It Made Me Wonder. . .

One of our residents died last week.

She was only 27 years old - a beautiful, young mother of a nine month old daughter in a happy relationship with a man who loved her.

She had a heart condition since childhood.

It made me wonder. Did she get the medical care she needed? Did she go to the doctor? Many homeless people don’t have a doctor. They don’t get regular care. They go to the emergency room when they need medical attention.

We’re all stunned at the loss – no one so much as the father of her child. It all happened so quickly. She was here and then in a moment gone.

It made me wonder. Did the stress and trauma of being homeless shorten her life? Homelessness has a profound impact. Over 1/3 of homeless mothers have chronic medical conditions. They have three times the rate of post traumatic stress disorder and 50% suffer from depression.

It made me wonder. Would she have lived longer if she hadn’t become homeless?

- Laura Gray

Not Like Them

Senior Director of Programs and Operations Jeannine Short tells the story of Traci...

Traci and her daughter entered our transitional housing in September 2008. Prior to entering the program, she had a very lucrative career in real estate and was accustomed to providing a stable home for her daughter. When the economy began to turn for the worse and the housing market bottomed out, Traci found herself without an income and the ability to maintain the arguably lavish lifestyle she had become accustomed to. Consequently, with no income, no savings and a delay in unemployment benefits, she and her daughter found themselves without a home.

Upon entering the program, Traci admits she was challenged by the structure of the program. To suddenly be held accountable by someone else after a lifetime of self-sufficiency was more than a struggle for her. Too, viewing herself as “not like them” initially prohibited her from settling in and perpetuated a sense of entitlement. But, despite her best efforts, she struggled for several months to find employment. She was fending off harassing creditors, and as a last straw was turned down for housing due to outstanding debt. She gradually discovered that she was very much “like them”—needing the opportunity to put the pieces back together.

Fortunately, Traci was able to overcome her personal prejudices and begin actively participating in the program. As a result, she was able to find employment, settle over $3000.00 in tax and housing-related debt, obtain a license to sell insurance and move to permanent housing.

- Laura Gray

At the Beginning of the Journey

Family Coach Frenchie Pulluaim shares how a mom used our transitional housing to give her children some stability and security after a year of chaos.

"Carrie and her family came to Community LINC from the City Union Mission Shelter. Carrie lost her job and struggled for a year - moving from family member to family member to friends. She finally decided to go into a shelter to keep her family together. Carrie has been job searching, but stable housing will make it more likely that she will become self sufficient.

Her goals are to gain full time employment and permanent housing. The children are in school and doing well, she is hoping that stable housing will help the children to feel secure and safe."

- Laura Gray

A Hand Up

Federal stimulus funding enabled us to implement a Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-housing program targeted to prevent and quickly end homelessness for families impacted by the downturn in the economy. By definition, if not for this funding, the families served through the program would stay or become homeless.

From HPRP Case Manager Travis Beye:

A couple with four young daughters had been evicted from their home and were living in a homeless shelter. The mother was employed, and the father, who had lost his job due to medical reasons, was recovering and looking for new employment. The couple had located a rental house that would accommodate their family and that was within their budget. They were able to pay the security deposit, but needed assistance with the first month’s rent, after which they would be able to maintain their rent on their own. Their need was urgent, because they were about to reach the end of their allowed stay at the homeless shelter and they did not know where they would go. They also were afraid that the landlord of the house they planned to rent would become impatient and put the house back on the market.

The family met with Community LINC’s HPRP Case Manager to determine their eligibility for HPRP. They qualified for because they were experiencing an episode of homelessness but could also show that, with some assistance to get back on their feet, they would be able to maintain housing on their own.

After working with the landlord to enroll in the program, HPRP made a payment of the first month’s rent, allowing the family to move into a stable home. Realizing that the family had no furnishings for their new home, the HPRP Case Manager was able to work with Church of the Resurrection’s Furnishings Ministry to have beds, tables and chairs, dishes, kitchen items, furniture and even a television donated to the family. Since moving in to their new home in mid-December, the family has been able to follow their budget and maintain their rent and other necessary payments on their own.

- Laura Gray

Paying it Forward

I’ve always described the impact of providing an apartment in our transitional housing as being the gift of as a safe, stable place to live after being homeless, but last month our residents showed what it brings out in them as people.

After the Haiti earthquake, as the residents discussed the tragedy during a class session, one person after another expressed gratitude for having a safe, secure place for their families. That sense of gratitude lead to “what can we do for the people in Haiti.” They collected $161.00 for earthquake relief and are sending it to the American Red Cross.

