LifeWorks 2020 Annual Report
“When you come to us, you become part of the LifeWorks family. I’ve seen youth come into the shelter, move through GED, graduate, go to graduation, get an apartment, and then come back to my office to say, “Hey! I just got hired, I have a job!”. That’s the neat thing about LifeWorks, you see people grow.” Dwan Adams, Intake Specialist | Centralized Intake, 7 years at LifeWorks lifeworksaustin.org
A NOTE FROM SUSAN I am humbled to present LifeWorks 2020 Annual Report. We live in a very different world than we did 12 months ago. LifeWorks has always relied on our ability to pivot our strategy, and the story of last year involves countless acts of compassion and tenacity. This report features some key areas where your investment was put to immediate use, ensuring the care of our community during a sustained crisis, and our continued and significant progress in ending youth homelessness. First, I want to recognize the brave and committed LifeWorks staff who never waivered in ensuring that our Shelter, PORT, Street Outreach, and Youth Resource Center operated with maximum support to youth and young families experiencing homelessness. Additionally, our Diversion, Transitional Living, and Rapid Rehousing teams actually escalated the pace of housing youth in apartments.
In 2020, we assisted more than 283 youth exit homelessness. During some months, we placed more than 40 youth in permanent housing. The trauma experienced by our youth and families was exacerbated by the public health crisis, economic downturn, and the racial injustice in the forefront of our nation and community. Counseling services went remote to help youth and families build their resources and resolve. Peer Support Specialists, Counselors, and our Psychiatric Services responded creatively. One Peer Supporter offered online yoga for stress reduction. Many youth communicated that their Counselor and/or Peer Supporter are essential connections in a time of isolation. We have given away more technology than we could possibly track this year to ensure that connection. LifeWorks clients suffered the worst of the economic decline last year. Our Workforce and Education teams operated at maximum enrollment as youth are striving to move their goals forward. During the peak of the initial crisis, employment among our youth was down to 41%. While it has rebounded to 51%, we have a long way to go to ensure that youth remain on their pathway to self-sufficiency. Where are we with our commitment to End Youth Homelessness? Since the launch of our movement in October 2018, we and our partners have helped 745 youth exit homelessness to permanent housing. This is a stunning accomplishment, and it is a testament to exactly how effective we can be in Austin when we focus, invest, and collaborate to address the suffering of homelessness. I’ll be blunt. We needed money to do what we needed to do to support our youth. We needed to spend it quickly and in new ways. You came through with breathtaking generosity and creativity. Although we had to cancel our annual luncheon, you stepped up to ensure that we not only kept services to youth in crisis, but we actually increased housing access when it was most needed. We could not have done this without your trust and immediate support. What are the challenges in front of us for 2021? The multiple and intersecting crises of last year have certainly re-written our plan to End Youth Homelessness, but they have only bolstered our resolve. Here is what we know. More youth need our assistance; and it will take longer for them to get on their feet. Employing an equity lens is essential. While 8% of Austin’s youth are Black, more than 40% of youth experiencing homelessness are Black. We must address issues of systemic racism.
As I write this, we know that there are 242 youth on the community waitlist for housing. Our goal this year is to support the 300+ youth currently in our Housing programs to self-sufficiency and ensure that all youth waiting for housing can exit homelessness with support and permanence. Our collective compassion and tenacity have resulted in true impact this last year, and it will ensure that we continue to serve, to improve, and to reach our goal of becoming a community that simply will not tolerate youth homelessness.
My thanks to you. Susan McDowell, LifeWorks CEO
FINANCIAL OVERVIEW EXPENSES
REVENUE
Intake & Evaluation 1%
Fundraising 6%
Total Revenue $17,639,528
Housing & Homelessness 48%
Management & General 16%
Grants & Contracts $12,640,613
Counseling 12%
Contributions & Special Events $3,298,373
Education & Workforce 17%
Fees for Services $1,120,149
Other Revenues $65,248
Noncash Contributions $450,248 Investment Income $64,897
Total Expenses $17,768,092 Net Assets* $14,392,808 *As of 9/30/2020
OUR PROGRAMS Housing & Homeless Services
906 clients served through this division
The goal of LifeWorks Housing Services is to provide a continuum of support that will help transition youth from homelessness to permanent housing and independence. •
Street Outreach
•
Rapid Rehousing
Education, Workforce, & Youth Development
995 Served 995 clients served through this division
LifeWorks Education and Workforce Division is focused on developing the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the challenges of adolescence, move toward independence, and break the cycle of poverty.
