Helping the Homeless Weather Life

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Lifeboat Alliance

• Helping the Homeless Weather Lifes Storms

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Homeless Challenge in Jefferson County

• Homeless People who do not own or rent a
  dwelling.
• Crowded into substandard housing with
  relatives/friends.
• Others in hotels, cars, campers, tents,
  cemeteries, or overpasses.
• Currently, Mt. Vernon City Schools has 334
  homeless students enrolled
• Churches are expending benevolence funds for
  temporary relief on hotels, rent, utilities,
  food, etc.
• Jefferson County Housing Authority reports
  subsidized housing shortage
• Waiting list can be anywhere between 2 days and 6
  months.
• 56 applicants currently on the waiting list
• 59 extremely low income (lt11,400 income)
• 41 very low income (lt19,000 income)
• Most with 2-3 children and working many are
  elderly
• Many are just beyond the income levels eligible
• Section 8 housing vouchers have 3-4 year waiting
  period

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Current Homeless Solutions

• Rescue Mission
• Limited space and difficulty in placement
• Hope in Christ Ministries
• Limited space and difficulty in placement
• Local Hotels
• Plenty of space and easy to place
• Expensive and lacking in transformation

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History

• Jefferson County Ministerial Association task
  force to address homelessness (2008)
• Grassroots gathering of local businesspeople and
  church leaders to address homelessness
  (2009-present)
• Creation of 501(c)3 Lifeboat Alliance (2010)
• Researched and contacted other homeless shelters
  in Illinois (2009-present)
• Relationship with Lighthouse Shelter in Marion as
  a model program (2010-present)

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Habitat for Humanity Initiative

• Partnering with Lifeboat Alliance to acquire and
  renovate the abandoned Mt. Vernon Care nursing
  home facility (Jefferson Avenue)
• Handling fundraising and labor for renovations
• Not involved with operational costs or management
  of the homeless shelter
• Will be Habitats largest volunteer project to
  date and will likely be Mt. Vernons largest
  service project for 2011

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Lifeboat Alliance Plans

• Our priority will be serving homeless clients
  seeking sustained life transformation
• Currently building an alliance of churches,
  schools, agencies, businesses, service
  organizations, and individuals to support and
  operate this facility
• Developing final policies and procedures
• Identifying funding sources and volunteers
• Planning to hire and manage staff
• Planning to provide case management for sustained
  life transformation by connecting needs to
  resources

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Community-Wide Involvement

• First Community Planning Meeting to Discuss
  Possible Homeless Solutions and Next Steps (June
  17, 2010)
• Meeting with Business Neighbors (October 19,
  2010)
• Second Community Planning Meeting to Discuss
  Policies and Procedures (October 21, 2010)
• Door-To-Door Flyer Distribution to all Neighbors
  Answering Questions and Informing Them of Third
  Community Planning Meeting (November 13, 2010)
• Third Community Planning Meeting to Discuss
  Location and Organizational Roles (November 16,
  2010)

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Community-Wide Commitment

• Organizations already formally committed to the
  project
• Central Christian, St. Marys Catholic, Logan
  Street Baptist, First Presbyterian, Southwest
  Christian Churches
• Mount Vernon City Schools, District 80
• United Way, Catholic Social Services, Youth
  Build, Habitat for Humanity
• Donoheaven Foundation
• Many other organizations and individuals have
  made informal commitments toward the project

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Community Contributions

• Advisory Contributions
• Policies, Procedures, Public Relations,
  Fundraising
• Financial Contributions Projected
• Local churches - 61,000
• Local businesses - 29,000
• Agencies Organizations - 23,000
• Foundations Grants - 50,000
• Individuals - 37,000
• Additional money through fundraising
• Volunteer Contributions
• Receptionists, Food Services, Maintenance

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Need for United Community Effort

• No one group can afford this
• Operational costs will be 199,700
• Staff - 113,900
• Operations - 31,500
• Utilities - 17,500
• Capital - 15,800
• Contingency - 21,000
• No one group can staff this
• Staff Executive Director, Case Manager,
  Security, Custodian
• Volunteers Reception, Meals, Other Support
• No one group can sustain this
• Ongoing commitment of time and resources for
  sustained life transformation of clients

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Please contact the following with additional
questions Rob Dyer, revrob_at_charter.net Dr. Tyler
Brown, tbrown_at_mtv80.org Richard Straeter,
richard.straeter_at_crii.us