Helping Lansing Area Families Help Themselves                        

About Us:  Haven House has provided temporary shelter for homeless families since 1983.  We have seen the scope of our programs and services increase dramatically over the years.  Not only do we support our residents with basic needs such as shelter, food, clothing, and personal needs items, but we have developed programs that will make an impact on the lives of our families after they leave our shelter.  Giving our residents the opportunity to improve their lives through goal setting, skill development, and further education enables them to become more productive and less apt to become homeless in the future.   

  
Statistics - October 1, 2001 through September 30, 2002:

• Number of shelter nights provided - 8,558
• Number of people turned away because of lack of space - 2,111
• Number of adults provided shelter - 128
• Number of children provided shelter - 190
• Number of individuals provided shelter - 318
• Number of two parent families - 33
• Number of one parent families - 69
• Number of single women (related to families staying at the shelter) - 5
• Number of Food Bank recipients - 891

Program Highlights: Staff  members meet with residents once a week to develop a weekly plan which includes plans for seeking housing and meeting personal and financial needs.  They meet daily with residents to discuss progress in finding permanent housing and provide advice in dealing with landlords and state and local agencies.  Residents develop personal budgets that are realistic and goal plans that are productive. 

Our Family Life Program helps residents deal with family issues and child raising skills.  Once a week we have a Parenting Discussion Group for parents to learn positive parenting skills.

Our Tutoring and Language Arts Program helps children maintain educational progress during a time of family crisis.  Local schools work closely with us on getting our children enrolled in school or keeping them in their former school, and helping them adjust to a new environment.

Each week a visiting nurse from the Ingham County Health Department provides assistance to our residents.

Representatives from the Salvation Army Housing Placement Program, Legal Aide, andd local attorneys present workshops on budgeting, leases, landlord expectations and related topics. 

Upon exiting, our residents receive and "exit bucket" filled with cleaning supplies and personal needs items.  They may also receive a Food Bank box of food to help them get established.

Our Partners in Progress is a transitional housing program which assists families after they leave the shelter.  A staff member works with the former residents to set realistic goals and monitor progress in employment, budgeting, arranging child care, improving parenting skills, and connecting with the neighborhood and the community.  Our goal is to build strong families, increase employment success and prevent future homelessness.  We are partnering with the American Red Cross Coordinated Extended Services Program so that more families can receive case management after they leave the shelter.  A HUD grant enables us to provide subsidized rents and services to three families with disabilities. 

Many volunteers help in the office, provide activities for children and families, handle many other tasks to assist residents and ex-residents, and help the shelter run smoothly.

Challanges:  Funding will be a challenge as a troubled economy affects private donations and government grants become more limited.  While we are looking for ways to reduce our costs we must look for ways to increase contributions from indiviuals, businesses, service clubs and the interfaith community. 

Affordable housing is becoming more scarce and landlords are screening prospective tenants very carefully.  It is taking longer on the average for families to find housing, thus increasing the length of shelter stays.