Anawim Housing
Monthly E-Newsletter | January 2023
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A LOOK BACK ON 2022 -
A FEW FAVORITE MILESTONES AND MEMORIES
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2022 was a busy year at Anawim Housing. The new year gives us a chance to reflect on all that we've been able to implement and be a part of thanks to our community of supporters, board of directors, staff, partners, and those who call Anawim home. Here are just a few of our favorite milestones and memories from the past year!
407: Total number of individuals served in Anawim's Permanent Supportive Housing programs.
1,080: Total number of individuals living in affordable housing through Allterra Property Solutions and Anawim Housing.
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465: Total number of jobs completed by ReNew Crew - Anawim's supportive employment social enterprise, which removes barriers to employment for Anawim program tenants.
4: Total number of community outings that Full Circle peer-support participants took part in. Outings included an I-Cubs game, the Des Moines Art Center, The Blank Park Zoo, and a fishing trip.
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1: The number of office moves. In summer of 2022, Anawim Housing and Allterra Property Solutions moved our main office to 48th Street in Des Moines. We celebrated with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony in partnership with the Des Moines West Side Chamber, and FuseDSM Chamber of Commerce.
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16: The number of families that received emergency rental relief due to a life crisis. Funds were provided by Anawim through the Sister Stella Rental Relief Fund.
4,501: The number of work orders completed by our property maintenance technicians.
93%: The number of individuals in our Permanent Supportive Housing programs that remained stably housed for 1+ year.
208.5: Total number of hours our leadership team spent creating the Anawim 2022-2026 Strategic Plan and developing value statements, and key strategies that align with our momentum and opportunities.
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12: The number of individuals who participated in Project Des Moines - the inspirational photo project led by Joe Crimmings in partnership with Anawim Housing, which featured individuals who have experienced homelessness who now call Anawim Housing home, as well as those fortunate to have not experienced homelessness. The exhibit aims to challenge stigmas surrounding homelessness in Des Moines and was debuted at our WEF ThanksGIVING event.
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2023 is already set in motion to be another big year for us here at Anawim Housing. We look ahead to the future construction and grand opening of The Monarch Apartments. The Monarch will be Anawim's first hotel conversion project in Iowa, which will provide 40 permanent supportive housing apartments with 24-hour staff and peer support services. Growth and expansion of services, programming and staff are on the horizon in many forms.
Thank you for supporting Anawim Housing's mission and joining us in our vital work as we head into this new year!
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UNSHELTERED DES MOINES STUDY: GIVING A VOICE TO THE UNSHELTERED
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On Tuesday, Jan 17th the results from an extensive research study titled "Unsheltered Des Moines Study" were released. The study was a collaboration between Anawim Housing, Homeward, and Primary Health Care and was conducted by a research team with Drake University, led by Dr. Elizabeth Talbert from the Department of Culture and Society.
The study was commissioned to better understand the experiences of people living unsheltered in Polk County and provide them a platform to tell their “why” for not choosing to enter into emergency shelter and how they would like our community to better help them.
The study included 157 surveys of persons experiencing homelessness living unsheltered in Polk County and 37 in-depth interviews of the same population between June and October 2022.
The goal of the study is to create system-wide change, improve homeless services and ultimately reduce the number of our neighbors living outdoors. It is no surprise that the most asked for solution from people living outside is access to their own affordable and safe place to live. We look forward to sharing more on this very important study in the days and months to come.
Read the full report or a summary on Homeward's website by clicking HERE.
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Photo courtesy of The Des Moines Register |
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STAFF SPOTLIGHT: HANNAH LANDGRAF
SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER
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In our latest Stories From the Field entry we sat down with Hannah Landgraf to learn more about how she is helping those we serve through permanent supportive housing as a Senior Program Manager with Anawim Housing!
What can you tell us about the specific program you work for?
Anawim's Permanent Supportive Housing programs provide safe, stable, and affordable housing for individuals in our community who have history of homelessness and are living with a disability. For over 20 years, we have been working to end homelessness in Des Moines by providing housing to those who need it most. Once folks are housed, we partner with them to meet their unique goals. For some, that might be work, sobriety, or education. For others, that means reconnecting with family, volunteering in the community, or healing from trauma.
What motivates you in your work for Anawim Housing?
A deep, unwavering belief that recovery & healing is possible—that we all deserve second, third, and even forth chances.
What does a typical day in the life of a program manager consist of?
From meeting with new referrals, and handing over keys on move-in day, to helping participants navigate the real & complex challenges of maintaining stable housing, every day is different. Often I am out in the field providing support to our program managers, meeting with landlords to discuss their concerns, or working with our team to think creatively about the problems our tenants face and how we can help solve those problems.
Catch Hannah's full interview on the Anawim Stories From the Field Blog by clicking READ MORE!
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BUSINESS RECORD 2023 BOOK OF LISTS
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Anawim Housing and Allterra Property Solutions are listed and ranked amongst area nonprofits, developers, and commercial property management firms in the Business Record's 2023 Book of Lists.
Did you know that Allterra Property Solutions manages over 960,000 square footage of residential and commercial properties across Central Iowa? All profits from Allterra Property Solutions directly fund the programs and services that Anawim Housing provides our community. That's a sustainability model we're pretty proud of.
- Allterra ranks 11 out of 20 for commercial property management firms based on total square footage of properties managed.
- Anawim Housing ranks 29 out of 83 for nonprofits in Central Iowa based on total operating budget.
- Anawim Housing ranks 14 out of 24 for developers in Central Iowa based on total properties owned.
View or purchase the full Book of Lists online from the Des Moines Business Record by clicking READ MORE.
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Photo courtesy of the Des Moines Business Record |
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UNITED WAY 2023 ADVOCACY AGENDA:
CYNTHIA LATCHAM SPEAKS ON HOUSING
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Anawim's Executive Director, Cynthia Latcham, spoke about housing and the challenges facing the state of Iowa on the panel for the United Way of Central Iowa's 2023 Advocacy Agenda. The Des Moines Business Record reported: "Latcham called for 'eviction expungement,' so an eviction doesn’t stay on someone’s record, which can be a barrier to housing."
Latcham shared there there are a lot of housing challenges facing the state and Central Iowa.
“We can start with just the lack of affordable housing, and just the units that we need in our community is kind of staggering,” Latcham said. "It's incredibly hard to develop affordable housing with all the parts and pieces and entities we need to work within throughout both the state and local levels [and it's] complex, so bringing new buildings into the community is not easy at all.’
Additional priorities covered throughout The United Way's Advocacy Agenda were early childhood success, education success, economic opportunity, health and well-being, and essential needs, which included housing, public transportation and food security. Click READ MORE for the complete Des Moines Business Record article.
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Photo courtesy of The Des Moines Business Record |
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Interested in helping us work to end homelessness? |
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Anawim Housing develops stable homes and strengthens communities
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