Willis Dady Homeless Services - Spring 2017 Newsletter

shelter&stability News from Willis Dady Homeless Services

Spring

2017

Exciting News About Willis Dady

We need your help to reach $3 million to expand space and services. Our current total is now $2,061,197!

In this year of our 30th anniversary, we are excited and proud to tell you about the future of Willis Dady Homeless Services.

We are undertaking a $3 million capital campaign to renovate and expand our shelter at 1247 4th Ave SE. The announcement was made by Board President Sam Jones on March 22 at a gathering of donors and campaign volunteers held at Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Loyal support from you and other donors has enabled us to grow from our shelter-only beginnings to fight homelessness on several fronts: Case management, homeless prevention and services to homeless veterans.

Every day, we are guided by a vision of empowering clients to break the cycle of homelessness and become self-sufficient.

But even though considerable homeless services exist in our wonderful community, men and families (including children) still fall through the cracks and are not being served.

Critical gaps in service can be closed through a shelter renovation and expansion. After more than five years of very careful planning, and a quiet phase seeking leadership gifts, more than $2 million has been raised thus far. This includes a $1 million challenge match from the HallPerrine Foundation, $250,000 from CRST and the John and Dyan Smith Family and $200,000 from Aegon Transamerica Foundation.

More than adding walls, this project is building lives firmly rooted in community.

“When people feel at home, and they feel like they have a safe place, they’ll invest in other parts of their lives: Their health, children, families and the wider community,” says Phoebe Trepp, executive director. “All of that comes when you know this is your home, your community, versus when you’re always in transition.”

We’re proud, excited and deeply humbled by the generous support pledged thus far. But we know the last one million is always the hardest to raise and we truly need your help to reach our goal.

Willis Dady Homeless Services Board of Directors Sam Jones, President Sam Bergus, Vice President John Oates, Secretary Stephanie Harris, Treasurer

Al Fisher Jim Koch Kayla Lyftogt Dave McInally

John Oates Joy Newhouse Mike Schulte Janet Slimak

Gisele Tallman Jason Vestweber Phoebe Trepp, Executive Director

Our campaign addresses the following needs: 

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Accessibility — improve the shelter for those with mobility-related disabilities. Anyone using a wheelchair or a walker cannot currently access our facility.

Family Stability — develop four more family units.

This will allow us to keep more families off the street.

Homelessness is especially traumatic for children.

Employment — add a room for men who work overnight, third-shift jobs. Homeless men should not have to choose between a job and a safe place to sleep.

Long-Term Stability — create four efficiency apartments for those who are repeatedly homeless due to very low income and other barriers. This is the most cost efficient way to solve homelessness for people who struggle with housing stability.

Increased Safety — dig a basement to serve as a storm shelter. There is no on-site storm shelter in our facility.

Work Space — bring all employees under one roof to more efficiently serve clients and add private spaces for confidential client meetings.

Financial Stability — through an endowment to sustain the shelter long term.

They gave me hope when I had started giving up. Once I saw the love and respect they have for people still, it gave me something to fight with.

-James Brown, former Willis Dady client speaking at the campaign kickoff

Help us reach our $3 million goal so more people can go from shelter to stability.

Visit willisdady.org/campaign    

Watch our video Read our case statement Donate to the campaign Become a campaign volunteer

Every gift matters. We welcome one-time payments as well as pledges over a three-year period.

Please provide support directly to Willis Dady or to our endowment at the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation. If we can raise $75,000 toward our endowment, the foundation will award us $25,000.

Gifts to the endowment are eligible for an Endow Iowa tax credit.

Thank you in advance for helping us bring more people from shelter to stability.

For information about naming opportunities and memorials in the new building, contact Lisa Williams: development@willisdady.org or 319-362-7555.

National Volunteer Week April 23-29 is National Volunteer Week, and we’re excited to thank our amazing volunteers.

