EVERYBODY - Father Bill's & MainSpring

EVERYBODY

DESERVES A HOME

FY2016 annual report 1

BOARD OF directors

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Dr. Michael Kryzanek, Chair Bridgewater State University

Mary Catherine Finn, PNP, Vice Chair, Village Pediatrics

James Oslin, CPA, Treasurer Gosule, Butkus & Jesson LLP

Joyce Hogan, Secretary Valentine Street Program for Women

Rev. Adolph H. Wismar Wollaston Lutheran Church (immediate past Chair)

MEMBERS

H. William (Bill) Adams, III Coldwell Banker

Athina DiIorio The Gourmet Caf? Catering

Michael Arkin TDC

Katrina Hartwell Jones & Vining

Corey Anne Beach Center for Social Innovation

Elizabeth Kim Arbella Insurance Group

Al Becker Jack Conway & Company, Inc.

Ronald Chapman DHS, U.S. Coast Guard

Ken DeDominici Churchill Linen Service

Rev. John E. Denning, C.S.C Stonehill College

Joyce Livramento-Young Women Empowerment Initiative for Change

Francis J. (Jay) Lynch, III, Esq. Lynch and Lynch Law Office

Robert M. Pineau Electroswitch Corp.

Jane Wing South Shore Bank

HONORARY BOARD MEMBERS

William Fitzgerald, Sr.

Deacon Gerald P. Ryan

Miriam Patrice McKeon

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Home Depot employee volunteers giving a day of service at Jack's Place in Brockton, the newest permanent housing facility built by FBMS.

dear F R I E N D S A N D C O L L E A G U E S ,

The path our participants take to achieve self-sufficiency is hardly ever the same. Each person who enters our doors comes with their own unique set of experiences and needs. It is our job to understand these experiences, identify their needs, to recognize what self-sufficiency means for them ? to meet them where they are ? and develop a plan that works to effectively end, or prevent, their homelessness.

In this report you will read three such stories that illustrate how everyone's path is different, and how the creativity, resolve, compassion and teamwork of our staff help individuals and families on their way to stability and a better future.

These stories also demonstrate the strides we have made with our strategic plan goals, of which we are excited to share our progress. As you can see, these goals permeate everything we do and, in many ways, are already in practice in our daily work.

At the beginning and end of every day, we believe that everybody deserves a home. What "home" looks like, where it is, how long it takes someone to get there, is ever changing. But we will always be there for those who need us, making sure they are not alone on that unique path home. We hope we can continue to count on you to join us in that journey.

Sincerely,

John Yazwinski President & CEO

Michael Kryzanek Board of Directors, Chair

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Clara and her family: (left to right), Clara, Genevieve, Justin, Frances

Moving toward self-sufficiency

clara THE STORY OF

AND HER FAMILY

For parents with young children, the week before the start of the school year often brings a range of emotions. But imagine the stress if you have also just become homeless. It happened last year to Clara* and her three children.

The situation at home with her husband had deteriorated and Clara had decided she had no choice but to leave with the kids. She got a referral to Father Bill's & MainSpring (FBMS) from the Department of Transitional Assistance, which placed her and her family at Evelyn House, a congregate family emergency shelter operated by FBMS.

"It was a safe place with wonderful people helping us," Clara says of Evelyn House.

FBMS staff members immediately helped Clara enroll the older children, Frances (12) and Justin (11), in a new school before the first day of class. They helped Frances get the special assistance she needed for a learning disability and

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arranged for Justin to start meeting weekly with a clinician to help with emotional difficulties he was experiencing.

Father Bill's & MainSpring's goal for all families or individuals who are in emergency shelter is to help them move to permanent housing. Fortunately, FBMS housing specialists were able to place Clara and her family into a newly renovated apartment in Brockton less than a year after the day they had become homeless.

This past September, Clara enrolled Frances and Justin in public school in Brockton and 3-year-old Genevieve is now attending a Head Start program. Clara started attending workskills training from Father Bill's & MainSpring's employment specialists, and she has signed up for classes that will help her continue on her path to self-sufficiency.

* The names of Clara and her children have been changed to protect their privacy.

At a FBMS-hosted cookout for families in our housing program, a dad holds his son and a little boy holds the wheel of a fire truck.

1,204 families

SERVED BY FBMS IN FY16

Strategic Plan Update: Family Programs

FBMS laid the groundwork for a new family programs model to be introduced in 2017 that will more effectively align resources to help families avoid shelter, or exit shelter more quickly to permanent housing, employment and stability.

A pilot project of this model was introduced this past year and included a realignment of staff. Notable achievements during FY16 include:

? Diverting 214 families from entering shelter ? Placing 53 heads of households in jobs ? Moving 69 percent of families from shelter

into housing

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Michael Johnson in his apartment in Plymouth.

a home IN PLYMOUTH

FOR AN OUTDOORSMAN

As a Plymouth resident, perhaps it's not surprising that Michael Johnson's grandfather was a full-blooded member of the original residents of the area, the Wampanoag Tribe. Michael cites his ancestry proudly, saying it's why he likes to hunt and fish. "I can live off the land if I have to." It's also why he wasn't wholly uncomfortable living for a few years in his Chevy Blazer "till it died," and then a series of houses with no heat and often no running water.

Conversely, he didn't mind paying rent and for years did odd jobs ? maintenance man, stern-man on a lobster boat, house painter ? to pay his expenses, but the rents got too high. He also suffered from epilepsy and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but didn't make enough from Supplemental Security Income. Michael became homeless. That was 10 years ago.

Fast-forward several years to the present. Michael and George Watson, a Plymouth Housing Specialist for Father Bill's & MainSpring (FBMS), are sitting together one chilly fall morning in Michael's warm and cozy Plymouth apartment. They reminisced about how they had met.

