The Gazette: Helping Families Find Homes
For almost 30 years Partners in Housing has not only helped provide families with roofs over their heads, but also offered other services addressing education, employment, life skills training and more.
“Families live in our housing for one year,” explained Mary Stegner, executive director. “Each family sets its own goals for what they’d like to accomplish in that time.” Beyond being able to establish housing stability, she added, their goals typically include increasing their income, becoming more self-sufficient and improving their education.
The circumstances leading families to seek help from Partners in Housing range from loss of housing, domestic violence situations, lack of childcare and transportation. Health and employment issues may also be contributing factors.
Based on figures from its 2019-2020 Fiscal Year Report, Partners in Housing served 385 individuals (128 adults and 257 children) with measureable outcomes demonstrating success rates such as 90% improvement in housing; 92% increase in job preparedness; and 82% increase in income, for example. Stegner said Partners in Housing is proud of the stats because they represent the work accomplished by the families.
The need for housing, and Partners in Housing’s role in the community, has not diminished through the years. Yet, the organization is limited in its ability to provide assistance based on its existing housing inventory. Consequently, last year the board of directors created a strategic plan to add more transitional homes.
