As we come to the mid-point of 2023, I am filled with gratitude for the Love Columbia supporters who have contributed so generously of their time, talents and resources to keep us going. In the past six months, we saw pandemic funding for rent assistance end while rent prices continued to rise, pricing many out of housing. Day after day, the smiling faces of volunteers and gracious gifts of donors kept us problem solving instead of panicking.

We are meeting people where they are and helping them navigate our post-pandemic world. We are also launching new programs and promoting the establishment of more affordable housing in our community.  

Hope for a better Columbia is energizing and uniting us. Momentum is building as neighbors help neighbors and we work together.

Thank you if you are already engaged. Contact us if you are looking for a part to play.

With gratitude and expectancy,

Our motivation to act usually comes from the stories of others who have experienced tragedy or injustice. Recently, we have been most deeply stirred by numbers. So far in 2023, we have repaired 8 cars so the people who owned them could keep living in them. We have helped 19 households relocate, often paying for transportation and deposits in other cities, because there was absolutely no housing for them to stay in Columbia. These are not large numbers, but they are higher than we have ever seen and represent harsher times, more closed doors and fewer options.

Another number that is higher than we have seen before is the 650 credit score some local property management companies have announced is the new requirement to rent from them. This is higher than some mortgage lenders require.

Columbia Public Schools also reported a new high: 379 students ended the school year in households experiencing homelessness (a number potentially 200 below actual, according to Ranita Norwood, CPS Student Services Coordinator).

At Love Columbia, these numbers have fueled our determination to bring our community together to find solutions – for each individual and families seeking housing and for our beloved city.

To help each of us find our best role, we created Find Your Place, a guide to engagement options. Together, we can find solutions and promote a better Columbia for us all.

“Everything DeAnn does is for her kids,” her Housing Coach said. “She wants to give her kids the best life.”

We first met DeAnn at a Love Columbia housing workshop. Even with a stable full-time job, DeAnn, a single mother of two, was evicted from her apartment due to the inability to pay rent. DeAnn was left without a home and began staying with family.

DeAnn became involved in our Path Forward Program, which provides support to identify and achieve goals. She quickly became a dedicated and hardworking program participant.

Through Path Forward, DeAnn enrolled in our Extra Mile Transitional Housing Program to take steps to transition to permanent housing. Extra Mile Homes is a four-to-six-month program that includes high accountability money management coaching to reduce debt and save for permanent housing.

DeAnn and her two children moved into one of our transitional homes. DeAnn continued to meet weekly with a Love Columbia budget coach. During those visits, DeAnn remained engaged in our services and working toward her goals. She also continued with housing coaching which eventually connected her to a landlord.

DeAnn secured housing after two months in the Extra Mile Transitional Housing Program!

Since being housed, she gave birth to her third child. She continues to remain engaged in our budget coaching and savings programs. DeAnn is currently working to maintain stable housing, build her credit and desires to become a homeowner.

She expressed how God has given her great peace during this transitional time and is so grateful for all the assistance she has received from Love Columbia.

When our staff reflected on their time working with DeAnn, they admired her dedication to and love for her family. They said she was a proactive participant in all the programs she was involved in, and that she always showed initiative in working toward her goals.

“DeAnn showed a lot of initiative in working toward her goals,” her Extra Mile Coach said. “She is very determined to care for her family.”

When you donate to or shop at The Love Seat,

you are helping your neighbors in need!