Anawim Housing Foundation
Monthly E-Newsletter | March 2020
HOW ANAWIM HOUSING IS HANDLING COVID-19 - and how you can help
Having a safe place to call home is not a new idea at Anawim Housing. We have been committed to serving people experiencing homelessness through permanent supportive housing for over 20 years. In the coming days and weeks as our community is increasingly affected by the COVID-19 virus, we believe everyone will place a higher value on the importance of having a safe place to shelter, nest and create new routines.

New office procedures in place during COVID-19:
Anawim Housing has shorted our office hours, restricted public access, and postponed upcoming events.

Staff have been working remotely as much as possible. We're using technology and phones to stay in close contact with permanent supportive housing residents, landlords, and Anawim staff. We remain committed as a staff to providing ongoing support and communication through this pandemic.

Want to help? Here are some ways that you can help our residents through this current situation and beyond:
  • For the time being, we are still accepting donations of high need items such as toilet paper to our main office. Donations can be brought to the office between the hours of 9 am – 3 pm. As we continue to practice social distancing, you will need to call the number listed on our front door and a staff member will meet you to pick up items.
  • Make a financial donation to Anawim Housing which will help our team as we work to obtain high need items for our residents such as toilet paper, soap, trash bags, etc.
  • Follow us on Facebook to stay current of any immediate needs or information we are sharing with the public as information is changing each day.


ANAWIM PARTICIPATES IN dsmHACK 2020
Anawim Housing was honored to have been selected to participate in this year's dsmHack event! Every year, for the past five years, dsmHack has been hosting a 48 hour hackathon that brings technologists from around the state together to partner with area nonprofits to help solve tech issues that ultimately better our community as a whole.

Anawim's talented team of volunteers worked to create two NEW visual tools on our website:

1) A Permanent Supportive Housing Data Dashboard that displays updated stats and information for our programs

2) An interactive map displaying Anawim Housing's Affordable Housing Developments across the state.
ANAWIM SPRING EVENTS - Postponements and cont.
Current information regarding Anawim Housing's Spring events:

The Women Empowering Families Spring Event:
  • Postponed until further notice. This event was originally scheduled for May 7th. We will communicate new information as it becomes available. Please reach out to Hannah Landgraf with any questions.

Anawim Housing Spring Home Tour:
  • Wednesday, May 20th - Still happening as scheduled
  • We hope you can join us for this fun event! RSVP and get more info by clicking READ MORE. We are monitoring current health and safety precautions and will update if changes are made.
NEW PODCAST: HOW HOUSING IS HEALTHCARE - With Shelby Ridley of Primary Healthcare
Research shows that the lack of safe, affordable housing can negatively impact health – and that housing interventions for low income people have been found to improve health outcomes and decrease health care costs. This podcast will explore the intersection and relationship between housing and healthcare and how housing  is  healthcare.

Tune in to our latest episode of the "Home is Everything Podcast" series titled Housing and Healthcare. Special guests Shelby Ridley, Director of Homeless Support Services with Primary Healthcare and Anawim's Cynthia Latcham, Director of Programs and Services.
DART DONATES VAN TO ANAWIM HOUSING
Anawim is very grateful to have received a retired 12-passenger van from our friends at DART, through their Van Donation Program.

Many of the people we serve rely on the bus as their primary form of transportation. While our Permanent Supportive Housing programs work to lease units that are accessible by bus, sometimes tenants must walk over a mile to the nearest bus stop or take an hour-long trip to reach their destination. The donated van will primarily help us coordinate transportation needs for our weekly Full Circle peer support group. 

Pictured L to R (AND social distancing!): Hannah Landgraf, Cynthia Latcham, Dan McBee, and Kristyn Arnold.
STORIES FROM THE FIELD
Anawim Program Manager, Nichole Crawford, is featured in this month's "Stories From the Field" blog.

A few years back, as a Grand View University student majoring in Human Services, she made a cold call to Anawim asking if we might need an intern. Her journey with us began that day - 
Nichole shares of advocating for our families by developing helpful and fun programming, to helping clients access housing and find a home with Anawim.

Read Nichole's story by clicking READ MORE.
Anawim Housing develops stable homes and strengthens communities