Everything We Offer, All in One Place
Desert Housing Opportunity & Advancement is more than a housing provider. We are a resource, a training ground, and a community partner. This page walks you through every tool, service, and resource available on our site so you can find exactly what you need.
As a nonprofit organization, every purchase you make goes directly toward building more safe housing environments for more individuals in need.
What You Will Find Here
Each section of our website serves a specific purpose. Here is a detailed look at what each area offers and who it is designed to help.
Outreach Portal
Real-Time Bed Availability
Our outreach portal gives contracted partners direct visibility into which DHOA homes have available beds. Each facility is listed by type, location, and current capacity. Rooms are set up with two beds each, and the portal shows exactly how many are open at any given time. If you are a case worker, probation officer, VA representative, or social worker with a referral, the portal lets you identify the right placement without phone calls or guesswork.
Placement Assessments
Know What They Need Before They Arrive
Before any individual is placed in a DHOA home, the referring organization completes a thorough assessment directly on our website. The assessment covers medical needs, mental health history, mobility, daily living abilities, dietary requirements, emergency contacts, and personal preferences. Once completed, the system generates a branded PDF report that the individual hands to the house manager on arrival. This means the house manager already knows exactly what that person needs from day one. No surprises, no gaps in care.
One-on-One Training & Consulting
Build Your Own Organization With Expert Guidance
For those who want hands-on guidance building their own nonprofit housing organization, DHOA offers private 45-minute consulting sessions at $160 each. Ryan and Elexis work directly with you to map out your structure, walk through licensing, help you find rental properties, develop your programs, and avoid the mistakes that cost most new organizations years of lost time. Every consulting session is backed by the same knowledge found in our book series, but tailored specifically to your situation, your market, and your goals.
Community Resource Library
Help for Everyone, Not Just Our Residents
Whether or not we are able to place someone in one of our homes, we believe in making sure no one walks away empty-handed. Our community resource library lists over 80 verified Arizona programs for food assistance, clothing, job training, free workshops, healthcare, mental health services, substance abuse treatment, veteran services, legal aid, utilities assistance, transportation, and more. Every listing includes contact information and instructions on how to apply.
Certifications & Staff Standards
The Standards Behind Our Care
DHOA maintains every certification and license required by the State of Arizona and federal agencies to operate our housing programs. Our staff standards page details the training requirements, conduct expectations, and professional qualifications for every team member across each house type. We believe transparency builds trust, and we want our partners and the families we serve to know exactly what standards we hold ourselves to.
Work With Us
Join the DHOA Team
We are always looking for compassionate, dedicated individuals who want to make a real difference. Our careers page allows you to submit an inquiry about joining the DHOA team. Whether you are experienced in social services, healthcare, property management, or simply have a heart for helping others, we want to hear from you.
Want to Build Your Own Organization?
Our books give you the knowledge. Our consulting gives you the strategy. Ryan and Elexis work directly with aspiring nonprofit founders to map out every step of building a housing organization that actually works.
45 Minutes
Focused, one-on-one sessions tailored to your specific situation and goals
$160 Per Session
Every dollar goes toward building more safe housing for individuals in need
Expert Guidance
From licensing and rentals to donors and staffing, we cover it all
Not sure if you are ready? Take our free assessment first to find out.
15 Books. Every Answer You Need.
Written by Ryan Hanks and Elexis Tarango and published by ManZel Publishing, this series covers every aspect of building and operating nonprofit housing programs. Each book is available as a digital download.
100% nonprofit. Every book purchase goes directly toward building more safe housing environments for individuals who need a place to call home. When you buy a book, you are not just gaining knowledge. You are helping someone find shelter.
Second Chance Housing
Starting a Second Chance Halfway House
A complete roadmap for launching a second chance halfway house from the ground up. Covers finding rental properties, licensing requirements, building referral partnerships with courts and probation offices, creating house rules, managing residents, and securing funding through grants and donors. Written for anyone who wants to give people a real shot at rebuilding their lives.
The House Manager's Handbook
The day-to-day operations manual every house manager needs. Covers conflict resolution, enforcing house rules with compassion, managing curfews, handling relapses, building accountability, scheduling, documentation, and creating a culture of respect and progress within the home.