1,702 clients served through this division
LifeWorks Counseling provides support for individuals and families who are struggling with issues such as family conflict, abuse, trauma, anxiety, depression, and the stress of everyday life. •
Youth & Adult Counseling
•
Diversion
•
•
Resolution Counseling
•
After Care Transitional Services
•
•
Best Single Source Plus (BSS+) Homelessness Prevention
Workforce Development & Supported Education
•
Peer Support
•
Life Skills Training
•
Community-Based Counseling
•
GED & Literacy
•
Psychiatric Services
•
Teen Parent Services
•
Young Parents Program
•
Emergency Shelter
•
Permanent Supportive Housing
•
PORT (Permanency through Outreach & Rapid Transitions)
•
Family Unification Program
•
Transitional Living Program
REAL Talk
Counseling Services
Total number of clients served in Fiscal Year 2020
A Place to Call Home: Donyea’s Story Donyea is planning her life around serving others – something she has a passion for, but recently felt compelled to truly pursue because of the support she’s found at LifeWorks. In early summer of 2019, Donyea and her boyfriend left Galveston to find a better quality of life in Austin. At that time, she was pregnant with her first child, a son who will turn two in July of this year. She and her boyfriend left the Gulf Coast island city with next to nothing; she said she was willing to do anything to avoid her son being born in Galveston, a place where she endured abuse and trauma growing up. They were living in a hotel here in Austin when they arrived. “I’ve been let down so many times in life. I feel like I've been given the short end of the stick so many times,” she said. “I’ve always been the person who helps, and I’ve never looked for help from anyone.” To help her growing family, she began working at a local discount store, but she wasn’t earning enough to maintain their stay in the hotel room. As a result, they were forced to live in their small car, keeping up their hygiene by showering at a local YMCA. Before the end of the year in 2019, Donyea was chatting with a store customer and learned that they were currently enrolled in the LifeWorks Rapid Rehousing program and urged Donyea to call LifeWorks for help. “We made it work,” she said. “At first it was manageable, but when COVID hit, it got kind of rough.” The couple then spent close to a year living in their car, in and out of a hotel room when they could afford it. At that time, her son was just a few months old, and it would be another few months before she would finally connect with Jeff, a LifeWorks case manager. “I was ready to give up, I was at one of the lowest points of my life,” she said. “When Jeff called me, it was like God called me. It gave me hope and it gave me a sense of it’s going to be OK, everything’s going to be OK.” In late 2020, Donyea entered the Rapid Rehousing program and now lives in an apartment in southeast Austin, furnished with items from LifeWorks. She credits her newest case manager, Dylan, with the stability she’s felt since moving into her apartment. Although she has since lost her job due to the pandemic, she says that Dylan sees her as a person and not just a LifeWorks client. “It’s been a long time since people have looked at me as a person,” she said. Now Dylan has helped Donyea to regain the confidence she needed to pursue her dream of becoming a traveling nurse. She’s already completed a phlebotomy certification and is looking to enroll in a surgical technical class to expand her learnings.
“I would’ve never had the courage to go back to school, but with my confidence level now,” she said as she laughed, “you can’t tell me anything. Look out for me!”
LIFEWORKS BY THE NUMBERS, OUR PANDEMIC RESPONSE In 2020, LifeWorks was forced to reimagine the way we provide our services. Here are some highlights from the past year:
COUNSELING
1,702 clients served, all by virtual means.
Counseling programs also provided $19,000 in Basic Needs assistance to meet the hardships of the pandemic.
EDUCATION & WORKFORCE
74 High School Equivalency Students and 112 Life Skills Training clients pivoted to online learning in 2020. HOUSING From March 1 - December 31 there were
900 visits to the Youth Resource Center from LifeWorks clients.
384 youth were
housed in 2020 across all partners in ending youth homelessness.
82%
of these youth were housed through LifeWorks programs.
DIRECT COVID RESPONSE 120 youth who were financially impacted by COVID received Direct Client assistance in 2020 through emergency COVID funding that LifeWorks received from Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation, Texas Methodist Foundation, City RISE, United Way, and FEMA. LifeWorks received a total of $1.3 million in brand new or established funding increases granted due to COVID.
LifeWorks staff contacted 448 clients (via email, text, flyers) to connect them with rent support from the Housing Authority City of Austin.
Data from the beginning of Austin’s stay at home orders in March 2020 to December 2020.
