As 2021 marks our 30th anniversary, we’ve reflected on how far we’ve come as an agency, the lessons we’ve learned along the way, and the ambitious goals we have to ensure our mission of guiding families in housing crisis from insecurity to stability, self-reliance, and prosperity is met during our next 30 years. |
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Throughout the years, we’ve attentively listened to feedback from program families, our Board of Directors, our staff, and our supporters, and we’ve made adjustments along the way. These program adjustments, along with the hard work of the families and everyone involved have resulted in our Family Self-Sufficiency Program having a 90% success rate – meaning 90% of the program families successfully move onto safe and stable housing upon graduation.
Compared to the 65% benchmark for transitional housing, we are proud that our program has continued to meet the evolving needs of families in housing crisis.
As we look forward, we have been focusing on two main areas – expanding the depth of our services and expanding the breadth of our services, primarily through the acquisition of more properties. On May 17th, we celebrated our most recent expansion with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for three newly renovated units bringing our total transitional inventory to 65 units! Families have since moved into the units and have been able to start their one-year journey to self-sufficiency in a safe and stable environment. We would like to give a big thank you to the Myron Stratton Trustees for their generous support of this project – it wouldn’t have been possible without them.
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In our last newsletter, we introduced you to staff member Sarah Seales, the lead for our newest program offering, Housing Navigation. In this role, Sarah works closely with the families in one-on-one sessions to help find safe and stable housing upon exiting our program. With 50% of the families in our program having evictions, it can be a challenge.
While every family’s story is different, Sarah knows what it’s like to be on the other side of the table. She and her two daughters were in our program in 2011. She understands how overwhelming and daunting it can feel when starting out and so she wrote a letter to program families in hopes of showing there’s light at the end of the tunnel if they show up, work hard, and take one step at a time.
“Here you are. You might not have ever imagined you would be in this place. I know I didn’t see it coming in 2011 when I found myself and my daughters with no place to live and too small of an income to make ends meet. I did everything I could to keep myself afloat but I just couldn’t do it...not on my own. There’s a team now to help you figure it all out but I know from experience that it isn’t all easy from here...”
Sarah, like many other families in the program, arrived with very little. A divorce left Sarah, a stay-at-home mom, without a home, without a job, and without the time to find a job that paid well enough to support her and her two kids. She turned to the Partners in Housing program in an effort to give her daughters a place to call home while she figured out her next steps. When we talked with Sarah, she told a story about how her daughters didn’t know they were technically homeless when they in our housing. She said her daughters were so excited about the free Donation Center and the house they were in. It wasn’t until years later when a Partners in Housing representative coincidentally visited one of her daughter’s schools and talked about our agency that her daughter connected the dots.
Sarah worked incredibly hard while in the program, built up her resources, and was able to find an apartment and a job with the right income. Before working at Partners in Housing, Sarah owned and operated a thriving cleaning business for several years and was able to employ others in need of an income. In 2020, Sarah closed her cleaning business in order to work full-time as the Housing Navigator for Partners in Housing.
Thank you, Sarah, for your inspiring work with the families in our program. We and the families in our program are lucky to have you.
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In 1999, Partners in Housing acquired a beautiful, stately Victorian property in the Old North End Neighborhood. Originally constructed in 1899 as a family home, it was converted to five apartments and used as a maternity group home prior to Partners in Housing’s purchase.
We are extremely grateful to the Russell Grinnell Memorial Trust for their very generous investment in the recent renovations to include refinishing of all original hardwood floors, new energy-efficient windows, plumbing upgrades, and exterior repairs and paint. We appreciate the hard work and reduced rates from Champion Windows, The Paint Doctor, Olson Plumbing, and Hardwood Flooring Specialists. Thanks also to US Bank volunteers who helped with painting the entryway.
The five families living there now love the unique building and Partners in Housing is proud to have assisted many families there in the past twenty years, and on into the future.
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2021 Moving Families
Forward Annual Event!
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Watch for upcoming information about the Partners in Housing fundraising event! We will again be working with Galiant Homes to provide VIP access in September to a beautiful custom home. We are accepting sponsorships with marketing available in the Galiant Parade of Homes property during both the Parade and our event.
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Welcome Basket Items Needed! |
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With so many new families entering the Partners in Housing program, we are hard at work ensuring that every family receives a warm welcome into the program with their very own “Welcome Basket.” These baskets contain a new crockpot, new pillows, and new cleaning supplies. We have a generous donor who ensures we always have pillows on hand, so our current needs are new crockpots and new cleaning supplies. For a simple way to donate these items, please visit Partners in Housing’s Amazon Wish List at bit.ly/PIHWishList
* Due to our insurance restrictions, we are unable to give gently used crockpots to the families in our program
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Travel Back in Time with Us! |
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To join us on our journey through time as we celebrate Partners in Housing milestones from November 1991 leading up to November 2021 for our 30th anniversary, please visit our website, www. partnersinhousing.org, and fill out the newsletter popup window that will appear on your screen. You can unsubscribe at any time. If you have questions about signing up, please contact Jillian at jbirchmeier@partnersinhousing.org or (719) 325-5830.
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As you plan for your 2021 giving, please remember Partners in Housing. Our families cannot succeed without your support. |
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ENTERPRISE ZONE
• WHAT IS IT? Partners in Housing is eligible for the El Paso County Enterprise Zone, a 25% state tax credit.
• HOW DO I QUALIFY? Donations for this tax credit must be made in the form of a check. Please donate a minimum of $250 made payable to “El Paso County Enterprise Zone” with Partners in Housing and the last four digits of your social security number in the memo line. Send your check in the enclosed, addressed envelope to Partners in Housing.
• WHAT IS THE IMPACT? Individual or corporate contributions help 120 families in need move forward out of homelessness AND has the additional benefit of reducing your state tax liability.
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CHILDCARE CONTRIBUTION
TAX CREDIT
• WHAT IS IT? A gift to Partners in Housing’s Child Enrichment Center offers the greatest return! Your gift of $500 or more is eligible for a Childcare Contribution Credit on your Colorado state taxes of up to 50% of your gift.
• HOW DO I QUALIFY? Please donate a minimum of $500, payable to “Partners in Housing” using the enclosed envelope. Write “Child Enrichment Center” on the memo line.
• WHAT IS THE IMPACT? Your individual or corporate contribution to the Child Enrichment Center has a direct impact on the lives of over 250 children each year AND it has the additional benefit of reducing your state tax liability.
• WHY GIVE? With our current resources, we can only serve 120 families per year, but we receive almost 1000 applications every year. The need is great, but TOGETHER we can make a difference.
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