From Resident to Independent
A hands-on workbook designed for residents themselves. Walks through budgeting basics, job readiness, building credit, finding permanent housing, setting personal goals, and developing the daily habits that lead to lasting independence. A practical tool that house managers can use with every resident.
Building Partnerships with Courts & Reentry Programs
How to establish and maintain referral pipelines with the justice system. Covers writing MOUs, presenting your program to judges and case workers, building trust with probation departments, and positioning your homes as a reliable placement option for individuals reentering the community.
Veteran Assistance Living
Developing Veteran Assistance Living
Everything you need to know about creating housing specifically for veterans. Covers VA program requirements, per diem funding, working with veteran service organizations, designing spaces that support healing, and building a program that honors the service of those who served our country.
Navigating VA Benefits for Housing Providers
A deep guide into SSVF, HUD-VASH, GPD grants, per diem programs, and how to get your homes approved and funded through the VA system. Breaks down the application process, compliance requirements, and how to maintain your standing as an approved provider.
Trauma-Informed Care for Housing Staff
A training manual on PTSD awareness, military culture, communication styles, triggers, and how to create an environment that respects service while supporting healing. Essential reading for every staff member working with veteran residents.
The Veteran Peer Support Model
How to recruit, train, and integrate veteran peer mentors into your housing program. Covers the power of shared experience, structuring peer support sessions, setting boundaries, and building a brotherhood and sisterhood within the home that accelerates recovery.
Assisted Living
Creating an Assisted Living Facility
A step-by-step guide to launching a home-based assisted living facility through the rental model. Covers state licensing, staffing requirements, care plans, working with families, daily operations, and how to create a warm, dignified environment for elderly residents in a residential setting.
Family Communication & Expectations
How to build trust with families from the first phone call through ongoing care. Covers setting realistic expectations, handling difficult conversations about declining health, managing family dynamics, providing regular updates, and maintaining transparency that keeps families confident in your care.
Medication Management & Daily Care Protocols
Practical guide on medication schedules, documentation, working with pharmacies, when to escalate to medical professionals, and staying compliant with state regulations. Includes templates for daily care logs, medication tracking sheets, and incident reporting.
Activities & Engagement Programming
How to keep residents mentally and socially active in a smaller home setting without the resources of a large facility. Covers activity planning, cognitive stimulation, physical movement programs, community outings, and creating daily routines that give residents purpose and joy.
Organization Building
The Donor Development Playbook
Goes deep into funding your nonprofit housing program from zero. Covers grant writing, corporate sponsorships, community fundraising events, recurring donor programs, building a donor CRM, and telling your story in a way that opens wallets and hearts.
Hiring, Training & Retaining Staff
Recruitment strategies, interview questions, onboarding checklists, ongoing training schedules, performance reviews, and how to keep good people in a field with high turnover. Covers everything from posting the job to building a team culture that staff want to be part of.
Scaling Your Housing Nonprofit
How to replicate your model, manage multiple properties, build middle management, maintain quality across locations, and grow without losing your mission. The playbook for going from one home to ten and beyond.
Placement Assessments
Our online assessments are designed for referring organizations to complete before placing an individual in a DHOA home. The system generates a branded PDF report that serves as a complete intake document for the house manager.
Veteran Placement Assessment
Covers military service history, VA benefits status, mental health and PTSD screening, substance use history, physical health, mobility, daily living abilities, social support network, employment goals, and personal preferences. Generates a complete PDF report for the house manager.
Start Veteran AssessmentAssisted Living Placement Assessment
Covers medical history, current medications, cognitive status, mobility and fall risk, personal care needs, dietary requirements, behavioral considerations, social preferences, family contacts, and advance directives. Generates a complete PDF report for the house manager.
Start Assisted Living AssessmentEvery Action Builds a Home
Whether you purchase a book, book a consultation, refer someone to our homes, or simply share our community resources with someone who needs them, you are part of the mission. As a nonprofit, every dollar we receive goes directly toward creating more safe housing environments for individuals who deserve stability, dignity, and a real second chance.