhoused neighbors wherever they are, including at encampments, the public library, the streets, and throughout the community.
By integrating HOST’s program into Ames Romero House, we are creating a seamless continuum of care. Our hospitality ministry provides a welcoming place where relationships begin, while HOST extends those relationships into the community with specialized outreach, crisis intervention, mental health support, substance use resources, and connections to housing and essential services.
Importantly, the HOST team members will continue serving through their respective employers. Their expertise and trusted relationships remain unchanged. What changes is our ability to work together more effectively under one shared mission.
Each Friday, HOST convenes more than twenty local organizations to coordinate care for individuals experiencing homelessness and other complex challenges. That collaborative approach will continue, ensuring every person is connected with the agencies best equipped to meet their unique needs.
This partnership also strengthens the Ames Warming Place, Story County's overnight emergency shelter during extreme winter weather. Ames Romero House and HOST were instrumental in helping establish this vital community resource, and together we will continue ensuring our neighbors have a safe place to turn during times of crisis.
As we begin this exciting new chapter, we invite you to continue walking alongside us. Together, we are building something greater than any one organization could accomplish alone; a compassionate community where every person is seen, valued, and given the opportunity to flourish.
