2013 Annual Report

2013 Annual Report JOIN’s mission is to support the eff orts of homeless individuals and families to transi on off the street and into permanent housing. Our vision is a community where homelessness, if it exists at all, is a short-term circumstance rather than a long-term or chronic condi on. Letter from the Executive Director Three mes a week for two hours a day, Darryl organizes and staff s the clothing closet in JOIN’s day center. Darryl was homeless for decades before working with a JOIN outreach worker to fi nally return to housing. His path off the street – like everyone’s – was uniquely his, and JOIN was there to support him. In support of our na onal eff ort to end homelessness, offi ces exist in mul- ple federal, state, and local bureaucracies staff ed by people who want to do the right thing for homeless people. Hundreds of non-profi ts work to implement the latest recognized “best prac ces.” But as necessary as these I volunteer at JOIN because I organiza ons may be, they have never been the source of the best ideas want to give back. If it weren’t for how to address homelessness. The best ideas and the most important for you guys I’d sƟ ll be out resources for helping people end their homelessness come from the people there. I’ve been inside 3 whole experiencing homelessness themselves. This is one of the founding premis- years now and it’s great. My es of JOIN and it has been borne out over and over again by our experience health has improved, my dog is and by the research. happy, life is good!” -Darryl In order to be successful as an organiza on working to end homelessness, our work with each individual person has to be led by their wisdom and by their eff orts. We can provide knowledge and informa on to help with the decisions they make, but we have to trust and invest in the path off the streets that they iden fy for themselves. And to get the most out of the public and private resources commi ed to ending homelessness, we have to invest in approaches that fully leverage the resources that each homeless person brings to the table – their vision, their experience, their skills, their capaci es, and their support networks. This past year we con nued doing what we have learned to do well – we supported over 700 individuals in their return to permanent housing for less than it would have cost for them to stay in emergency shelter. Thanks to community support, we were also able to take on several new ini a ves. We launched New Beginnings Land- scaping, an employment re-entry program that addresses the fact that so many of the people on the streets want to work but aren’t able to fi nd an employer to hire them. New Beginnings Landscaping provides a full range of residen al and commercial landscaping services and a path back to the labor market for homeless and formerly homeless people. We also secured funding to hire a full me East County Outreach Worker in order to reach the growing pop- ula on of homeless people in communi es like Gresham, Fairview, and Troutdale. Finally, in 2013 JOIN began taking a more ac ve role in shaping the services received by homeless families with children. While over half the people JOIN helps return to housing each year are in families with dependent children, this year JOIN developed a training and advocacy ini a ve aimed at improving how families are served by large government agencies like the Department of Human Services. The journey off the streets is diff erent for each person, and so are the supports they need to be successful. All of us build our sense of self-effi cacy and dignity from doing what we can to overcome our own challenges, but we all also need the support of others to be successful. With your support and the support of the scores of individual, founda on, business, faith, government, and non-profi t partners listed in this report, JOIN was able to give hundreds of homeless and formerly homeless people the unique support they needed to be successful in escaping the streets in 2013. Thank you for making so many successes like Darryl’s possible. Front cover: Ty and Tony in their new apartment Marc Jolin JOIN helps hundreds of individuals and families meet their basic needs while living outside, make successful transitions into permanent housing, and fi nd the stability and support necessary to remain stable in housing for the long-term. 7 Street 713 people OOuutreach Workerss successfully ene gaged over 1,3000 moved off the people living on street and into the streets permanent housing JOIN provided an Of the households additional 239 who moved in, 92 people with were families eviction caring for 320 prevention children support 5 Retention 75% of Workers made households more than 9,000 retained their visits to people’s housing for 12 homes after they months moved inside JOIN JOIN served provided 7500 85-100 people showers, 2500 each day in our laundry vouchers, basic service and mail services center for 1000 people Whether it is creating a successful housing plan, helping to facilitate immersion experiences for students, or guiding program direction, the wisdom of the people we serve plays a critical role in JOIN’s approach to ending homelessness. Individuals who have experienced home- JOIN’s Community lessness play a key role in facilitaƟ ng Advisory Committee JOIN’s Immersion Program. Last year is comprised of the program hosted 26 immersions for a formerly homeless total of 368 high school and college stu- partners who help dents from fi ve states. Immersions foster shape programs and compassion and encourage community volunteerism involvement. Through JOIN’s barter system, people give their time and talents in our basic service center in exchange for showers, laundry vouchers, storage, and other services. This allows people to main- tain a sense of dignity and pride as they seek out the services they need. JOIN serves a diverse population of homeless individuals and families who are working hard to fi nd housing stability. Racial & ethnic breakdown of households: Of the 217 total households placed, 53% 47% 47% Caucasian 40% were chronically Female Male 33% African American homeless. This is defi ned 12% LaƟ no / Hispanic by a disabling condition 5% NaƟ ve American and a year or more of 2% Pacifi c Islander homelessness. 1% Asian Top right: JOIN friends advocaƟ ng for increased funding for shelter and rent assistance in Salem Middle: Larry speaking to a group of immersion parƟ cipants Bottom Right: Jenny doing barter work at the House The Power of Relationships on the Road to Housing Stability Richard, his wife Linda and their two young children, Kevyn and Ta ana, were sleeping in their car. They moved between grocery store parking lots at night, struggling to fi nd a place they felt safe enough to sleep. Richard had recently lost his job as a janitor at OHSU, and soon a er the home they rent- ed was foreclosed on. They couch-surfed with family when they could, but were at the end of their op ons when they came in to JOIN. Richard met with Outreach Worker Lio and told his story quietly, slowly, and with the proud tears of someone not used to having to ask for help. Within days, Lio helped them move into a two-bedroom apartment in Gresham and provided them with a truck-load of furniture and household items. Colleen, their Housing Reten on Worker, immediately bonded with them and in the two years since then has become very close to their family. Richard and Linda value educa on and have priori zed spending their limited income on tutors because, with only elementary school educa ons, they struggle to help the kids with their homework. Kevyn and Ta ana are vibrant kids with endless energy and a love of sports, science, and drama. Last year, Richard joined the crew on JOIN’s newly launched micro-enterprise, New Beginnings Landscape. Richard loved working with New Beginnings because he was earn- ing an income to take care of his family while developing marketable skills and more self confi dence. Linda is confi ned to an electric wheelchair and rarely leaves the house because of chronic pain, a host of medical issues, and an inherited degenera ve bone disease. Despite this, she is op - mis c, wise, funny, and a great cook. She is an amazing mother and maintains a balance of protec ng her kids from the stress of poverty and homelessness while also leveling with them about the reality of their situa on and why they cannot always have what their classmates and friends have. Richard works as close to full me as he can doing labor and Linda receives $721 a month in social security, but they con nue to struggle. JOIN occasionally helps out by paying an electric bill to avoid a shut-off , provides bus ckets, or an emergency food box near the end of a ght month. When Kevyn came home from school recently with his broken prescrip on glasses, Colleen was able to use fl exible resources to replace them right away. Last year, Colleen entered the Edwards family in the lo ery for a spot in a brand new mul million dollar suppor ve housing development.

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