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2009
Accomplishments
indianahousingnow.org
Promotional support
provided by
Integra Bank
:30 Radio Spot
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Spotlight on ...
The
Goodwill Family Center
Transitional Housing program helps people who are homeless get
back on their feet.
Basic needs including
employment assistance and child care, are provided so
residents can concentrate on overcoming the things that made
them homeless in the first place.
The
Goodwill Family Center
provides services not found in other homeless shelters in the
community, such as on-site child care and comprehensive
vocational services provided through the Goodwill WORK
Solutions program. Other program components include intensive
case management, shelter, food, educational programming,
transportation assistance, and information and referral
services.
People can reside at the Goodwill Family
Center for a maximum of two years. A
family that takes full advantage of the time and services
available at the Goodwill Family Center will make permanent
changes in their lives. The program teaches people how to
successfully manage their money and home as well as
develop key work skills needed to keep a job.
During 2006, 21 families received services
through the Goodwill Family Center.
People who successfully complete the program
will have the necessary skills to break the cycles of poverty,
unemployment, and homelessness, thus strengthening their
family for the
future.
CURRENT NEEDS:
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Non-food Items -
New pillows, twin size sheet sets, blankets, alarm clocks,
paper towels, napkins, toilet paper, plastic food storage
containers
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Craft supplies for
daycare center
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Laundry
supplies--detergent, fabric softener
sheets
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Office supplies -
copy paper, ink pens, postage stamps
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Food - fresh fruits
& vegetables, meat-ground beef, chicken
pieces |
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Sat., Aug. 4, 2007
2:02 p.m. at
Dress Plaza, Evansville,
IN
To learn more about
adopting a duck,
click on the logo above
or call 812-479-DUCK (3825)
For more information about
Goodwill Family Center,
call 812.424-4663, or
visit their website:
(click on GFC at the
left) |
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"OPEN THE DOOR WIDER"
Congregations Acting for
Justice & Empowerment (CAJE) has spent much of the
past year researching needs in our community. CAJE has
selected affordable housing as its focus this year.
Specifically, it seeks a dedicated funding source for the
Evansville Housing Trust Fund.
Through the launch of the "Open the Door Wider" campaign,
CAJE rallied area congregations to move the City of
Evansville to specific action. In a rally held in May
2007, CAJE asked Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel two questions, to
which he responded with an affirmative response:
1. Will you
create a task
force to develop a strategy to meet
Evansville's need for additional housing and to identify
designated annual revenue sources that would raise significant
funding, commensurate with the need, to finance the Evansville
Housing Trust Fund to address this need?
(The task force would have a broad
representation from the community, including nonprofit
community-based organizations that represent consumers to be
served; will investigate all--especially new--revenue sources;
be open to the public, and will make a final report by October
1, 2007)
2. Will you
designate that at
least two-thirds (67%) of the Evansville
Housing Trust Fund revenue be used to create and/or support
affordable housing for low-income
households (50% or less of the
AMI)?
The Affordable Housing Task Force convened in
May 2007, meeting with Mary Brooks, an expert with the Housing
Trust Fund Project of the
Center for Community
Change.
The Task Force continues to meet
regularly. Contact the
City of Evansville for
the schedule of the task force meetings, which are open to the
public.
CAJE is an organization made up of 14
religious congregations of various faith traditions: Baptist,
Catholic, Methodist, Unitarian Universalist and others.
The mission of CAJE is to draw together people of
faith to act powerfully to address local community issues
through processes of relationship building, direct action, and
negotiation with decision-makers.
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Welcome to the Destination: Home
Update!
With these Updates, we hope to encourage you with
news of local progress on the strategies of the ten-year
plan, educate you with information re: projects,
services, homeless issues, and inspire you with
news of other activities around the country!
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Champions for Ending
Homelessness
Commitment
to the Spirit & Philosophy of Destination:
Home
We continue to actively
solicit endorsements, both from organizations and
individuals.
to print an endorsement form. Please send
in your endorsement if you support the spirit and
philosophy of Destination:Home.
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One
barrier to securing and maintaining employment or
building the personal infrastructure individuals need is
a lack of reliable transportation. The establishment of
a transportation system that delivers at-risk or
homeless clients to jobs, treatment, and specialized
services in a timely manner will help close a door to
homelessness.
Individuals
who are seeking employment often do not have the bus
fare they need for the application and interview
process. Once they secure a job, cash flow is often
limited in the first weeks and months of employment.
The
Veterans Homeless Networking Group identified the lack
of affordable and accessible transportation as a major
barrier to employment. In response to this identified
need, this group established,
Bike to
Work, a successful bicycle recycling program
that makes used bikes available to veterans who need
transportation.
Since January 2004,
United Caring
Shelters has given out at least 68 bikes. The
VET Center gave its first bike in December, 2005, having
now given over 72 to veterans who are working or are
registered with WorkOne's job search program. 140
bicycles have been given to supplement transportation
for work needs.
