What We Learned From Our Shelter Test-Pilot…
The Refuge Shelter Trial-Run was a HUGE success!
Our pilot program opened on November first and ran through the end of February. This program provided families with emergency shelter, intensive case management, and helped to transition into appropriate next steps. We were able to shelter up to 10 families at once in individual studio units. These studios were complete with private bathrooms and a kitchenette for families to prepare their own meals. Each family received a home-starter kit including pots and pans, dishes, bedding and other essentials that they were able to take to their own homes when they completed the program.
During the course of the winter, we sheltered a total of 29 families with 52 children and a total of 93 individuals altogether. These individuals received a total of 3,121 overnight stays amongst all of them. We could not have imagined that an off-campus shelter model would work so well! So much has happened over the course of this winter, but we would like to share just a few stories with you today:
Full-time Mom, Full-time Student, Full-time Worker
She is a single mom that was living in her vehicle with her 5 children when she heard about the Winter Refuge. She was working a minimum wage job and attending college at UACCM to obtain healthcare certification. She came into our program for a month and a half. She worked with our case management team to identify a place to rent that she could afford. In only 46 days, the family was able to move into a beautiful four bedroom home of their very own.
Overcoming Great Loss
Her husband passed away suddenly in 2022. She was newly pregnant when she became a widow. Now a single mom of 6 with a 7th baby on the way, she lost her housing in June due to loss of financial resources and flood damage to the home. When she could no longer the hotel her family was staying in, she was in danger of being thrown out with her kids less than a month from her due date. The family came into the Refuge for about a month and a half. With the help of our case management team, she was approved for social security benefits. Shortly after her baby was born, the family was able to move into a house of their own.
A Family Starting Over
They are a young couple with a toddler and another baby on the way. The dad struggled with addiction. When the situation became unsafe, mom left becoming homeless with their two year old son. This was a wake up call for dad, who made the choice to enter a rehab program to get sober. While he worked through the steps of the program, mom reached out to the Winter Refuge seeking a safe place to stay. Through counseling with their church, the couple worked on reuniting with one another and with their estranged family. Dad has secured a good job and has been able to pay for a home for his family to move into. He will be graduating from his rehabilitation program this Saturday and moving home to live with his wife and child. Their new baby is due this month.
A Hand to Hold at the End
He was discharged to us from a hospital at the end-stage of a terminal illness. He had nowhere to go but was far too sick to live on the streets. He came into our program for 56 days while our case management team worked tirelessly on securing end-of life care for him. He is now getting the care that he needs in a nursing facility. We continue to pray for peace and comfort for our dear friend as he lives out his last days in a safe place.
Our staff has learned so much about how security gives our clients the ability to think outside of life’s daily crisis and focus on taking next steps towards stability. We have been amazed at the success of this program. 86% of those who stayed in The Refuge went on to permanent solutions. We are so encouraged by this statistic and what the trajectory of having a year-round shelter could look like. We ask that you pray for us as we now take what we have learned and move towards building that year-round shelter. We also ask that you pray for each of those whose stories you have read today and for the countless other families still in need of a safe place to start over.
Want to know more? Email Spring@ministrycenter.org
