There is an art to creating and sustaining a home. It takes attention and time and space. To build a home, we have to focus on the needs of ourselves and our “family.” Sometimes home is with biological family, adopted family, friend family and sometimes we find ourselves at home alone with friends or other family outside our home as support.
The home that is artfully created and sustained has to have support… the support of a solid foundation, including the support of friends and family, even if those friends are caregivers, service organizations or church family. Building a home on a solid budget, no matter the income or supportive services like housing vouchers or food assistance programs, helps to form the foundation needed.
House on the Hill practices The Art of Home with each client it serves, becoming both friend and family, support and foundation and advisor. The programs at House on the Hill, which help provide transitional housing, are meant to first stabilize and then, based on the client’s own goals for the future, build a household budget and savings plan, pay off debt and create a plan for accomplishing the household’s personal goals.
In our community more than 9000 families are in need of attainable, affordable housing. Many of these families need accompanying services or wrap-around services to stabilize and accomplish their goals.
Affordable housing is scarce in our community. In a time period where our number of general rental and for-purchase housing units are thousands of units behind the current pace of need, there is also lack of availability of affordable housing units for low-income families and individuals.
On average, an individual needs to earn around $37,440 per year, or the equivalent of about 40 hours per week at $18 an hour, as a living wage in our community. This doesn’t include vacation time away from work without pay.
The need is greater for families who have a greater number of members. This number is based on rental property and the current cost of paying rent and utilities. The range of housing costs for affordable housing can be from about $800-$1600 per month including utilities. Transitional, affordable housing programs, like The Guesthouse program at House on the Hill, allow families and individuals in need the opportunity to become self-sustaining. The program helps prevent eviction by holding the lease and subletting to the client. It also helps prevent utility shutoff by carrying the utilities. Clients join the program at their own level. The staff and volunteers at House on the Hill work with the client on finding or bettering employment, developing a monthly budget, and the steps to reach the household’s individual goals and plans. The Guesthouse program currently provides 10 units. The range and type of family varies from an individual on a fixed income to a single mom with four kids, to an adult high school senior preparing for college, a single dad with a pre-teen daughter, a mom with three boys, and another with two small children.
There are no barriers to housing at House on the Hill. Clients only need the desire to move forward and the willingness to do the work to help make it happen.
To find out more about the transitional housing program, The Guesthouse, at House on the Hill, visit https://www.houseonthehillbg.com.
-submitted by House on the Hill
Be the first to comment