To donate a used bicycle for the Bike to
Work program, contact Tony at
812.473.5993.
(Photo above: Denny, resident of
United Caring
Shelters transitional housing program, enjoys
helping repair bikes.)
Other similar programs provide bikes for
individuals who are homeless, helping to ensure
that they have at least one means of
transportation.
At
Patchwork
Central, the
 Bike ReCyclers
repair donated bicycles and donate them to homeless
men and women through
Aurora, Inc. in
Evansville. They also help recipients maintain their
bikes. To date, the Bike ReCycle program has
donated 55+ bikes!
(Photo: Cindi & Ann, guests of
House of Bread &
Peace, both enjoy using their bikes for
transportation and recreation. They each have
spoken of their gratefulness for the bicycles.)
To donate a bike through
Patchwork, call the office at 424-2735 to
arrange to drop it off.
To help repair bikes, go to
the Patchwork studio, at 116 Washington Ave., on
Thursday afternoons from 4:00 - 6:00
p.m. |
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Commission on
Homelessness
(front L to R: John Browning,
Lark Buckman, Commissioner Troy Tornatta; back L to R:
Patty Avery, Evelyn Hansen-Davis, Luzada Hayes, Lynne
Imes, Gregg LaMar, Gayl Killough, B. Diane Clements,
Walt Lowe; not pictured: Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel,
Cathy Gray, Marcia Gordon, Tom Horstman, Steve Melcher,
Mildred Motley)
The joint city-county Commission on
Homelessness oversees the implementation of
Destination: Home.
The Commission
continues to develop the 2007 Priority
Strategies of
Destination: Home.
The next meeting is set for
10:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 12, 2007 at Mayor
Weinzapfel's office. Troy Tornatta, County
Commissioner, serves as the current chair.
** SAVE THE
DATE **
Thurs., Dec. 13, 2007 -
10:00 a.m.
Browning Events Room
Central Library, downtown
Evansville |
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Bridges Out of Poverty upcoming
trainings 
EVENT SCHEDULE
Opportunities to gain more
understanding of the experience of generational
poverty
Bridges Out of Poverty - Day
1
| August 23, 2007 - VERY
LIMITED seating left!!
register now |
| October 16,
2007 |
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Affordable Housing = the Heart
of a Healthy Community
At the core of the success of
Destination: Home
lies four key components to
BUILD the
Infrastructure necessary to end homelessness as
we've known it. One of those essentials is
HOUSING that's
affordable to everyone among us.
As various strategies move forward to create
affordable housing here, it's vital to be very clear
with the language we're using, so we're all speaking
commonly accepted terms and meanings. Many of
those key terms follow.
affordable housing - a
household pays no more than 30% of its gross income on
housing costs (rent/mortgage + utilities)
| area median income (AMI) - when
looking at all incomes, from the lowest to the
highest, the level in the middle ($56,900 is
Evansville & Vanderburgh County's, based on a
family of four) |
| moderate income = 120% AMI
($68,280) |
| low income = not more than 80%
AMI ($45,520) |
| very low income = not more than
50% AMI ($28,450) |
| extremely low income = not more
than 30% AMI ($17,070) |
| subsidized housing - renter pays
a portion of the rent based on income, often 30% of
gross income |
| public housing - units owned
& managed by the local housing authority;
families are generally required to pay 30% of their
income for rent |
| project-based assisted housing -
"affordable rental units that are supported by
project-based Section 8 rental assistance contracts,
reserved for low-income families who usually pay 30%
of their income for rent" |
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Housing Choice
Vouchers (formerly Section 8 Vouchers)
are administered locally through the housing
authority; "A family that is issued a housing voucher
is responsible for finding a suitable housing unit of
the family's choice where the owner agrees to rent
under the program. This unit may include the family's
present residence. Rental units must meet minimum
standards of health and safety," as determined by the
housing authority. |
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OF AFFORDABLE
HOUSING
housing trust fund - "distinct
funds established by city, county or state governments
to receive ongoing dedicated sources of public funding
to support the preservation and production of affordable
housing and increase opportunities to access decent
affordable homes."
5 HUD's
Affordable Housing Needs: A Report to Congress on
the Significant Needs for Housing
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Thank you for your ongoing
interest in the progress of implementing our community's
10-year plan to end and prevent
homelessness!
Send your friends and colleagues
to
Destination:
Home's home on the
internet to sign up for e-newsletters, like this
"Destination:Home Update," Housing
Matters! activities, PlaySpaces progress,
Volunteer Opportunities, and others related to
projects and strategies of the ten-year plan.
Simply, type an e-mail
address into the "Sign up for our E-mail newsletters"
button at the left of each page and click
"Go."
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| Destination: Home | PO Box 74 |
Evansville | IN | 47701-0074 |  |
