Non-Profit I"m starting
Mission:
• The mission of Free Will Housing is to offer housing rehabilitation to urban areas with a homeless placement program to help create a community within a community. With our help, vacant areas could become self-sustaining neighborhoods eager to contribute to society and in turn become an enriching environment for its population. Our organization will give priority to homeless Veterans and Families, this will give them the opportunity to start over by providing them the services and tools necessary to become successful.
Organizational Background:
There are many reasons that gave me inspiration to start this organization. I was once homeless when I was a teenager, only for a small-time period, but it was the result of a few bad decisions on my part but it brings perspective on how quickly you can end up in that position. My experience combined with the many frustrations with the poor condition that Baltimore is in right now is another one of my reasons. I’m not sure how we got here, but I can no longer sit on the sidelines and watch any longer. The peak of my frustration with Baltimore was when I would travel there to conduct business and found city blocks boarded up and abandoned. I stopped asking myself how we got here and began talking to residents instead. When talking to Baltimore residents they weren’t even sure how it happened either. The more I traveled through the city the more I realized the extent of the problem. The other major issue Baltimore faces is homelessness as almost every corner there is a homeless person holding a sign begging for food. Homelessness for our veteran and familial populations go hand-in-hand with the declining conditions of Baltimore. After too many conversations, stories and experiences I knew I needed to help the city and its people recover.
With the problem of homelessness and plenty of vacant homes/communities needing rehabilitation it makes perfect sense to place these homeless veterans and families in these newly renovated homes that were previously vacated and forgotten. With Free Will Housing these homes will have active community members, increase in tax value for the neighborhood, tax revenue increased for Baltimore, and most importantly a decrease in homelessness in Baltimore. So, in turn that’s how I visualized the idea of Free Will Housing which seems like a perfect marriage of two negatives turned into a positive.
Program Description
Rehab to Rent Program- Purchasing homes from foreclosure/tax sale and or having them donated by investors or the city affords us the opportunity to gain homes cheaply so we can rehabilitate them with the hopes of donated materials and discounted labor. This makes it so we can provide affordable income based housing for the homeless populations we serve. The homes will be efficient with solar power panels in order to make housing expenses as inexpensive as possible. Ideally, we will have multiple homes on one block with a commercial building that can be a grocery/business opportunity for the residents we place and the whole community. We will work with local social agencies, therapist groups, and current programs to identify potential clients. Families/Women and Veterans are our target populations for our organization.
Wrap-Around Services- Each resident/family will have a case manager and counselor. If there are multiple clients in one house there will be a house manager for extra daily support. Transportation to and from all medical and social services will be provided. Steps to gain veteran benefits, legal documents, driver’s licenses and welfare benefits will be provided.
Legal Services- The legal services will be available for both the induvial or for family services such as child custody issues. The hope is to resolve any legal issues to maximize success in the program and the client’s lives.
Financial Services- Finical counselors will be provided in order for residents to learn how to do a monthly budget, acquire a checking/savings account, repair bad credit as well debt counseling/consolidation.
Job Readiness/Placement Program- This program provides clients with the skills to gain a job like resume workshops, interview prep, and professionalism tips. We work with other organizations in Baltimore to ensure placement into jobs where clients are capable to grow as a professional worker.
https://www.gofundme.com/freewillhousing
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freewillhousing 