"George told me he was from Father Bill's and he'd like to help me get a place to live, and I said, `hmm, OK,' " Michael says.

George, who has worked for FBMS for 18 years,

first talked Michael into trying a shelter and then

an apartment owned by FBMS, but neither

situation worked out. But George

doesn't give up on the people he

works with. He was building trust

by taking Michael to his doctor's

appointments and undertaking the

voluminous paperwork that would

eventually get Michael into his

FBMS-managed apartment in

Plymouth. Michael, who is now 60,

seems happy there, telling a visitor

about his past fishing and hunting

exploits and looking forward to the

next outing.

Tim, another FBMS housing participant,

shown living last year outdoors in a makeshift

shelter and this year in his FBMS apartment

in Brockton.

Strategic Plan Update: Housing Program

The peace of mind from knowing that their FBMS-managed home is as permanent as they want it to be is crucial in helping previously homeless residents achieve and maintain stability in their lives. This year Father Bill's & MainSpring opened 53 new units of additional housing (including Patti's House in Brockton, shown under construction in photo at right):

? 45 new units for individual adults ? 8 new units for families

F B M S NOW MANAGES MORE THAN

422 permanent

HOUSING UNITS

ACROSS SOUTHERN MASSACHUSETTS

4 www.hheellppffbbmmss..oorrgg

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Gayle Cragin interviews a guest at Father Bill's Place in Quincy

Preventing Homelessness

a vietnam vet GOES HOME

Every day newly homeless individuals appear at the doors of the Father Bill's & MainSpring (FBMS) shelters. They are invited inside where they are interviewed by a specialist who assesses each person's needs. One question the FBMS staff always asks themselves is this: can we take steps to prevent this individual from becoming homeless? There are many stories where the answer is "yes." Here is one...

Reginald's photo from his VA healthcare ID card

Reginald came to Father Bill's Place with several suitcases. A U.S. Veteran who had served during Vietnam, he had come to the area to acquire housing through the local Veteran's Administration (VA). Due to his anxiety and several other compounding factors, Reginald adapted poorly to city life in Greater Boston, and had left VA housing.

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When he found his way to the doorstep at Father Bill's Place Reginald initially met with FBMS Assessment Specialist Gayle Cragin. It was in speaking with Gayle that he realized he would be best served to reunite with family living in Washington. Reginald told Gayle that his brother would take him in there, but that he didn't have any money to get back.

Gayle considered the likelihood that Reginald could be stuck in the shelter for an extended period, or wandering the streets of Quincy indefinitely without any family support.

So Gayle arranged for a ticket on a Greyhound bus to Spokane, Washington for $229, paid out of a small FBMS `flex shelter fund' created especially for situations like this, where homelessness may be avoided. Less than 24 hours after arriving at Father Bill's Place, and without having to spend a single night in shelter, Reginald headed west. He made it home safely to the Pacific Northwest, where he now lives with his brother.

Above: Norman Pyne, Veteran, Brockton native and FBMS housing participant. Below: An American Legion member saluting at Jack's Place/Patti's House dedication ceremony.

Strategic Plan Update: Housing Resource Center

Our Strategic Plan will culminate with the ground breaking on a Housing Resource Center designed to divert individuals from entering shelter and to move them more rapidly to housing or treatment, thus reducing the need for emergency shelter.

This past year a group of key stakeholders had the opportunity to visit similar programs and meet with nationally recognized experts in the field to help guide planning and to gain insight into services and facility requirements. A concept paper was drafted in early 2016 and a full business plan will be finalized in Spring 2017.

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FY2016 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

In FY16, FBMS Served 4,826 People IN 41 Cities and Towns

ACROSS SOUTHERN MASSACHUSETTS

HULL

DEDHAM WESTWOOD

MILTON

QUINCY

NORWOOD

RAND

BRAINTREE OLPH

CANTON

WEYMOUTH

COHASSET

HINGHAM

SCITUATE

NORWELL

STOUGHTON HOLBROOK

ROCKLAND

EASTON

AVON

ABINGTON

HANOVER

MARSHFIELD

BROCKTON

WHITMAN

PEMBROKE

HANSON

EAST BRIDGEWATER

WEST BRIDGEWATER

DUXBURY

BRIDGEWATER

HALIFAX

KINGSTON

PLYMPTON

MIDDLEBORO

CARVER

PLYMOUTH

LAKEVILLE

*For Tenancy Preservation Program only: Attleboro, Fall River, New Bedford, Taunton.

ROCHESTER

WAREHAM

MARION

ONSET

MATTAPOISET

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Housing

? FBMS now manages more than 422 permanent housing units across Southern Massachusetts

? 350 households moved from homelessness to housing

Homelessness Prevention

? 88% of households assisted by the Tenancy Preservation Program remained housed

? 95% of 125 households at risk of homelessness remained housed with help from FBMS

? FBMS diverted 214 families from having to enter shelter

Shelter and Basic Needs

? 2,595 people (adults and children) were sheltered

? 231,159 meals were served to community members in need, mainly through volunteer power

500 veterans

SERVED BY FBMS

IN FY16

120 people SECURED JOBS

Individuals ? Sheltered 1,836 individuals total,

averaging 237 individuals each night ? 368 individuals exited shelter to

housing or other systems of care ? 239 individuals sheltered were

veterans

Families ? 256 families were sheltered, including

414 children, averaging 130 families each night ? 88 families ended their homelessness and moved into housing

Strategic Plan Update: Community Relations Program

Telling our own story through a robust community relations program is another important element of our strategic plan. This year we:

? Strengthened our infrastructure to expand our visibility and partnerships

? Produced new videos to tell the FBMS story, distributing and promoting them across social media platforms including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter

? Began work on a new, user-friendly website to be released Spring 2017

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