CAPITAL REGION GIVES BACK

Victoria Furfaro, Director of Outreach and Advocacy, RISE

By Natalie Moore

November 7, 2025

Photography by Megan Mumford

This story is part of our annual Capital Region Gives Back initiative that honors 10 locals who are making our community a better place. Read up on all of the 2025 honorees and join us on December 2 for the 7th annual Capital Region Gives Back event at Putnam Place.

Victoria Furfaro had been working as a care manager at Transitional Services Association (now RISE Housing and Support Services) for a little over a year when she spotted a sign held by a gentleman sitting on the sidewalk that read, “Too ugly to prostitute—anything helps.” Needless to say, it caught her attention. But while most people would throw the guy a couple of bucks or walk right by, Furfaro was in a position to actually do something meaningful.

“I asked my executive director if I could give him my business card,” she says. “And he showed up at the office the next day.”

That interaction would serve as the catalyst for the creation of RISE’s advocacy and outreach department, which Furfaro now directs. Under her purview, RISE provides advocacy and support for individuals involved in the justice system through the Saratoga Springs Community Outreach Court, provides street-level outreach to populations that typically have difficulty accessing treatment, and operates the city’s only low-barrier, 24-hour homeless shelter. Originally made possible through a private donation, the shelter has operated for two years. At press time, it had funding through December 31, 2025, but RISE was still waiting on a decision from the City of Saratoga Springs regarding the future of the shelter.

While finding funding for a temporary homeless shelter is certainly a major obstacle, Furfaro says finding a permanent location for one has proven even more difficult. “If community members want to get homeless folks off the streets, we need to provide locations to go to,” she says. “But anytime a shelter or low-income housing is brought up, the community comes out in full force against it saying, ‘Not in my backyard, not in this neighborhood.’”

But time and time again, RISE has shown that having shelters and low-income housing works. Case in point:
The man who came into RISE’s office after meeting Furfaro on the street? He’s been housed since 2020.

Natalie Moore

Natalie Moore is the editor of Saratoga Living and Capital Region Living magazines. A native of Ballston Lake, she began her career as an editorial intern at Saratoga Living, and, essentially, never left. In addition to overseeing the creation of the print magazines, she is the main contributor to Saratoga Living After Hours, a Substack newsletter that covers the Spa City’s social scene. In an alternate reality, she is a professional pickleball player.