Virginia Beach native and mother of four, Desiree Latu is a graduate of the University of Nevada Las Vegas and enjoys being active in the Hampton Roads community
As a previous Corporate Sales Manager and currently an Executive Assistant, Desiree has extensive knowledge of the inner working of small businesses In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and pouring into her local community.
Born and raised in West Michigan, Maggie Jo Kassuba is a graduate of Calvin University and mother of three After moving to Hampton Roads with her family more than 7 years ago, she now calls Chesapeake home. As a former Commercial Insurance Broker, Maggie Jo has business experience with small startups and Fortune 500 companies. Maggie Jo loves coastal living and spending time on the water with her family
MOMS ON A MISSION STRIVES TO MINIMIZE THE EFFECTS OF HOMELESSNESS BY ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY IN PROVIDING TANGIBLE RESOURCES TO THOSE EXPERIENCING AND TRANSITIONING OUT OF HOMELESSNESS.
Since our inception in 2018, Moms on a Mission has been an organization that strives to minimize the effects of homelessness on individuals, students and families. Through strategic partnerships in the community, we provide basic living necessities like linens, personal hygiene items, cleaning supplies and cookware These resources meet immediate physical needs while someone is experiencing homelessness, restore personal dignity, and provide a solid foundation as the individual transitions to independent living.
Homelessness doesn't exist in a bubble and neither does Moms on a Mission. It is our hope that the information highlighted in this report sparks excitement for you to join us as we continue to minimize the effects of homelessness on some of the most vulnerable members in our community! For more information and ways to get involved please connect with us!
www.momsonamissionva.org
@momsonamissionva
@momsonamissionvirginia
momsonamissionva@gmail.com
Virginia ranks 30/50 for states with the largest homeless population, reporting 6,529 individuals experiencing homelessness in 2022. There are approximately 992 people that have been identified as homeless in the southeastern area of Virginia that Moms on a Mission serves.
567 students in Virginia Beach Public Schools were identified as homeless under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act in the '21-'22 school year
Homelessness disproportionately affects People of Color in our community, making up 665% of the homeless population in Virginia
*Based on 2022 Point-In-Time data provided in to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Moms on a Mission has developed a strategic partnership with 9 emergency shelters and local organizations to provide resources on a monthly basis to individuals experiencing and transitioning out of homelessness.
Households Items
cleaningsupplies,cookware, laundrydetergent, personal hygieneproducts
MISC
Misc Needs needsthatarisedueto individual/familyspecific livingarrangements
Infant Resources carseats,portablecribs, diapers,clothing,babycare essentials
Partner Shelters
basicessentialsforfamilies transitioningoutof emergencyshelters
Please visit our website, www.momsonamissionva.org for more information and ways you can get involved in solving the problem with us!
Moms on a Mission is proud to partner with the following emergency shelters and local organizations that are committed to bringing positive change to our community through the support of those experiencing and transitioning out of homelessness.
Moms on a Mission could not continue the important work of minimizing the effects of homeless without the ongoing support of our generous community partners! For a list of Moms on a Mission supporters in our community, please visit our website, www.momsonamissionva.org/community-partners.
with our community partners, Moms on a Mission works diligently to develop and produce meaningful resources for those experiencing homelessness. These resources provide for immediate needs, create personal independence and a solid foundation for transitioning to independent living
We are proud to have provided the following resources for distribution through our community partners in 2022.
The Welcome Home Basket is Moms on a Mission’s flagship resource and consists of a laundry basket full of household essentials, linens and towels, cleaning supplies, and personal care supplies. Think of it as a home starter kit.
The Welcome Home Backpack is full of essentials and personal care items specifically for kids. These backpacks are ideal for kids moving with their family into their own housing or for kids coming into emergency housing for the first time. They meet immediate needs and give kids something to call their own, in some cases for the first time in a child's life
Community Cares Packs are a condensed version of our larger baskets filled with personal care items needed while in shelter. They are perfect as a welcome gift for families/individuals entering emergency housing for the first time or to resupply essentials for extended stays.
Personal Care Kits are small, on-the-go kits filled with personal care items for those visiting an emergency shelter for daily services like showering and meals. They provide single use essentials for personal care in a zippered bag for future use in storing personal items.
2022 brought with it so many new and exciting opportunities to serve the homeless community and engage additional partners and supporters in the community! Our partner shelters continue to work diligently to help place residents in independent housing and through new programs, products and partnerships Moms on a Mission was able to reach more people experiencing homelessness in 2022 than ever before!
