$1 Million in New Grants To Help Homeless Families in Rural Communities
$1 Million in New Grants To Help Homeless Families in Rural Communities
On March 22, 2011, Building Changes announced its sixth round of Washington Families Fund (WFF) grant awards to agencies working to end homelessness in Washington State. Grants totaling $1 million are going to three organizations serving Kitsap, Yakima, Benton and Franklin counties to provide permanent housing, intensive services, and case management to families struggling with repeated bouts of homelessness.
The Washington Families Fund, a public-private partnership created by the State of Washington in 2004 and led by Building Changes, funds innovative programs that pair a wide range of support services with housing programs for families with children who have fallen into homelessness. Washington Families Fund grantees work directly with families to address the causes of homelessness, help build stability, and get families back on their feet.
In 2008, the Fund, which combines state allocations with private investments, expanded on its earlier successes by creating a more intensive program model designed to help families with complex barriers to stable housing, which often contributes to chronic homelessness. Grantee providers funded in this year’s round address these barriers by offering families and their children safe, stable housing; case management; mental health counseling; chemical dependency services; child advocacy and children’s services.
“Services for the most vulnerable families are often underfunded,” says Betsy Lieberman, Executive Director of Building Changes. “This year we’re not only focusing dollars on families with high needs, we’re reaching deeper into more rural communities and supporting programs that, in turn, build partnership support from within those communities.”
“In our small, rural community our high-need population has been significantly underserved," says Robin Lund, Executive Director of West Sound Treatment Center, one of this year’s Washington Families Fund grantees. “Because of the strong relationships we have built with our community partners, we have been able to find innovative solutions to fill service gaps for our high-needs families and provide a continuum of services when and how our families need it most.”
It’s those community partnerships that help provide the needed safety net for families experiencing troubling times. And it’s the flexible funding, the one-on-one technical assistance, and the sharing of best practices with grantees that help ensure their success.
What success looks like is the goal of Building Changes evaluation of its program models. By paying close attention to outcomes, the Washington Families Fund is able to focus on what works—for its grantees and for families experiencing homelessness—and share those results with the partners who are investing in the mission to end homelessness in Washington State.
“Focus on outcomes and partnerships have driven the legislative support,” says State Representative Ruth Kagi (D). “When I hear what the Washington Families Fund and Building Changes are doing on a strategic level to address these huge challenges during difficult economic times, it gives me hope.”
Washington Families Fund programs are making a difference for homeless families with high needs. Find out more about what we're learning and new strategies we are undertaking to reduce family homelessness. Download our 2010 Report on the Washington Families Fund.
Washington Families Fund 2010 Awards:
Benton Franklin Community Action Committee (Benton and Franklin counties)
Home Base Connections
$290,000
WFF funds will support client-centered case management that will serve 20 high-risk families with children over the next five years, who may be experiencing co-occurring disorders and multiple barriers that could require mental health and chemical dependency services. The program brings together a variety of community service partners to serve as a hub of support designed specifically for these families.
West Sound Treatment Center (Kitsap County)
Forward Bound
$400,000
WFF funds will support case management and mental health services, including a continuum of care network of service providers, which will serve 24 families over the next five years.
Yakima Neighborhood Health Services (Yakima County)
FIESTAS Lower Valley
$750,000
WFF funds will support an extensive network of service and housing providers—Triumph Treatment Services, the YWCA, and the Yakima Housing Authority—that will serve 40 families in the lower Yakima Valley over the next five years. Programs are designed to help families achieve a greater level of self-sufficiency and connect them with educational and vocational opportunities.
