Breakfast with our Congregation Partners

This past Thursday, we hosted a breakfast with our faith-based partners to celebrate our 25th anniversary, our impact and strategies for strengthening prevention and diversion services for those at-risk of becoming homeless and efforts to end homelessness for those residing in our shelters and on the streets.

For the past 25 years, Housing Forward has relied upon the congregations in the community to host the space for our PADS Shelter. In 2016, these partners delivered 13,565 nights of shelter services and 36,960 meals. Although we served 472 people last year, we know that our PADS Shelter new guests have declined by 14% over the past four years. In contrast, our Supportive Housing program has increased by 350% in the same time. This means that less people need the PADS Emergency Shelter and we have been able to put more people, especially those that have a disabling condition or are chronically homeless, into housing.

Our congregation partners have also provided vital funds for our Emergency Assistance program. Last year, we helped 854 households end a financial or housing crisis. Of these, 92 received $67,713 in homeless prevention funding to prevent the loss of their home, or to pay for a security deposit and/or first month's rent for a new home.

Our work would not be possible without the community support of faith-based partners and their constituents. Thank you to the leaders and volunteers for organizing the PADS Shelter for guests, preparing and serving meals, and acting as overnight hosts. We'd also like to thank Starship Restaurant in Forest Park, Turano Baking Company and Counter Coffee for providing the food and refreshments.