For several years now, long-term housing has been what we consider to be our \u201cweakest link.\u201d While at in2Action, residents strive for stability in every area of their lives. Staying clean from drugs, managing money, succeeding in the workplace, cultivating healthy relationships, and making good decisions are just a few such examples. And whereas our participants are provided safe, affordable, and drug-free housing while they are in our program, this option is not so readily available to them upon program completion. Bad credit, a criminal record, limited income, and poor rental and employment histories often prevent in2Action graduates from finding suitable housing that is conducive to their continued success. In2Action has worked hard to establish relationships with property owners, but with only limited success. One challenge in Columbia is the already-limited availability of one-bedroom apartments. When one of these units does become available, our graduates do not usually find themselves on the top of the list because of the reasons stated above. What usually happens is our graduates must take whatever they can get. And what they get is usually a poorly maintained unit in a bad neighborhood, with neighbors who are the exact same type of people they are trying to avoid. It is under these circumstances that we can see all the progress our graduates have made begin to unravel.
\nTo address this need, in2Action has identified some property for sale which is in-between and adjacent to two of our existing houses. The property, which sits on over three acres, with lots of green space, has four buildings. The first building is a large 6-bedroom house that we will use as our Phase-2 House. Currently our Phase 2 residents live in a rented house located about one mile from our Phase 1 houses. Moving these residents closer to the existing houses is expected to improve our outcomes for both Phase 1 and Phase 2 residents. The remaining three buildings will all be used for long-term housing for our program graduates. There are six 1-bedroom apartments in one building, two 1-bedroom apartments and a 3-bedroom apartment in another building, and the third building is a small 2-bedroom house. All these units will be leased on a long-term basis to our graduates. The 3-bedroom apartment and the 2-bedroom house can be used for residents with families that are ready to reunite. The units will all get new kitchens, bathrooms, floors, windows, and HVAC.<\/p>\n
Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of this opportunity is the location. Because all these apartments are literally adjacent to and in-between the larger Phase-1 and Phase-2 houses, our program graduates can continue to participate in and stay connected to the \u201cin2Action model.\u201d Men released from prison on \u2018day one\u2019 will not only be in the same house as others who got out a week or a month ago but will also have neighbors next door who got out one or two years ago.<\/p>\n
We need your help! Our Capital Campaign goal is $500,000. This goal was calculated as the number needed so that the acquisition would not add undue stress to in2Action\u2019s already tight budget. $500,000 will allow us to put 35% down on the mortgage for the property, while also covering the costs of the capital improvements. We have presently raised about 65% of our total goal. As you consider your year-end giving, please keep this opportunity in mind. The acquisition of this property will be serving people in in2Action long after you and I are gone. What a blessing!<\/p>\n
Tax-deductible donations to the Capital Campaign can be made out to \u201cin2Action Fund\u201d and mailed to in2Action, PO Box 86, Columbia, MO 65205. Donations can also be made through the secure portal on our website at www.in2Action.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For several years now, long-term housing has been what we consider to be our \u201cweakest link.\u201d While at in2Action, residents strive for stability in every area of their lives. Staying clean from drugs, managing money, succeeding in the workplace, cultivating healthy relationships, and making good decisions are just a few such examples. And whereas our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":5635,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-long-term-housing"],"yoast_head":"\n