Having their need for shelter met made it possible for them to see beyond themselves to the needs of others.

Their generosity is inspiring.

- Laura Gray

The Homeless in This Economy

At the end of January, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City published their Low- and Moderate- Income (LMI) populations Survey. It confirmed what we’ve observed among our homeless residents – that it’s taking much longer for them to find jobs, both because there are fewer jobs and because they are competing with more qualified people for low skills jobs.

From the survey: “Unemployment, lower incomes, lack of insurance and poor housing choices were commonly cited factors impairing recovery in the LMI community.”

". . .Survey results suggest that job prospects for the LMI population continued to decline in the fourth quarter, as most respondents reported that fewer jobs were available for LMI workers than in the previous quarter.

Survey comments offered that one factor curtailing job recovery in the LMI community is the employment of relatively high-skilledworkers in the low-skilled jobs that often were taken by LMI workers prior to the recession.

Respondents also reported that many of those finding jobs were earning less pay than before, putting continued strains on household budgets. Respondents observed that the unemployed in the LMI community were remaining jobless for longer periods of time.”

The next survey will be published in April. Hopefully, there will be some signs of the recovery.

- Laura Gray

Success - spdated

I wanted to update you on a family whose story I shared several months ago.

Stephanie became homeless in 2008.

She was unemployed when she came to us from a homeless shelter, but she had been actively looking for a job. She found a position at childcare center and was rapidly promoted to Administrative Assistant and Spanish Curriculum Director.

Stephanie was able to negotiate down and retire $10,000 worth of debt to become debt free by the time she left Community LINC in December. She took advantage of a federally
funded IDA program through USBank that helped her save by providing matching
funds. Her IDA funds can be used to fund her education or homeownership.

While she was here, she got up every morning at 4:30 to study for the LSAT. She wants to become a lawyer and someday a judge. She just took the test.

She also has been accepted into Habitat for Humanity housing and is currently working with NACA, one of Community LINC’s partnering agencies, to finance her new home. Her goal is to raise her son in a home of their own.

Thank you for caring about what happens after someone becomes homeless.

- Laura Gray

Success is in the Eye of the Beholder

Senior Director of Programs and Operations Jeannine Short observes:

We have historically defined success by such factors as the number of life skills classes attended, the amount of money saved, the amount of debt retired, and the number of housing and economic barriers removed. While these are all good measurements of success, we are becoming increasingly convinced that success is really in the eye of the beholder.

Monique and her 3 children entered Community Linc in May 2009 after years of physical and emotional abuse and its resulting cycles of homelessness and instability. Unemployed and extremely unsure of who she was or what she wanted to do, she admittedly got off to a very slow and rocky start. However, after much encouragement and support from her coach, she was able to begin the daunting process of putting the pieces of her family’s life back together. She eventually obtained employment as a Concession Stand Supervisor and began saving money toward her future… for the first time in her life.

Although Monique hit some rough spots during her time at Community LINC and left the program prematurely, she considers her brief journey a success. In her exit interview, she expressed how thankful she was for all that she had gained—namely, her sense of value, self-worth and self-confidence. In addition, she learned the importance of setting goals, taking responsibility for her choices, and putting the needs of her children above her need for (costly) companionship--all of the ingredients for living a life of independence and self-sufficiency.

- Laura Gray

Leaving the Nest

Some observations from Senior Director of Programming and Operations Jeannine Short:

I remember studying in elementary school about the process that nestlings (particularly baby eagles) go through when preparing to leave the nest. Fledging, as it’s called, is the development of the feathers necessary for flight. More generally, however, it is the development of enough independence to leave the nest. Ask any baby eagle, and I’m sure he’d say that the first flight is absolutely terrifying. In fact, in some instances the mama eagle has to actually push the eaglet from the nest. But once the baby catches the prevailing wind, he’s able to soar to a life of independence.

The process isn’t much different for our residents—minus the feathers of course. For many of them, the structure and accountability provided through Community LINC’s Supportive Housing Program has given them the sense of safety and security that they have needed and perhaps secretly longed for. Consequently, when the time comes to leave the program there is often much trepidation.

Admittedly, it is not terribly unusual for a resident to sabotage their program by making choices that could very possibly result in an early and unfavorable exit. After all, being asked to leave and possibly failing is much more palatable for them than choosing to leave and possibly failing.

The converse is the resident who attempts to prolong their program by such methods as missing housing appointments. For this group, however, a gentle nudge is usually all it takes for them to flap their wings and fly. Like the baby eagle, they may initially stay close to the nest with frequent calls and visits to their former coach, but once they catch the prevailing wind they are off and soaring to a life of independence and self-sufficiency.

