Holy Trinity Catholic Church Lenexa

The McGivney Project has been a wonderful success. Five homeless families are now permanently housed thanks to the generous funding of this project.

The fund provided the first 3 months rent to assist families in getting into permanent housing. Each of these families were evicted due to employment lay offs. Without sufficient savings, the 12-16 week wait for unemployment payments to start, forced these families into the streets and they were living in their cars.

It was at the point of literal homelessness that these families reached out to Catholic Charities for assistance. Even with unemployment income, landlords were unwilling to rent to these families due to their recent eviction. However, with a promise of 3 months initial rent, Catholic Charities was able to negotiate lease agreements with local landlords for each family.

During the first three months in the McGivney Project, each family participated in skill building activities such as budgeting and parenting. Additionally, they received (and are still receiving) case management services that provide helpful resources and referrals, assistance identifying barriers to successful living, problem solving, identifying family strengths and building on those. Case Management does one additional important thing…it provides the family with a constant cheer leader who believes in them- who sees their potential – who is totally on their side and will walk this path with them till they are stably housed once again.

Here is a short vignette about each of the 5 families.

LeRoy was a truck driver for 20+ years. He and his wife had recently taken in their son and his two children. Without warning, LeRoy was laid off. They were fairly confident in their ability to recover using their savings. Then, LeRoy’s health took a turn for the worse. Without on-going medical insurance, their out of pocket expenses soared. LeRoy’s son found some part time work but it was not enough to keep the family afloat. They were evicted from their dwelling and all 5 of them were living in their car. They came into Catholic Charities, LeRoy said he had found a new job starting in a week but needed help getting into housing. McGivney fund was utilized and the landlord agreed to rent to this family. After getting into housing, Case Management provided on going support to the son as he looked for and eventually found full time employment. CM also provided a medical referral to Jo Co Health Partnership for LeRoy who’s health continued to deteriorate. LeRoy had to leave his job but was at least under a doctor’s care. This past week, LeRoy had his leg amputated. His son has been able to provide on going support and the family housing situation is stable. LeRoy will recover and case management will continue to provide support to this family. Without the McGivney funds, it would have been difficult to help this family find housing … and the final outcome for LeRoy may have been much worse. This family is extremely grateful to the McGivney fund for the assistance they received.

Stacie, her husband and their child became homeless when they were both laid off from work. Again, the 12 – 16 week delay in getting unemployment benefits resulted in their eviction from their apartment. They were living in their car when they came to Catholic Charities for assistance. Today, they are both working and able to pay their ongoing housing costs. They participated in budget counseling and were given child care referrals so that they could look for and return to work. While their story is not as dramatic as LeRoy’s, it is, nonetheless, a story of homelessness and finding hope. Stacie and Ryan were on the verge of a separation. Their marriage had reached it’s breaking point because of the financial burden they carried. Fear of losing their child kept them from reaching out for help. The landlord agreed to rent to them with the understanding of a guarantee of 3 months rent and on going case management. We made referrals for child care, marriage counseling, financial counseling and employment counseling. They, because someone believed that it was not hopeless and that they could overcome these barriers, rose to the challenge and today have secured more than stable housing, they have secured their future for their marriage and their family.

Christina has a history of being in quite a bit of legal trouble! However, she got herself straightened out and has done much work to change and improve her life. She came to Catholic Charities when she found herself and her 2 children homeless. She was hopeless. Her past now made it impossible for her to be approved at any apartment complex … and no matter the amount of change she had made in her life, nothing would erase her criminal convictions of the past. Catholic Charities found a landlord who was willing to take a chance with a guarantee of 3 mos rent up front. Christina was working full time and had saved up enough money to pay the deposit. When the case manager told her that we wanted to support her positive and sober lifestyle and partner with her until her housing was stabilized, she cried. Christina has participated in budgeting and parenting classes. Additionally, she continues to follow through with her own individual and family counseling. She works full time and participates in her children’s education. Christina has opened her first bank account and is building a small savings account. Christina continues to do well and participates fully in a case management program.

Anna and Aaron have a 3 year old and a baby on the way. Aaron works full time and they were living with a family member. Anna and Aaron paid rent to the family member and thought they were sharing expenses. One day, the family member told Anna and Aaron that they had to leave. Their home, unbeknownst to Anna and Aaron, was being foreclosed on. Anna and Aaron couch surfed at various places … and eventually ended up in their car. That is when they came to Catholic Charities. With 3 months rent paid, they were able to move into an apartment rather quickly. Anna and Aaron had no household items of their own so as they are getting paid, they are slowly getting the items they need for their home. Catholic Charities has helped out with some furniture, but the bulk of their items they are getting themselves. They are attending parenting classes and are budgeting individually with the case manager. This is a young family who, with these supportive services and a chance to get permanently housed, will learn life lessons early enough that the rest of their long lives will be successful ones. They, too, have opened their first bank account and are planning on developing a savings account as soon as they have a stable budget.

Kristen and her husband became homeless after her husband became seriously ill and could not work. Kristen had always stayed at home with their 2 children. They lived on a tight “pay check to pay check” budget but they did not mind because they felt it important for one of them to be at home with the children till they started school. Kristen immediately went to work but it was not enough to pay the bills and soon they were evicted from their home. Living in their car, and with no medical insurance, it was – in their words – “a hopeless nightmare.” Kristen came to Catholic Charities seeking help to find a place to live. The case manager worked with her diligently while making referrals for medical and child care needs. Again, with a guarantee of 3 mos rent, a landlord took a chance on this family. Today, her husband is back to work part time and their budget has stabilized. They are in the ending stage of their case management program and will be closing in 30 days.

In closing, please know that this fund has done more than I ever imagined possible. Instead of assisting one family, we were able to permanently house (with on-going stability) 5 families who were literally homeless.

Thank you.