The Road Home (IHN) Bulletin
Immanuel will host families from The Road Home the fol-lowing weeks in 2011:
November 6-13
Immanuel will again host the families from the Road Home the week of November
6-13. If you are interested in using the blessings
God has given you to be a blessing to those who don't have a place to live,
please contact Shirley Susan or Pastor Krystowiak or A sign-up board is in the
church narthex. Your help is needed to fill the various shifts:
· Dinner prep/serving - 5:00 - 7:00 pm
· Early evening/activities - 6:30 - 8:00 pm
· Overnight - 8:00 pm - 7:00 am
· Sunday, Nov 6th room set-up - after nurture hour (11:30 am)
· Sunday, Nov 13th clean-up - 7:00 am
· Grocery shopping - for breakfast and lunch supplies
· Laundry - after the week is over
Additionally, a co-coordinator is sought to help schedule volunteers the weeks
Immanuel hosts. Ide-ally, we would like to have four individuals fill this role
so that each individual would be responsible for coordinating the program one
week out of the year.
If you are interested in finding out more about this volunteer position, speak
with Shirley Susan or an-other member of the Board of Social Ministry (Clarice
Gensch, Stephanie Gillis, Ann Grote, Andrea Peter-son).
Did you know?
Contrary to expectations, homelessness actually fell during the recession. According
to a recent report from the National Alliance to End Homelessness, 34,877 fewer
people were homeless in the middle of the recession than at the start. Why?
Because the stimulus package provided significant investment of funds for homeless
prevention and re-housing. And it worked.
At The Road Home, these funds resulted in record rehousing and housing-retention
rates for families. "Jerilyn" and her baby daughter were in our shelter program
during this time. With only W2 income and owing money to a past landlord, Jerilyn
could not find a property owner to rent to them. The Road Home used $500 of
the stimulus funds to pay off her debt to her last landlord so she could be
accepted to an affordable apartment, and $1,000 for her entry costs. Following
this relatively small investment, Jerilyn has been able to maintain housing
for over a year.
However, new projections suggest that homelessness will rise 5% over the next
three years. The economy has not recovered and the unemployment rate is still
high. The number of families in poverty is up and incomes are down. And the
stimulus funding dried up months ago. This means that about 74,000 more people
will be homeless by 2013 unless we can make additional investments to effectively
address the challenges. What will it take to make homelessness a national priority?
You can help by signing up for advocacy alerts through the National Alliance
at www.endhomelessness.org.
-- Rachel Krinsky, MSW Executive Director
The Road Home Dane County formerly Interfaith Hospitality Network
128 E. Olin Avenue, Suite 202
Madison, WI 53713
294-7998 x 302
www.trhome.org
Did you know? Most of the adults served by The Road Home and other homeless
services providers have experienced childhood trauma. This trauma may have occurred
through prolonged or repeated violence, maltreatment, neglect or deprivation
in important interpersonal relationships. Such trauma physically affects brain
development and, if untreated, may lead to impulsive, violent or addictive behaviors,
and anxiety and depression into adulthood. Fortunately, the effects of trauma
can be alleviated over time through safe environments and strong trusting relationships.
"Erika" was raised by her father, an addict/alcoholic. She and her siblings
were often homeless, often went without food, and experienced violent and inconsistent
parenting. Erika has a difficult time trusting anyone and has symptoms of severe
anxiety, depression and PTSD. She was homeless with her own children a year
ago and was accepted into the House-ability program. At first, she only communicated
by calling her case manager, screaming, in a crisis. Over time, however, she
has learned to trust the relationship and has settled into housing stability.
Now Erika is becoming calmer overall, has more patience for her children, and
has begun to ask for help and problem-solve before a crisis point. She is able
to focus on goals beyond the immediate moment and is currently working on enrolling
her daughter in an art program. While we do hold families accountable for program
rules and expectations, staff and volunteers at The Road Home also work hard
to keep in mind that challenging situations or behaviors may stem from a history
of trauma. We ask, "I wonder what happened to that person?" instead of "What
is wrong with that person?" as we determine the appropriate response and offer
assistance.
Rachel Krinsky, MSW Executive Director The Road Home Dane County
Housing & Hope Campaign to reach $4.5 million goal In January, The Road
Home Board of Directors made the difficult decision to close the Housing & Hope
campaign following four years of fundraising and with $875,000 left to go. That
decision meant that instead of an additional fifteen apartments with on-site
case management for homeless families with children, the second phase of this
successful program would have only seven apartments. However, community philanthropist
Mary Burke had other plans after she heard about the decision through her work
as a Madison Community Foundation Board member. "I just can't stand the idea
of moms and kids with no place to go," she said. So she stepped in with a donation
of $450,000 for the campaign - with the condition that The Road Home finishes
all fifteen apartments, for a total of thirty in the program.Meanwhile, the
Eric & Steve Hovde Foundation decided to give an additional $100,000 gift on
top of $300,000 already pledged. Eric D. and Steven D. Hovde created the foundation
in 1998 to assist neglected, abused and vulnerable children. Eric and Steve's
father, Don Hovde, founded Hovde Realty in Madison and the Hovde Foundation
requested that one of the Housing and Hope buildings be named in his memory.