- Laura Gray

Community as Crime Fighter

Two officers from the Central Patrol Division of the KCMO Police Department visited last week to tell us about a service called Crime Free Multi Housing at KCCrimeFree.com.

Although we’re in the urban core of the city, we have had very few incidents on our campus. The biggest things in the last 3 years were some kids broke a window and stole snacks, a former resident left a window open so that he could come back to sleep in his old apartment, and a yelling match in the parking lot.

We’re fortunate.

The biggest reason for that good fortune is that our families become a community while they are here (and even after they leave). In police terms, the community provides the natural surveillance that helps prevent crime.

They may have never known their neighbors anywhere else they lived, but here everybody knows everybody else and all the children. They attend classes together, their kids play together on the playground, and they babysit for each other. They begin to watch out for each other and for all of the children.

Friendships grow between our families and the volunteers who work with them. We have volunteer budgeters who still meet with the family they worked with years ago. One volunteer takes the child of a former resident when she takes her own kids to do something fun. Another volunteer took the son of a former resident to college.

It has become a community of people who look out for each other. It’s community in the best sense of the word.

- Laura Gray

Dangers of Hypothermia for the Homeless

“The National Coalition for the Homeless has just released its report, Winter Homeless Services: Bringing Our Neighbors in from the Cold, to raise awareness of the dangers and often fatal consequences of hypothermia on people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Seven-hundred people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness are killed from hypothermia annually in the United States. Forty-four percent of the nation’s homeless are unsheltered. From the urban streets of our populated cities to the remote back-country of rural America, hypothermia - or subnormal temperature in the body - remains a leading, critical and preventable cause of injury and death among those experiencing or at-risk of homelessness.”

The report concludes that “The Homeless service providers and governments have the responsibility to protect their homeless citizens through state- and city-wide winter plans and increased shelter availability. An exemplary winter shelter would be open 24 hours each day between October 1 and April 30, regardless of temperature, as well as any other days during the year when the temperature falls below 40o F. It would also admit all homeless people, regardless of sobriety status or past bans, unless they are violent or causing an extreme disturbance.”

Our resident families, thank heavens, are not at risk for hypothermia. They live in their own apartments. But, like most cities, our emergency shelter providers struggle to meet the need when the weather turns cold. The newly formed Homelessness Task Force is tackling similar issues for Kansas City.

- Laura Gray

Another Family's Success Story

The end of last year marked the "graduation" of several families to permanent homes. Our Senior Director of Programming and Operations, Jeannine Short, shared one of those success stories with me this morning.

Jimi and her four children entered our program in March 2008 as a result of prolonged homelessness. Prior to entering the program, the family was living doubled up with relatives. However, when things became too crowded and chaotic, she and her children were asked to leave. With no income, a limited and sporadic employment history and several housing evictions, she was forced to move her family into a shelter.

Motivated by desperation, Jimi made application to Community LINC and was accepted into the program. Upon entering, she immediately set about the task of breaking old patterns, establishing new patterns, learning new skills and positioning herself to adequately provide stable housing and a bright future for her children. She obtained employment at Westin Crown Center, enrolled in Penn Valley’s Business Administration program and retired approximately $3500 in old debt.

More than a year later, Jimi has seen first-hand what diligence and consistency can accomplish. Not only has she successfully completed our program, but she remains employed full-time with benefits, is continuing to work on her college degree, has retired all housing-related debts, and has transitioned to permanent housing.

- Laura Gray

Down But Not Out

Senior Director of Programs & Operations, Jeannine Short, shares...

Teresa, a single mother of four entered our program as the result of foreclosure on the home she was renting. Like other families in similar straits, she made the difficult decision to double-up with relatives though it meant splitting her children among family members who were willing to make room. Overcome by the guilt of being away from her children, however, she began to look at other housing options, but soon discovered that her meager income—barely minimum wage—could not support a suitable housing situation. Determined to increase her income, she enrolled in and completed Pharmacy Tech Training and was almost immediately hired by a local pharmacy. Unfortunately, her hours were drastically cut and, once again, she was barely making minimum wage. Teresa, however, was unwilling to accept defeat. She launched an intensive, no holds barred job search and eventually landed a position with wages that almost doubled what she’d made previously.

Today, Teresa is certainly looking ahead to the future. Not only is she working diligently to remove barriers to permanent housing; but she is, for the first time in her life, amassing a savings, reducing debt and laying a solid and secure foundation for her children. This single mother of four is a testament to the old saying, “I may be down, but I’m not out!”

