2019 was a big year for the Women’s Housing Coalition. For the first time in over ten years, we were able to add more units. Expanding from 98 to 108 households has given 25 families and 83 individuals a place to call home.
In partnership with Kaiser Permanente, our residents were able to go to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History & Culture on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The partnership also provided residents with the opportunity to access tools they will need for career success with professional headshots, a pop-up thrift store, resume/job readiness workshop, and motivational speakers.
Events like this along with our ongoing life skills programming that focuses on mind and body health help ensure that our residents have all of the support and experience they need to create goals and meet them.
Inside the Women’s Housing Coalition we also had some exciting changes to make sure we are meeting the needs of our growing number of residents. We have new staff members, including a part-time Case Manager and an Inspection Coordinator who is bridging the gap between Case Managers and inspections that we must comply with through the City. Our residents often struggle with having the skills to maintain their home, working with their landlords to get repairs completed, or letting strangers into their homes. The Inspection Coordinator is working closely with them and their Case Managers to build trusting relationships that will make this process easier on them and avoid triggering trauma.
You may have noticed that the WHC also received a brand refresh to help us grow awareness for our organization! We designed a new logo and color scheme to freshen up our marketing at DesignFest, which was hosted by The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and sponsored by the T. Rowe Price Foundation.
Our new and improved website launched in June and shares our mission, resident success stories, and makes supporting the WHC easy for our donors.
We look forward to 2020 with high hopes for even more growth as we celebrate our 40th year of helping to end the cycle of homelessness.
We invite you to help us celebrate at our annual event, Windows of Opportunity, on April 1st from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum.
As we reflect on all we’ve accomplished over the last 40 years, we are hopeful for a future where every person has access to safe, affordable housing.