In response to these gifts and Mary Burke's challenge, several major contributors
have generously agreed to extend their pledges. As a result, the Road Home is
now only $85,000 away from reaching the $4.5 million dollar goal and is working
on site selection for phase two. Rachel Krinsky, MSW Executive Director The
Road Home Dane County
Did you know ? The Road Home needs your help to support new families
in the Second Chance Apartment Project. With three new families moving in this
month, we will need six new volunteer mentors to help parents and children reach
their goals. We also need two more congregations who would be willing to furnish
apartments by collecting and delivering gently used furniture from congregation
members.
When "Donna" and her family moved into Second Chance two years ago, she remembers
being both relieved and delighted to see all of the furniture and other items
that that been set up for them. "It was wonderful to feel like somebody really
cared about us and wanted us to have a nice home." The family's mentors were
also genu-inely caring and helpful, getting the kids involved in school and
sports and helping Donna reach some of her goals. The family is completing the
program this month and mov-ing into housing they can afford. They will bring
all of their furniture with them, giving them a great start in their independent
housing. And they'll bring their mentors too! Even though their program obligations
have ended, both the family and the mentors know they want to stay in touch.
If you would like to help a family like Donna's either by serving as a mentor
or by spearheading a furniture drive, please contact Dana Palmer, Second Chance
Case Manager, at 294-7998 x 304.
Rachel Krinsky, Executive Director
New volunteers are needed especially for the early evening and the overnight
shifts. Make it a family affair - bring your kids and do an activity with the
children from The Road Home (6:30 - 8:00 p.m.) or bring your sleeping bags and
have a family overnight at church. To find out more about volunteering, speak
with Deaconess Juanita.
Tours are held at 128 East Olin Ave., Suite 202
Did you know? Families in shelter are in crisis. They
are frightened, exhausted and at their wits' end. They are out of patience.
They are so consumed with meeting basic needs for their children and themselves
that they cannot focus on longer-term goals. This means that vol-unteers in
the IHN shelter program meet the families at the very moment when the families
are least able to be warm, poised, or open to new ideas. The Road Home staff
members, on the other hand, get to watch families grow from this crisis moment.
We get to see them stab-lize, return to their usual capacity, and often blossom.
Lucky us!
Just as an example, volunteers often talk to us about their concerns regarding
parenting. They see parents being harsh with their children, or inattentive,
or simply ineffective, and during the weeks in shelter, despite our parenting
education, they rarely see improvement. So we thought you'd like to know that
thirty percent of our families in housing are actively seeking parenting train-ing
or education - by their own initiative. And sev-enty-five percent are working
on goals related to en-richment, school success or other important assets for
their children. Once housed and secure, parents can look beyond the crisis,
and seek to make things better for the children they love.
"Monica," who just moved into housing said "I don't want to be that parent
who only yells at her kids, but I don't know how to not yell at them. How can
I fix it?" And Tina, whose family has been housed six months explained "When
we're relaxed and not stressed, we can actually enjoy them as kids and not see
them as being stressors. It's like a cycle - if we're stressed, then they stress
us out more and then we yell more. But if we're calm then they're calmer, and
then I don't have to yell. And we're all happier."
Rachel Krinsky, MSW
Thank You From IHN
Dear Friends of Immanuel, On behalf of the families, staff and
board members at the Road Home Dane County, I would like to thank you for your
donation of $1,000.00. Your contribution will enable us to help more Dane County
families with children find stable housing and lead better lives.
Since 1999, The Road Home has effectively served homeless families in collaboration
with faith communities and other partners. Over the years we have grown from
a small start-up shelter to a muti-program agency known for effective work and
excellent outcomes.
Again, we thank you for your support in helping us succeed in our mission.
Sincerely, Rachel Krinsky, MSW Executive Director
New Volunteers Needed to Help Host Homeless Families
Could you give 11/ hours.
Immanuel hosts 3-5 families from The Road Home that week. May volunteers are
needed to be able to provide hospitality to the families. While volunteering
during a dinner shift or an early evening shift takes only 1 ½ hours of your
time, it makes a tremendous difference in the lives of our guest families.
(Overnight volunteers are also needed. The overnight shift goes from 8:00 p.m.
until 7:00 a.m.) Your home cooked meal, your welcoming conversation, your interaction
with the children, all offer the families some relief from the pressures of
trying to find employment and housing, providing for their children's needs,
all the while they move weekly from church to church.
Won't you consider volunteering? A sign-up board is in the church narthex. (Or
speak with Deaconess Juanita or a member of the board of social ministry if
you would like to find out more about volunteering.)
Volunteers are needed to help with the various shifts.
Could you help cook and serve a meal?
Could you help engage the children in activities?
Could you sleep overnight to provide an Immanuel presence?
Could you help with laundry, set-up, or Sunday clean-up?
As a 'host' congregation we open our building to 3-5 homeless families for a
week at a time, four times throughout the year. Families arrive at Immanuel
around 5:30 p.m. each evening, transported by the Road Home van. An evening
meal is served at 6:00 p.m. and after dinner volunteers frequently engage the
children in games or other activities. Families usually retire to their sleeping
rooms (our Sunday School rooms) by 9:00 p.m. and lights are out by 10:00. Guests
are woken at 6:00 a.m. so that they can grab a quick breakfast before the van
returns at 7:00 a.m. (9:00 a.m. on Saturday) to transport the families back
to the Day Center, operated by The Road Home. It is not an easy life.
We are thankful for the many volunteers who open their hearts to the IHN families
and offering hospitality during a difficult time.
All of the staff, board and families at The Road Home.....
give thanks to all of you for your support of The Road Home, the IHN shelter
program and the Housing and Hope campaign.
