Our goal is to purchase and furnish two units of housing for households displaced or directly impacted by the flood. There is an insufficient supply of affordable housing in the midlands. After emergency shelters close, there aren’t enough places for people to go while they wait for their homes to be renovated. This is especially true for those who were already vulnerable prior to the flood.
There is no “one size fits all” answer to a mission of this kind. The paths we walk with households will be as varied as the households themselves. That means that our measure of success is largely qualitative in nature, not a fixed target. We don’t know how long each household will need transitional housing. Ultimately, though, it is this transition from temporary to permanent housing that will be one of several indicators of success. Another less obvious, but just as critical indicator is that the people of DOWNTOWN CHURCH are challenged, nurtured, and encouraged in their faith journey through this partnership.
How do we get there?
First and foremost, we realized that we won’t get anywhere without a smart, motivated, experienced program manager leading the way. And, we are both excited and confident that we’ve found the right person for the job. Danielle Allen, otherwise known as our Counselor-in-Residence at DOWNTOWN CHURCH, has accepted the role of Program Manager,
Danielle will lead us through purchasing and furnishing two transitional residences and offering them, for a short period of time, to households displaced by the flood.
DOWNTOWN CHURCH is not a disaster relief organization. But through our conversations with members of households that could be supported by a partnership like this and through conversations with individuals who have professional expertise and experience, we’re confident there is a need for transitional housing. We are also confident that we have the capacity to do something about it.
Our support of these households won’t stop there. We’ll work closely with individuals to leverage our access to material and financial donations and networks to support them. This partnership will be designed to foster accountability and encourage individuals and families to step into a place of empowering themselves as they make their way to a more permanent housing arrangement.
We’ll partner with a case manager specializing in social work. Under his or her guidance, members of our DOWNTOWN CHURCH community will take on advocacy roles to coordinate access to networks, services and other means of opening doors.
We plan to purchase and furnish two temporary housing units. Then, we’ll partner with two families who have been impacted significantly by the flood to make this housing available to them and help them return to a more permanent housing arrangement. As households transition out of temporary housing, we’ll continue to provide support in the transformation of their lives as appropriate.
We’ll leverage the following resources to support our partner households:
- Two temporary housing residences (owned and managed by DOWNTOWN CHURCH)
- Money
- A large and varied network of individuals that are uniquely positioned and gifted to serve
- Our core values
We are committed to being nimble, creative, and organic in our engagement with partner households. We’ll remain open to new opportunities and unforeseen challenges as they are uncovered along the way. We’re committed to focusing on the sustainability of solutions, transparency with our funders, and connections with and through individuals within our DOWNTOWN CHURCH community.
- Purchase and furnish two temporary housing units
- Identify a case manager with experience in social work to guide us
- Engage with two households to move into the temporary housing units
- Secured sufficient storage space for the donations we collect to furnish households (completed)
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