GRANTS & DONATIONS
Gifts of $1000+
A Glimmer of Hope Foundation Acorn Hill Foundation AKA Enterprise Solutions Alamo Community Fund AlertMedia Inc. Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation American Campus Charities Foundation Anonymous Applied Materials Foundation Aquila Commercial LLC Arnold Foundation Austin Community Foundation - Women’s Fund Austin Evergreen Realty, Inc. Austin Relocation Council Laura and James Babineau Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Inc. The Barilla Foundation Christopher Bauer Bill Wood Foundation Adam Blue Lesley and Frederick Bradstreet Sarah Hicks Buss The Campbell Foundation Carl C. Anderson Sr. & Marie Jo Anderson Charitable Foundation Crystal Carlson Donna Carter and Michael Gagarin Cathy and Dwight Thompson Foundation Charles Schwab Foundation Jennifer Claymon and Matthew Marlow Christian Colbert Jonathan Coon Corning Incorporated Foundation Cross Texas Transmission LLC Linda and Charles Cullum Sarah Cunningham Dell Inc. Donna DiCarlo Donald D. Hammill Foundation Ray Donley The Dorothy and Jim Kronzer Foundation Downing & Morano CPAs DPR Foundation Eakman Family Charitable Fund ECG Foundation Ford Motor Company Carol K. Foster
Gregory Friend Mike Frost The Garber Family Foundation Cathy and Mike Godfrey Google Mitchell Green Glenda and William Gregorcyk Harry E. and Eda L. Montandon Charitable Trust Shelby Haurin Haynes-Eaglin-Waters, LLC H-E-B Tournament of Champions Jayleen and Eric Hehman Henry L. Kimelman Family Foundation Kathleen Higgins Elizabeth and Scott Hunicke-Smith Jackson Walker LLP John and Mildred Holmes Family Foundation Joan Kaim Kline Properties Jennifer and Mike Kost KPG Family Foundation Kristin Sullivan Charity Fund Joseph Kroesche Laughlin-Beers Foundation Leaf Landscape Supply Lola Wright Foundation Eileen and Bill Luby Lynne Dobson and Greg Wooldridge Family Fund Debbie Martin and Robert Sullivan Mary Anne and John Hettenhaus Fund Michael Mayer Chris McCaul Linda McDavitt Mary and John McGovern Jeanne and Derrick Meyer Michael and Susan Dell Foundation Mike and Mary Porter Charitable Fund Mission Capital Moody Foundation Kay and John Mooney Myer Family Charitable Foundation Suriyakumar Natarajan Nancy and Michael Ohlendorf Carolyn Jean Oliver Victoria and Brian Ozimek The Pacey Family Foundation PDWC, Inc.
People’s Community Clinic David Perry Liz and Jon Phelan Alessandro Piovaccari James Popp Popp Hutcheson PLLC Powell Foundation PwC Charitable Foundation, Inc. Q2 Reissa Foundation Religious Coalition To Assist The Homeless Sachem, Inc. Karilyn Savage Jay Scheumack SGH Management Company, LLC / Charlotte and Samir Hanna Shanti Foundation for Intercultural Understanding Shepherd of the Hills Christian Church Erica and Brannan Smoot Sooch Foundation St. David’s Foundation The Stahl Family Foundation, Inc. Stand Together Foundation The Starbucks Foundation Ben Stark Candace and Rhett Stone Texas Methodist Foundation Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation Maura and Shawn Thomas Tommie J. Beck Charitable Fund Topfer Family Foundation Jeff Townsend Tres Grace Family Foundation Twelve Rivers Realty United Way for Greater Austin University Christian Church Zoe Wafelbakker Webber Family Foundation Weir Foundation Isabel Welland Karen and Andy White Susan E. White Ron Yaudes and Roger Joughin Zoom Video Communications
2020 Board of Directors Executive Committee Mary Beth Jester
Isabel Welland
Debbie Clark
Tim Mooney
Assistant Secretary
Chair
Susan Moore
Sandra Brown
Meredith Duncan
Jason Belew
Larry Greenberg
Melissa Rowan
Trey Halbert
Michael Hancock
Hannah Schultz
Cloteal Haynes
Trisa Thompson
Members
Matthew Hoglund
Jan Uhrich
Kyle Ali
David Kirchhoff
Harry Wolin
Eddie Blackwell
Shannon Klebart
Sara Canaday
Angie McDermott
Vice-Chair
Jon Armstrong Immediate Past Chair
Ashley Thomas Finance Chair
Glenn Neland Secretary
Dennis Donley
Susan McDowell Chief Executive Officer
As of 3/3/21