Hampton Roads received an unexpected 6-10 inches of snow in early January, and Executive Director Maggie Jo Kassuba, never one to back down from a challenge for a good cause, was challenged to take the plunge for monetary donations to Moms on a Mission By early afternoon, more than $400 had been donated and Maggie Jo and a few brave souls plunged into the icy water!
Doing big things takes a lot of support, and our Hampton Roads community showed up big this year! April 2022 marked the launch of our first Capital Campaign. In additional to grant and private donor support, Moms on a Mission solicited financial support from local community businesses Ready to support their community, more than 30 businesses participated in the campaign, raising over $60,000!
Increased demand for our products from our partner shelters and new community donors left us bursting at steams (a great problem to have)! Moms on a Mission was able to acquire an additional storage unit to house completed products before distribution as well as additional donated items to be assembled into our products. We started with one shelf in the back of a garage in 2018, and we are so thankful for the extra space and the ability to provide so many more resources to those experiencing homelessness in our community!
Virginia Apartment Management Association (VAMA) hit it out of the park this year with their summer drive to collect household and hygiene essentials 91 apartment communities in the association participated and restocked our shelves with so many items we had to temporarily rent additional storage space! Property management companies within the association also contributed $7,750 to further support Moms on a Mission! As a new community partner, Moms on a Mission looks forward to an ongoing partnership with VAMA and all their members in the coming year!
Based on feedback from our partner shelters, there was a need for an effective and easily distributable personal care resource for day guests utilizing shelter services like showers, laundry and meals After a few trials and content tweaks, Moms on a Mission added Personal Care Kits to the resources it provides on a monthly basis. These kits include single and short-term use hygiene items in a small, reusable, zippered tote. These kits are easy to store and are a great grab-n-go option for shelter staff to distribute to day guests.
Many new groups joined the mission by providing items to fill our Welcome Home resources and helped assemble them so they were ready for monthly distribution.
Check out a few below!
Being a mom takes a lot of time and energy, especially when your family is experiencing homelessness. So, to show some extra love this Mother's Day, Moms on a Mission partnered with The Restored Woman and other women in the community to provide nearly 100 gift baskets to moms experiencing homelessness at our partner emergency shelters.
Every summer Grace Bible Church hosts a week long day camp where attendees have tons of fun, learn about how much Jesus loves them and participate in an outreach project in the community This year's theme was "MONUMENTAL" and the nearly 600 children attending Summer's Best Week were challenged with a monumental goal of filling 150 Welcome Home Backpacks for children in the community transitioning out of homelessness. They blew past their goal and filled 162 backpacks! Their impact was truly a Monumental blessing to Moms on a Mission and their community this summer!
What better way to get ready for a new school year than making sure all your basic needs are met? Moms on a Mission was invited to be a participant at Virginia Beach City Public School's annual Jump Start event for students across the district who were experiencing homelessness or significant hardship We were able to provide 280 Welcome Home Backpacks of personal care items and 150 bottles of laundry detergent to elementary students and their families to help make sure they started the new school year clean and healthy!
For the third year, Moms on a Mission was the community outreach partner for IKEA's annual Halloween drive thru experience. Cars drove through for hours while kids received treats from local vendors and a popper keychain from Moms on a Mission As they drove through participants donated personal care items to help fill our Welcome Home products for the remainder of 2022!
Leading up to the holiday season in November and December, Moms on a Mission launched our 2nd annual giving initiative to engage local groups and children in giving back to their community. Each group filled Welcome Home Backpacks that Moms on a Mission distributes to children experiencing homelessness in Hampton Roads. We had many new faces joining the initiative this year including a youth group, Brownie Troup, neighbors, extended families, game clubs, office co-workers, and more! We're so thankful for all who participated this year in providing 85 Welcome Home Backpacks! We are excited for our 3rd annual "Thankful to Help" campaign in the Fall of 2023!
2022 was the year we broke all annual total records for each of our resources! One of the highlights was delivering our 300th Welcome Home Basket in November. This specific basket went to a new partnership we have with the Virginia Beach Housing Resource Center and was distributed to a family in their on-site housing program as they transitioned to their own living arrangements. Tremendous support from the community has made exciting milestones like this possible in 2022!
We plan to partner with additional local corporations to provide funding for ongoing operations and the creation of new resources to best meet the current needs of the homeless community.
We plan to continue providing regularly scheduled events that get kids and families involved in giving back to those in need in the community.
We plan to continue our responsiveness to the ever-changing needs of those experiencing homelessness in our community and to develop creative programs to help meet those needs.
We plan to partner with local organizations to provide completed products on an ongoing basis to meet our current monthly delivery schedule and partner with additional shelters, expanding our impact in Hampton Roads.
