THE NEXT CHAPTER: HOPE
President Barack Obama sent this wonderful happy anniversary letter! Click on the image to take a look.
Moving into our anniversary year and beyond, we will expand and innovate to meet unprecedented needs and provide solutions for those who never expected to need our help. Through an array of in-depth services, we will help our neighbors get into stable housing, permanently.
Housing – With the devastating impact the COVID-19 crisis has had on our economy, thousands of our neighbors will face eviction soon and in the coming years. Friendship Place seeks to provide direct housing support to help stave off evictions while connecting people to services they need on the road to stability.
Opportunity – Thousands of our neighbors have also lost jobs and their livelihoods. Friendship Place’s unique AimHire employment program provides innovative help to connect participants with employers now and in a post-COVID world.
Prevention – The Friendship Place Way means we provide emergency help in individual circumstances which, left unfulfilled, introduce long-term instability. The Friendship Place Emergency Fund will help prevent that instability by funding short-term participant needs like: health access, food, security deposits, car repairs and other vital items.
Economic Justice – The COVID-19 crisis has unjustly weighed most heavily on those who can afford it least and we seek to create a more equitable system that tackles the root causes of homelessness—giving voice to those who have been silenced, continuing to address racial injustice and collaborating with partners to who can help us make further progress.
Over our three decades, Friendship Place has catalyzed incredible change in our community. With the support of the community, we have embraced a holistic, forward-thinking mindset, not just to provide temporary housing solutions, but to help our participants permanently improve their lives. Yet, as we enter our fourth decade of service, the tears in the social safety net are ever-widening. Thousands of our neighbors face the threat of eviction, joblessness, another night on the streets. They face a steep, uphill battle against an unjust system.
Friendship Place is needed more than ever. Our supporters are needed more than ever.
We are coming upon a turning point for our community. The investments that we make today will help individuals and families for years to come.