Life Threw Her a Curve, JRF Grantee Had Her Back

April 13, 2018 10:19 am Published by

Hannah stands in her kitchen, mixing juice and water for her toddler’s bottle. After working with Flagler Housing & Homeless Services, Hannah has lived in this home for nearly a year.

Hannah* is standing at her kitchen sink. It might not seem like anything special, but the care she takes as she loads the dishwasher and makes a bottle for her son tells a different story. This is special. This is important to her.

Early last year, Hannah and her son entered an emergency shelter after fleeing an abusive relationship. When the time came for them to get back on their feet, Flagler Housing & Homeless Services was there to help them get into an apartment quickly.

In some ways, Hannah is not unique. Petersburg accounts for nearly 10% of the entire homeless population in the state of Virginia. While the state average for people living in poverty is 11%, Petersburg averages at 28.4% and Hopewell 20.6%. That’s an enormous number of people living in or at risk for homelessness.

The need is great, and to meet that need John Randolph Foundation has supported Flagler Housing & Homeless Services for the last 3 years. They break the cycle of homelessness by getting people out of shelters and into apartments quickly. Then they help establish sustainable conditions so their clients can keep their homes.

Once Hannah and her son moved into their apartment, she began working with Housing Stabilization Case Manager, Kelly Snarr. Kelly meets with clients to teach them how to create and follow a budget, assist them with vocational and educational needs, connect them to local resources, provide financial assistance, and ensure they are able to remain in permanent housing.

Kelly Snarr goes over the budgeting materials and tools Flagler provides. Along with a monthly budget sheet, they include resources to help with money management like a grocery list worksheet.

“From the start, Hannah was a very strong woman and a caring mother. She was a hard worker regarding her budgeting, but also employment. Hannah was persistent, motivated, and tenacious throughout our time together. I appreciated her work-ethic and openness,” said Kelly.

Hannah went back to work. At the time we met, she was working 60 hours a week in order to reach her goals and provide her son with the things he needs.

At John Randolph Foundation, we believe safe housing is fundamental to your health and to your hope for a bright future. We are proud to partner with Flagler Housing & Homeless Services to help make it happen.

*Name has been changed to protect her identity.

 

Tags: , , , , , ,

Categorised in:

This post was written by AJ James

Comments are closed here.