LIFEWORKS LEGACY CIRCLE Patti and Andy Adkins Laura Agnew and Hill Abell Mary Ainslie Danielle and Kyle Ali Brad Anderson Jon Armstrong Robbie and Tom Ausley Sharlene and Gene Austin The Barilla Foundation Crystal Barone Beverly Barr Alissa and Shon Bayer Jacob Bear Kim and Jason Belew Melanie Belt and Demetrius McDaniel Danielle and Jared Benson Nancy and Glenn Birnbaum Esther and Edward Blackwell, Jr. Cyndi and Bill Bock Anne and Bud Brigham Lee and Bill Brocklehurst Pam and Jeff Brown Sandra and Kevin Brown Teri and Kevin Brown Lorin and Robert Bryce LuAnn and Anthony Bundrant Jayna and Barry Burgdorf Rosa and Kevin Byrne Peyton and Jon Callahan Sara and Brandon Canaday Allyie and Wes Carberry Mary Sullivan and Greg Casas Castleview Productions Amy Catherine Chibib Deborah and Bruce Clark James "Cinco" R. Cocke, Jr./ Huffman Builders of Central Texas Colin Corgan Michael Craigue and Jason Craft Genevieve and Mark Crozier Suzanne and Louis Danuser Charlyn and Gerald Daugherty Amy Davis Courtney and Adam DeBower Mark Dennon Susan and Dan Dimitrijevic Phylis and Robin Donelson Lori and Dennis Donley, Jr. Lisa and Matt Dow Karen and Pat Driscoll Meredith and Patrick Duncan Shannon and Rich Egan Maureen and Greg Engle Kimberly White Erlinger Patty and Michael Erspamer Tracy and Jeff Faulkner Brad Fluke Kelly and Stephen Freeman Geoff Frink Helen Gaebler and David Adelman Colleen and Rick Gardner/ The Gardner Foundation Shannon Gilmore
Angela and Justin Godfrey Jennifer and Andy Goff Casey and Wade Green Rachel Green Tiffany and Larry Greenberg Betsy and John Greytok Haggerty Family Foundation Trey Halbert Velvet Hammerschmidt Janna and Alan Hansford Mary Kay and Don Hanson Russell Harris Lexi and John Hartigan John Hay III Cloteal Haynes Marty and John Henderson Matthew Hoglund / DPR Construction Kathy and Jim Hopke Pamela and Christopher Hughes Debbie Immel and Dana Weis Beth and Bill Ivers Mary Beth and Dan Jester Allison and Rob Johnson Jennifer Jones Karen Jordan-Markham Tara and Bart Kalsu Tina and Scott Kehm Ali Khataw/ Encotech Engineering Consultants Eileen King David Kirchhoff Shannon Klebart L'Aiglon Foundation Kelley and Jay Lamy Romi and Todd Lessig Almira and Michael Lewis Joe Loiacono Carolyn and Jack Long Jennifer Long Stephanie Lucie Lara Mandy Joi and Rich Martin Elizabeth and Jim Matthews Carol and Steve Mattingly Chrissy and Tim Mattox Karen and Mike May Angie McDermott and Paul Strelzick Mary McDowell and Calvin Lin Susan McDowell and Bob Elder Katherine and Patrick McKinney Valerie and John Meddaugh Meryl and Alan Metni Tim Mooney Susan Moore Susan and Robert Morse Cookie F. Munson Tony Napolillo Orlinda Naranjo Linda and Glenn Neland Amanda and Edward Nevins Nona Niland Amy and Howard Nirken Alyss Noland
Emily and Zach Obront Christy and Phillip Olcese Bebe Olufsen The Pacey Family Foundation Dee and Mel Parker Susan and Roger Parthasarathy Cheryl and Michael Perkins Pamela Phelps Popp Hutcheson PLLC Rebecca and Phil Powers Angela and Mark Pringle Lauren Pyle and Sam Kimelman Peter Reid Shari Wynne and Richard Ressler Lisa Richardson and Lisa Hannusch Denise and Alan Richey Shelia and Jerry Roemisch Diana and Aaron Ross Stephanie Duprie and Todd Routh Melissa and Colin Rowan Sarah Sallis Esteban Sanchez Catherine and Charles Sansbury Brian Scaff Debbie and Jim Schultz Hannah and Chris Schultz Lynn Sherman Marcia and Barry Silverberg Ellen Simpson Denise and Paul Smith Lisa and Fred Smith Connie and Ralph Spagnola Jim Spencer and Edward Flores Chellie Stewart Connee and Kent Sullivan Sophia and Jacob Sutherlun Lisa and Paul Terrill Ashley Thomas Trisa Thompson and Jack Jacobi Marcia Toprac Kelly Truax Melinda and Barry Twomey Jan and David Uhrich Jamie and Greg Varnell Wendy Varnell Family Kristen Vassallo and John Fitzpatrick vcfo Jennifer Vickers Terri and Chris Von Dohlen Julie and Scott Waidelich/ Nest Properties Austin Shawn Walker Pamela and Matt Washburn Susan and Larry Westall Mitch Weynand Laura and David Wieland Diane and Tom Williams Chad Wilson Tracy and Harry Wolin Ellen and Brian Wood Bob Wynn Sylvia and Charles Zeller
To make a donation, visit lifeworksaustin.org/donate
lifeworksaustin.org
“I just love the impact we are able to make with our clients because so many of them face challenges. Becoming housed for the first time [for many of them] can be a very scary experience. Our services are able to help them navigate that with compassion and care and to provide them with what they need so that they can remain stably housed.” Rob Thurlow, Director of Community Based Services, 15 years at LifeWorks Follow Us Online @lifeworksaustin