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Homelessness Prevention – A new approach for helping families.

“If it weren’t for your help, we would be homeless.”

It is a well known fact that prevention is the best cure. Nowhere is this more true than with homelessness. In 2005, in response to the swelling numbers of homeless families in Lane County, ShelterCare assessed the most effective means of forestalling the personal and societal costs of this growing crisis. A key realization of that assessment focused on the fact that 20% of the families who called in search of emergency housing were still housed. Enter the Homelessness Prevention Program (HPP). Initiated in 2006, HPP responds to almost-homeless families with a comprehensive blanket of services and minimal financial assistance to keep them in their current living situations. Our staff provides families with education and support, including landlord mediation, referrals to long-term community resources, and the development of a financial plan including a wide-ranging budget that accounts for housing cost and debt priorities. 

Thanks to private funding from foundations and individual supporters, this initiative has been able to grow to reach 120 families annually. This cost-effective program, which typically costs less than $1,000 per family, reflects a savings of $5,000 per family when compared to the cost required to shelter and re-house that same family. Not included in this are the intangible costs associated with the trauma of homelessness and its effect on the cognitive and physical development of children. One of our families summed up their experience by saying, “If it weren’t for your help, we would be homeless. We would have lost everything, including our cats, whom we love a great deal. ShelterCare has literally saved us from this horrible outcome.” Thanks to supporters like you, we are ensuring that even the most vulnerable members of our community have the opportunity to be in a home for the holidays.

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A Day at the Garden Place Program

“Garden Place provides a secure, home-like residential setting for 12 adults.” 

Sylvie is a beautiful 30-year-old with a past full of tragedy. The survivor of abuse suffered from dizziness, headaches, hearing voices, anxiety and paranoia that progressed in severity until one day she was found walking into traffic, unaware of where she was or what she was doing. After a few months of hospitalization, Sylvia arrived at ShelterCare’s Garden Place, diagnosed with schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder. Setting itself apart from many of our programs which provide relatively independent living situations, Garden Place provides a secure, home-like setting for 12 adults. The noncompulsive nature of Garden Place fosters a warm, non-judgmental atmosphere in which all the consumers feel free to be themselves, and to grow and progress at their own pace. Sylvie found a safe, inviting, yet controlled environment where her severe and disabling symptoms could be managed.

An average day at Garden Place includes community meals, group activities such as walks, craft circles, and cooking groups, and quieter time for residents to read, keep journals or watch TV. Each morning, residents
are invited to participate in a community meeting to talk about their own feelings and goals as well as to discuss matters of general concern. Learning to live in community and set personal goals are key steps in the journey of rebuilding the confidence, skills and hope that are critical to their future success. At Garden Place, Sylvie says “I have found the emotional support I need.” Currently enrolled in classes and with hopes for employment, Sylvie
plans to be able to move out on her own, and looks forward to the day when she will be a peer advocate so that she may help others as she has been helped.

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ShelterCare’s Afiya Apartments : Affordable Housing In Springfield

“The Afiya Apartments represent a huge investment in Springfield”

ShelterCare’s new apartment building, Afiya Apartments, opened in June with a ceremony joined by officials from the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), State and local leaders, and community partners.“The Afiya Apartments represent a huge investment in the city of Springfield,” said Susan Ban, Executive Director of ShelterCare, “and begins to fill a huge need for affordable housing for vulnerable members of our community.”

Completed in June, the development on Main Street in Springfield features 16 one-bedroom apartments for low-income individuals with psychiatric disabilities. Three of the units are wheelchair accessible. Residents benefit from 
supportive services, including case-management counseling, skills training and medication monitoring. Primarily funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and with substantial contributions from the state of 
Oregon and city of Springfield, the Afiya Apartments project represents a $2.5 million investment in the Springfield community and in our community’s solutions to homelessness. The project serves as the first phase of a planned urban village between Springfield’s redeveloped downtown and nearby residential areas.

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ShelterCare’s The Inside Program: Reducing the Burden on Community Services

In 2006, ShelterCare implemented The Inside Program (TIP) to provide stable, long-term housing for homeless individuals diagnosed with psychiatric disabilities. The design of TIP was inspired by the Housing First model, which prioritizes providing stable housing to individuals with psychiatric disabilities. Once stabilized, case management support helps clients reduce their consumption of high-cost community services and improve their quality of life. 

Once TIP participants have secured their housing, they are able to work toward resolution and management of the conditions that led to their homelessness. To effectively gauge the success of the program, ShelterCare conducted an analysis of the usage of high-cost community services by TIP clients. As evidenced by the charts below, with stable housing and the extensive case management provided by ShelterCare, the use of high-cost community services by TIP clients was dramatically reduced. 

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Walmart Foundation Gives $25,000 to Support the Emergency Services Program

On July 29, ShelterCare gratefully received a grant for $25,000 at a barbecue hosted by our Family Housing Program. David Fuller, a representative of the Walmart Foundation Oregon State Giving Program, presented the program with the check for general support of ShelterCare’s services for families with children who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness.The food was generously provided by the congregation of Central Presbyterian Church, which has been a long-time supporter of ShelterCare. Family Housing Program Manager Char Hall looks on. Many church members were there to help serve the food and spend time getting to know residents of the program.“With more families than ever facing the prospect of homelessness, this grant from the Walmart Foundation’s Oregon State Giving Program is most welcome,” said Susan Ban, Executive Director of ShelterCare.

To read the full newsletter click here. 

Afiya Apartments Groundbreaking Ceremony | July 07, 2010, 10:30 A.M.

At 10:30 a.m. on July 07, the construction of ShelterCare’s Afiya Apartments will  officially commence with a groundbreaking ceremony. Officials from the US  Department of Housing and Urban Development and representatives of Senators Wyden and Merkley will inaugurate this $2.5 million federal investment in 16 apartments for low-income adults, who have been chronically homeless and are diagnosed with a psychiatric disability.

As with all of our residential programs, the Afiya Apartments will help our clients achieve independence and success, by offering supportive one-on-one counseling, job skills training, socialization opportunities, and help in managing their overall health as they progress towards stabilizing their housing. The apartments will be located at our Brethren Housing site in Springfield (1062 Main Street, Springfield).

To read the full newsletter click here.