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This Community Newspaper is a weekly publication of Escambia Santa/Rosa Bar Association Page 1 Vol. 15, No. 29 VISIT THE SUMMATION WEEKLY ONLINE: www.esrba.com July 21,2015
4 Pages
90 Works By Josh Newby
When members of the community fall on difficult times, the trauma of losing a job, a house or unexpected medical bills can often leave them feeling lost and unable to take the steps necessary to getting back on their feet. When that happens, various federal, state and local programs are there to help, but the individual may be unaware of the assistance or unable to reach out. Thankfully, 90Works, formerly Families Count, is there to coordinate a variety of resources to help people secure employment, get housing, find a healthcare provider, and move away from dangerous situations, all within just 90 days. “90Works created a social service model that has the vision to help customers move from in -crisis and thriving to safe, stable and thriving,” said Cate Jordan, executive director of the non-profit organization. “And, 90Works values everything it takes to be self-sufficient: housing, income/employment, transportation, health, safety and support.” The outreach’s setup is unique: leveraging their social workers’ ties to the community, 90Works, is a collaborative model that gives its employees a degree of autonomy to weave together solutions from different agencies in the community. “So, our partners include the EscaRosa Coalition on the Homeless, the Veterans Administration (HUD-VASH), Area Housing Commission, CEII, Escambia Community Clinic, and Department of Corrections,” said Jordan. 90Works boasts a 90 percent success rate of getting people self-sufficient within three months. The team also collects data on clients six months and a year after completion of the program, to ensure they are still doing well and turning their life around. One of the main reasons for 90Works’ success is their self-sufficiency model, which takes a holistic approach and focuses on all areas of an individual’s wellbeing, including employment/income, transportation, health, safety, support, and housing, which Jordan considers to be the most challenging problem facing the disadvantaged. “The 90Works’ model is a housing first approach because we believe that without a roof, no one can be expected to be self-sufficient,” said Jordan. “Housing requires an income, and without a shower and a place to stay organized, no one can get up everyday and be present and productive at work.” According to most banking and lending organizations, housing expenses like rent or mortgage should account for about 30 percent of household income. Therefore, for someone making around $12,000 or $13,000 a year, they can afford just $315 per month for housing. It is next to impossible to find apartments to rent for even double that amount. For the extremely poor in Escambia Country, the only option is public housing via the Area Housing Commission, but there is a two-year wait for that. “This leads to serial homelessness because when too much of the income is spent on rent and utilities, households are forced to use emergency assistance repeatedly, don’t have enough money for transportation and work related expenses and even worse, cannot provide for their children, which leads to foster care,” said Jordan. Through relationships with landlords in the community, 90Works to able to convince management in housing complexes and apartment buildings to go out on a limb for the poor among us. 90Works also helps with first month’s rent and deposit. To qualify for this assistance, there are some eligibility requirements. Individuals must be at 30 percent or below the annual median income in Escambia County, which is $42,000. Therefore, a household must make $12,600 or less to qualify. This often includes homeless veterans, high-risk pregnant women and families involved in the child welfare system. Once they have a home, they are able to find work, the next step in the self-sufficiency model. (continued page 3)