- Laura Gray

The Power of Giving Thanks

Yesterday I was inspired by a friend. She’s one of the people deeply impacted by the downturn in the economy – the people whose lives have changed dramatically. She and her husband are going to lose their house because his business had to close. She had retired when things looked good and then the bottom dropped out for their business. With her part-time income and the minimum wage job her husband took, they would no longer qualify for their house.

So, why was I inspired?

Because instead of being defeated by what she is losing, she is giving thanks for what she has. She has a husband she loves dearly, her children are healthy, and they have a place to go when they leave their house.

She will be my inspiration forever - to give thanks for the good, while acknowledging the bad.

As bad as this economy has been for so many families, I want to share my thanks for the funding to help families, who like my friend, had to make unforeseen changes in how they live.

We have received funding for the last two years from the William T. Kemper Foundation to provide emergency assistance to families we serve. This year, we received funds from United Way’s United for Hope Campaign to both provide emergency assistance and establish a job services to the families we serve through our various programs. Just last week, we launched our own outreach to more families using stimulus funding to prevent homelessness or rapidly re-house the newly homeless.

And, thanks to all of the individuals, congregations, corporations, civic groups, and foundations that made it possible for Community LINC to provide homes for more than 170 people this year and do outreach to hundreds more.

And, a special thank you to all of the volunteers who keep our mission alive: to the Board of Directors for their contributions of wealth, wisdom and work; to the committee members who help us do a better job in our programs, marketing, fundraising, public policy, human resources, and in managing our property; to “The Guys” from Atonement Lutheran Church who come each week to maintain our facility; to our volunteer Apartment Coordinator; to the congregations and groups who refurbish and furnish our apartments; to the many people who come so faithfully to budget with our families; and to the wonderful souls who work with our children week in and week out. You are a blessing to us all.

- Laura Gray

Success is Relative

Just recently, Community LINC had the opportunity to work with a young mother of three who faced some relatively unique challenges. Although she met the basic criteria for acceptance into the program and successfully fulfilled all of the steps for entry, it wasn't long before we realized that success for Ashley would look different.

True to our mission, we set out to assist her with removing barriers to housing and employment, establishing a savings account, managing her finances, learning new life skills--all of the things necessary for attaining self-sufficiency. But, for some reason, she wasn't moving forward. Despite pep talks and promises to try harder, she just couldn't make any head way. However, during a particular conversation, Ashley stated that she only wanted two things--to feel better inside and to get an apartment for her children.

As a result, Ashley was connected with the necessary services to address her major depression, tormenting fears and significant distrust of people. Within a relatively short period of time, she started to feel better inside and found the motivation to search for and obtain permanent housing.

Though there are many success stories of those who have settled mounds of debt, purchased homes, and realized educational goals, Ashely is equally successful. Why? Because success is sometime relative to the individual. rather than the whole.

- Jeannine Short, Director of Programs

What Happens to the Kids When a Family Becomes Homeless? Part 2

There is a new study published in American Journal of Orthopsychiatry that helps capture what homelessness does to the emotional well-being of children. The study points out that being homeless doesn’t always have a negative impact on a child’s well-being. However, homeless children are at a higher risk because of their experiences. Like other low-income children they have more exposure to violence, and there are stresses specifically related to being homeless (especially in a shelter setting).

There are a lot of negative consequences for children: feelings of stigma, shame, instability, loss (of homes, friends, and possessions), interpersonal abuse, crime victimization and abject poverty.

When there is nothing to counterbalance those experiences, young, homeless children tend to have more depressive, anxious feelings.

It’s reassuring to realize that there are factors that can counterbalance the experience. “Social or family involvement, secure attachments, and positive self-esteem positively affect mental and physical health, and decrease substance use and self-harming behaviors.”

We are very fortunate to have partnerships with two other agencies that make it possible for us to give our families the tools to help the children. Because of those partnerships, we can give children mental health therapy when they need it, and give our parents new tools to become better parents for their children.

The State of Missouri’s Children’s Trust Fund has funded our Children’s Program, including play therapy for the last two years. Just this year, we entered into a partnership with The Children’s Place. They do mental wellness assessments of our youngsters (ages 2-8), therapy for those who need it, and teach parenting classes for the adults.

One of their first comments to me was how excited they were to work with a group of engaged and receptive parents. That’s probably another indicator that the adults who choose to work through our program make a serious commitment when they become residents. They want to change their lives and the prospects for their children. And, with our partners, we’re going to help them try.

