News from Housing Works

"I have been diligently working to better my situation, for myself and for my children. Part of my journey began with education. After recovering from a meth addiction for 10 years, I decided to attend COCC. I completed the Addictions Studies program in 2010 with the help of financial aid and scholarships. I continued on to complete my Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer in 2011. I transferred to OSU-Cascades and completed my bachelor's degree in Human Development and Family Sciences in 2013. I also gave birth to my son that same year and chose to stay at home to care for him.

The birth of my son triggered a new journey for me; to get healthy and strong. I started exercising at the FitZone here in La Pine. The women there were so encouraging and supportive as I moved towards my fitness goal and I lost 100lbs. With my new found confidence I became a certified Zumba instructor in 2014. Now, I teach Zumba 3 times a week and get free unlimited workout classes in return. I also teach women at the Fit Zone how to prepare healthy meals and how to plan them ahead of time. I have learned many skills on this journey to becoming healthy and strong.

Through the PATHWorks program I'm saving with the Valley Individual Development Account for small business in order to open my own coffee shop/café in La Pine. My husband and I also have a yard service business that we have learned how to manage with the help of SCORE.com. Because of our growing business, and increased income, we are now earning escrow through PATHWorks. Life is a journey and it's not always easy but with the help of the Housing Works programs it is possible for me to dream big and accomplish my goals.

I encourage you to use the opportunities given to you through PATHWorks to propel yourself forward. You have one life, start living it by creating a better life for you, for your family and ultimately for the community you live in!"

Crystal, we are so happy you shared your story with us. Keep up the great work and congratulations, your determination and success inspires us!

Party Time

A great event

A big thank you to all of the PATHWorks participants who joined us at Bouncing Off the Wall in Bend last month. It was a great event full of fun, prizes, food and information. With over 80 participants attending, there was never a dull moment.

The event was put on by the PATHWorks Leadership team as a part of their mandate from the Community Leadership Institute training that they attended in Cincinnati, Ohio last October. Great job team!

The leadership team is looking ahead, with input collected from the event participants, to creating micro groups that will empower participants with education, support and community building, so stay tuned.

Congratulations to all our raffle winners!

Tutor Home

Redmond Tutor home available

Rent this home while you work towards your dream of home ownership through the Tutor Home program.

If your currently on the the Housing Choice Voucher Program and would like to purchase your own home, you can learn more about this opportunity and how to apply by clicking HERE.

Breaking Old Habits

The Habit Change Cheatsheet: 29 ways to successfully ingrain a behavior

Have any bad habits? If you're like most of us, there are at least one or two habits you would like to change. Ever tried quitting smoking, talked about exercising more or watching less television? You get the point, changing habits can be tough!

We discovered one approach from a 2009 zenhabits.net blog that might provide you the tools to break free of some of those less than desirable habits you may have identified. Here's a sample from the blog.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Habit change is not that complicated. While the tips below will seem overwhelming, there's really only a few things you need to know. Everything else is just helping these to become reality.

The simple steps of habit change:

1. Write down your plan.

2. Identify your triggers and replacement habits.

3. Focus on doing the replacement habits every single time the triggers happen, for about 30 days.

That's it. We'll talk more about each of these steps, and much more, in the cheatsheet below.

Cheatsheet

Health and Fitness

Adventure awaits

Spring is in full bloom and it is a great time to get outside, get active and share an adventure with friends and family. Central Oregon has immense beauty and a wealth of day hikes. To find some great day hikes check out William Sullivan's guide to Oregon hikes HERE. If you like what you find and want more, William will be speaking at the Bend downtown library. In his latest presentation, New Hikes in Eastern Oregon, William Sullivan shares stories and images from some of his favorite trails. The event will be held on Saturday, May 2nd, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. To check out all the events happening at the Library click HERE and enjoy the changing season.

Now get out there and go for a hike! Your adventure awaits!

Sparks Lake

Construction Rehab

EastLake Village II construction update

As you can see from the pictures above construction on Eastlake Village II, Housing Works' newest 40 unit affordable housing project in Bend, is well under way. Crews have begun installing siding and drywall on building number 1. Framing is underway on building 2, 3 and 4 and will start shortly on building 5. Everything seems to be on track for completion of the project by August, 2015.

Stay tuned for information about the application process. The lease up and management will be preformed by EPIC Property Management, LLC., http://www.epicpropertymgmt.com/ .

Housing Choice Voucher

Contacting your Housing Specialist

The Housing Choice Voucher department would like to remind everyone that the best and most efficient way to reach your Housing Specialist with questions is by email.

If you call your specialist, please only leave one message. The specialists check their voice mail every day and do their best to return messages the same day, usually between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. In rare cases, it may take between 24-48 hours to return calls. If you have a general question or an urgent need, please feel free to call Sandy at our front desk, by selecting operator at the prompt. In many cases, Sandy can answer your question.

The housing specialists are currently working hard to meet one-on-one with the 60 new clients who were selected from the waiting list. This may cause a slightly longer than normal response time in returning phone calls this month.

Thank you for your patience as we strive to provide every client with excellent customer service.

Sincerely,

Lesly Gonzalez

Voucher Program Manager

541.323.7416 [email protected]

Christi Solheim

Housing & Portability Specialist

541.323.7403 [email protected]

Stephanie Westendorf

Housing Specialist

541.323.7418 [email protected]

Emily Loza

Housing Quality Standards Inspector

541.323.7417 [email protected]

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

Did you know Housing Works is on Facebook and Twitter?

Housing Works invites you to "Like" us on Facebook or "F ollow" us on Twitter.

Community Calendar

What's going on in your area

Click on the links below to find out what's happening in your area. Have fun!

Bend

La Pine

Madras

Redmond

Prineville

Sisters

Quick Links

Click on the banners below for more information

We appreciate all of your feedback and look forward to your ideas and suggestions in the future.

Here's to everyone's success. Please feel free to contact the PATHWorks team with any questions you may have. We are here to help you reach your goals!

Sincerely,

Your PATHWorks Team

Kelly Fisher 541-323-7411 [email protected]

Client Services Manager

Andy Hall 541-323-7413 [email protected]

C lient Services Coordinator

Carly Garzon 541-323-7410 [email protected]

Bilingual Client Services Coordinator

Disclaimer: Third Party I nformation, articles and links provided within this newsletter are publicly available via the internet. Housing Works and Families Forward does not take responsibility for the content, suggestions or information provided by third party articles, websites or the information and offers within. It is the sole responsibility of the reader to evaluate all the material or offers and determine if it is appropriate to participate or use the information provided within.