I would like to show you how your generous Critical Needs Fund contributions helped those we served over the past year. One of our goals is to secure funds to fill more of these ongoing critical needs and to
expand assistance through 2019 and beyond.
You can help by making an end-of-year contribution here, knowing that 100% of your contribution will be directed to our Critical Needs Fund.
Our Critical Needs Fund was put into place in 2016 in
order to help fill the gaps that couldn't be met through any other funding. At times, the barriers to maintaining stable housing can be derailed by something as simple as needing funds to obtain a security deposit for new housing - that's where our Critical Needs Fund comes in to play.
This past year, we were able to provide security deposits for 10 families and individuals moving from homelessness into housing.
Mellena Martinez, our Community Programs manager, shares that her team relies on the Critical Needs Fund as a last resort when there is no other funding available from community partners. An example from this past year was when a family in the Rapid Rehousing Program needed assistance with past-due rent in order to be eligible for a Housing Choice voucher. The family did not have any income and therefore needed assistance from the Critical Needs Fund in order to obtain a zero balance with their landlord.
If it wasn't for these funds, this family would not have been eligible for a voucher and would have ended up homeless and without a long-term housing solution. This past year, we were able to assist with more than 22 months of rental payment assistance.
Vital documents such as an ID and birth certificate are mandatory to sign a lease. There are times when people are fleeing an unsafe living situation or may have had documents stolen while living in a shelter, and need help replacing these items in order to secure housing. Our Critical Needs Fund can be accessed to help pay these expenses, resulting in getting a family or individual into a stable housing situation.
Once we succeed in providing safe, clean, affordable housing, there are other items needed to make
a house feel like a home. Furniture, dishes, cookware, and utensils; small appliances; and personal care and cleaning products are items people in stable housing take for granted, but are hard to come by for our program participants as they transition into housing. Your support in 2018 made it possible for us to assist 34 newly housed families with basic furnishings.
Here's how your donation to our Critical Needs Fund can help set someone on the road to recovery, housing and employment.
These are typical costs for some of the needs this fund meets:
| $10 - $50: |
secure proof of identity
|
|
$50:
|
cleaning supplies/personal care products |
|
$66:
|
31-day SMART bus pass provides transportation to jobs, medical appointments, etc. |
|
$100:
|
cookware, kitchen utensils, four-piece place setting
|
|
$250:
|
twin bed and bedding |
|
$600:
|
essential furnishings for a one-bedroom home |
|
$1,000:
|
security deposit |