- Laura Gray

Chicken or the Egg - When it Comes to Homelessness

We know from the National Center on Family Homelessness that mothers experiencing homelessness struggle with mental health issues.

• They have three times the rate of PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) (36%) and twice the rate of drug and alcohol dependence (41%).
  
• About 50% of mothers have experienced a major depressive episode since becoming homeless.
  

We recently saw the reverse, where depression in a mother living near poverty level contributed to her family becoming homeless.

Paulette and her 3 children entered our transitional housing on October 15, 2009. Paulette’s 4 year old daughter passed away in January 2009 after having an asthma attack. Paulette was depressed and unable to return to work at the same daycare center her daughter had attended prior to passing. Paulette had no savings and very little support from her children’s father. Paulette lost her job and was unable to pay rent which meant she had to move in with her father in his one bedroom apartment with her other two children. Her goals are to obtain employment and work towards eliminating some old debt. Paulette stated Community LINC will be the start she needs to get her life back on track. Her main focus is housing and her mental health.

Her family coach calls depression "the invisible sickness." She sees it in fathers who spiral into depression when they aren’t able to provide for their families. We see it in most mothers.

But, we also see people overcome the impact of depression.

Caroline, a single mother of a little girl, came to Community LINC after a long stint of substance abuse, homelessness, and chaos including depression. While in our program, she maintained her hard won sobriety, became gainfully employed, retired a significant amount of debt and began work toward an undergraduate degree. She more than doubled her wages and no longer relies on public assistance from food stamps. Today, Caroline and her daughter live in a quaint three-bedroom home.

Our mental health therapist works with all of our adults on all of their issues. She counts herself successful when she only hears from a graduate family occasionally after they leave the program. If she hears from them constantly, she feels they haven’t achieved the independence that is our goal.

Happily, she doesn’t hear from Caroline very often. But, this week, Caroline came by to take her out to the construction site for her Habitat for Humanity home. In her lifetime, she’ll have gone from homeless to homeownership.

- Laura Gray

Pulling a Share of the Load

We’ve long been proud of the unique success of our program in ending homelessness for families – over the years an average of 80% of our families leave our transitional housing for a permanent home. About the same percentage DO NOT become homeless again for at least our two year follow-up period.

We always felt that tracking those results was a measure of the independence our families achieve after they have completed our program.

Jeannine Short, our Senior Director of Programs and Operations, just completed a study that revealed another measure of independence and our success in addressing the root causes of poverty. The study covered all of the families that left our program from 2005 through August of 2009. She compared the sources of income at entry and exit.

The results were gratifying.

On average, our families decreased their dependence on public assistance by 46% and increased income they earned by 109%. By becoming taxpayers themselves, our residents are saving the government more than $15,000 per month. That savings will total $180,000 every year.

The increase in income from private sources like wages and child support was even more gratifying. Our families increased the tax base by almost $55,000 per month, or $660,000 per year.

- Laura Gray

Stimulus Funding

We were excited to have a new staff member join us this week. He’s a warm, welcoming guy, but, the best part is that he’s here to reach out to people whose lives have been deeply affected by the economy – those who are newly homeless or at risk of becoming homeless for the first time.

From the National Alliance to end Homelessness: “Homeless programs are about to get a big push in a new direction. They used to focus on providing food and shelter. Now, the economic stimulus package is providing $1.5 billion to prevent people from becoming homeless and to quickly re-house those who do.”

This pool of funding that made it possible to hire our new case manager will give these families respite from the changes that have so dramatically changed their lives and the lives of their children. Our goal is for our case management to help them find needed services and the financial boost they need to remain independent and regain self-sufficiency.

- Laura Gray

Finding Strength

A classic characteristic of women who have been in abusive and controlling relationships is the belief that they are worthless and incapable of surviving on their own. Even when there is no physical abuse, constant subjection to verbal assaults and demeaning mistreatment results in a weakened self-image and little or no confidence. Fortunately, many who somehow find the strength to leave such relationships also find the strength to succeed. Michelle is a wonderful example.

After leaving an extremely controlling husband, whom she solely relied on for care and support, Michelle entered Community LINC. With few marketable skills, a limited employment history, and few personal possessions, she entered the program and immediately began her long and difficult journey toward self-sufficiency. Motivated by her adverse circumstances, Michelle enrolled in and completed a GED program, settled all of her legal issues, obtained more lucrative employment, retired over $2000.00 worth of debt, saved over $3000.00, and moved to permanent housing.

Despite a long history of relying on others, Michelle found her strength and moved from dependence to self-sufficiency!

- Jeannine Short, Director of Programs