Since August 2016 we’ve had 87 new Our volunteer recognition mural. volunteers and nearly 2,700 volunteer hours! We have receptionists, videographers, organizers, overnights, and so many more!

We’ve had volunteers nominated for awards and others featured in the news. Volunteers are a valuable part of Willis Dady, and we’re grateful for them! If you’d like to join the team, contact Holli at volunteer@willisdady.org.

Give to

VOLUNTEER

wdhs

Please contact Holli at (319) 362-7555 or volunteer@willisdady.org for more information.

Overnight. Help us save $120 per night by volunteering overnight. Volunteers are able to sleep during their shift.

Sunday Meals. We’re looking for groups or individuals to provide Sunday noontime meals for 25-30 shelter clients.

Skilled Positions. Help us with specific projects such as maintenance, HR, marketing, and other specialized roles.

ThankYou Special thanks to some of those who have recently given to Willis Dady: Van Meter Rockwell Collins ITC Holdings University of Iowa Community Credit Union Woodruff Construction Giving Tree Theater

Lynch Ford Chevrolet Cedar Rapids Area Association of Realtors Veridian Credit Union Farmers State Bank Coe College Lamar

Thank you to the following Capital donors: The Hall-Perrine Foundation Aegon Transamerica Foundation CRST International John and Dyan Smith Family Cargill Dupont Industrial Biosciences Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation The Jared & Carol Hills Foundation

RSH Legal UFG Insurance Willis Dady Board of Directors Willis Dady Employees And many others! — A full list will be shared at the completion of the campaign

Hops for Housing was a big success!

We sold 400+ tickets and raised almost $14,000!

DONATE Financial  Donate online via PayPal at willisdady.org/donate.  Mail checks (payable to Willis Dady) to 1247 4th Ave SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52403.

Goods  Visit willisdady.org/donate or contact Denine at (319) 362-7555 for our current needs.

Endowment Please contact the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation at (319) 362-2862.

We’re excited to announce Hops for Housing will return next year! Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 7, 2018!

Help us save mailing costs by receiving our newsletter via email.

Please contact Joseph at services@willisdady.org to go paperless.

WDHS is proud to be a Community Partner of the United Way of East Central Iowa.

1247 4th Ave SE Cedar Rapids, IA 52403

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 49 Cedar Rapids, IA

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Emily’s Carrie’s Experiences Daycare Rarely is there a sole cause of housing instability, and rarely does housing instability impact only one individual.

I met Carrie a few months ago when she contacted me because she had fallen behind on rent and needed financial assistance to avoid eviction. Normally when we think of eviction we only think of the impact it has on the people in that household. In Carrie’s case, however, an eviction would have put five other families at risk of losing housing as well. This is because Carrie uses her home to provide daycare to families who cannot afford childcare on their own. Carrie is paid by Iowa’s Block Grant, which subsidizes daycare for low-income families. Such families aren’t able to afford both rent and daycare, can’t take off work to find (or provide) other daycare, and can’t pay someone until another Block Grant location opens.

So when Carrie called to say she faced eviction and needed assistance, we knew she needed help as quickly as possible.

Carrie fell behind on rent when the qualifications to be a Block Grant daycare provider changed and her paychecks were withheld until she met the new requirements. Carrie began working towards the requirements immediately, but in the meantime she continued to provide daycare to her clients—for free. Carrie knew how important it was for those families to receive daycare, so she did everything she could to help them.

When I first spoke to Carrie, she had completed the qualifications and was waiting for her pay to be reinstated (with back pay). She was expecting payment in December but had no way to pay November’s rent. Thanks to assistance from the Housing Fund for Linn County, I was able to talk with Carrie’s landlord and negotiate a payment plan for the overdue rent. Carrie’s landlord has since dropped the eviction charges., and Carrie is moving forward. Without the help we were able to provide, Carrie anticipated being evicted, living in a shelter with her children, and leaving her clients to uncertainty. All it took was a little financial help and advocacy to get Carrie back on track and prevent homelessness.