Outreach in Action
Mr. QF is a 35-year-old male who was on probation and wearing an ankle monitor when he arrived at Chapman Partnership in October 2017.
Through his own fortitude and with the assistance of case management and HOPE, Mr. QF completed the culinary arts training offered onsite and secured part-time employment with a local restaurant. In February 2018, the restaurant’s Executive Chef saw Mr. QF’s potential and sent him to Arizona for additional training at the corporate facility, which resulted in a full time position. With the increase in salary from a full-time job, Mr. QF was able to move into a one-bedroom apartment on April 10, 2018 and is beyond grateful for the assistance provided that acted as a springboard for his future achievement.
The Jones family, parents Janice and Darryl, and their 2 sons ages 8 and 10, were forced from their apartment when the Landlord doubled the rent with the arrival of Hurricane Irma.
While searching, for an affordable apartment, the boys spent the nights at their aunt’s tiny house; Janice and Darryl slept in their car. Darryl continued working, kids attended school and Janice searched for a new job. The job hunts proved difficult for Janice because she needed flexible hours in order to accommodate one of her sons, who showed signs of autism. She reached out to County resources and through Adopt-A-Family she was referred to Family Promise South Palm Beach County. They called and both passed all protocol steps. The family entered the Road to Independence program with a fierce determination to succeed. With the help of their Family Promise case manager, they created a budget and set achievable goals, made sure the special needs son kept up in school and searched for suitable employment. They worked with mom on building self-esteem and focusing on positive attributes. After only a few days, Janice landed a suitable job with flexible hours as a cafeteria worker. The family followed every rule and was so grateful to have us help them get back on their feet. Within 6 weeks, the Jones family had saved ALL of their earned income and found a 2 - bedroom house in the area.
Since we started the Overnight program we have had some of our clients helping to clean and set up before the overnight clients come in to register. They are then allowed to sleep at the shelter for helping out.
We found out by doing this, some of these client’s self-esteem grew enough that they are now enrolled in Atlantic Technical College. One is going for Medical Technician and the other is going for Accounting. I don’t believe this would have happened without that little boost of confidence. We are very proud of them and look forward to others following suite.
Fernando lives in a local trailer park with his six-year-old daughter. His wife was not able to come from Mexico with their other two children and may never get permission to come. He works for a local landscape company and is raising the daughter by himself.
He needed help with rent as his work hours were reduced and he came to KAIR. In talking with him, we realized KAIR could be much more important to him than just one-time rent assistance. We encouraged him to come regularly for food and realized he did not have a car, so we are delivering food to him. We also intervened with his attempts to straighten out his family’s immigration status and are working with a charitable lawyer. By changing from after school care to St. Columba’s Hammock House program, he can save $70 a week. He can also benefit from clothing, toys and household goods to ease the burden on his finances as he regularly sends money to his wife and children in Mexico.