Home should be a haven. A place to build memories, a place of belonging, a place to leave your worries behind.
But for some families, they are one missed rent or mortgage payment away from homelessness. Housing insecurity is a traumatic event for every person in a family and has measurable effects on education, health, and employment.
United Way’s Safe & Stable Homes is led by an advisory council of leaders in local government, public policy, legal, education, health, and housing sectors. Our results are measured in accordance with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.
In 2023-24, we are funding the work of 26 organizations committed to ensure homelessness is prevented whenever possible, or if it can’t be prevented, it is a rare, brief, and one-time experience.
Meet the 2023-24 grantees for funding:
Advocates of Ozaukee, Inc.
Program name/purpose: Homelessness Prevention Program for Families
Program description: This program will serve families from Ozaukee County with one month’s rent and/or security deposit. Additionally, it provides case management and follow-up services when appropriate. This will add on to the existing Homelessness Prevention Program funded through United Way of Northern Ozaukee. Advocates of Ozaukee heads the county’s housing hotline, which is available 24/7 for individuals seeking housing and rental assistance in Ozaukee County.
Alma Center
Program name/purpose: Safe and Stable Housing
Program description: Direct service staff in local agencies are experiencing Secondary Traumatic Stress (also known as compassion fatigue or vicarious trauma). After interviewing the individuals experiencing this burnout, the Alma Center developed Healing Focused Care trainings. They identified common problems staff experienced across agencies and the level of support agency leadership are willing to devote to help their staff build coping skills. All Safe & Stable Homes grantee direct-service staff will be invited to complete 20-24 hours of training across 110 hours of available session options. This will evaluate if this helps reduce staff burnout and increases employee retention across Safe & Stable Homes programs.
Cathedral Center
Program name/purpose: Flexible Housing – Community Case Management Program
Program description: Cathedral Center supports a Flexible Housing model, providing families with the amount and type of support they need to achieve stability as determined by Individualized Plans for Independence. Case Managers work with families to identify strengths and barriers and remain as a supportive service after families are connected to housing and long-term goals.
Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin (CAC)
Program name/purpose: Waukesha Families First
Program description: This program will work with homeless liaisons in each Waukesha County school district to identify families who are homeless or housing insecure. Caseworkers will work with each family to assess their budget, connect them to resources, and provide up to three months of housing assistance with the goal of reducing the number of students who are homeless or housing insecure. By remaining in their homes, this program will ensure Waukesha County children are able to stay connected within their schools and maintain needed neighborhood safety and stability.
Community Advocates
Program name/purpose: Eviction Prevention & Housing Stabilization for Families
Program description: Community Advocates provides short-term financial assistance for families at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness referred through the Milwaukee Rental Housing Resource Center partners (Legal Aid Society, Legal Action, and Mediate Milwaukee) or the Milwaukee Continuum of Care Coordinated Entry system.
Program name/purpose: Milwaukee Rental Housing Resource Center
Program description: The Rental Housing Resource Center (RHRC) is a single physical and digital location for tenants or landlords regarding eviction prevention resources. RHRC is a collaboration of nine organizations: Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin, Community Advocates, IMPACT, Hope House, Legal Action, Legal Aid Society, Mediate Wisconsin, City of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services, and the Milwaukee County Housing Division. This grant will cover the costs of the physical location, website, outreach materials, and one full-time Triage Specialist.
Family Promise of Ozaukee County
Program name/purpose: Family Homeless Prevention
Program description: Family Promise of Ozaukee County provides financial assistance and wraparound supportive services to a minimum of 35 families in Ozaukee and Washington counties facing imminent risk of homelessness. This program will provide case management services, financial coaching, childcare support, life skills workshops and other services that will meet clients’ needs. Staff will follow up with families for a full year to ensure they are able to maintain their housing and provide assistance and resources for any unforeseen challenges the families face.
Family Promise of Waukesha County
Program name/purpose: Family Homeless Prevention Program
Program description: Family Promise of Waukesha County provides financial assistance for rent, mortgage, utility, security deposits, or car repairs to families with children under the age of 18, who reside in Waukesha County, and have income under 80% of the area median income. Every family has access to case management for 12 months.
FRIENDS, Inc.
Program name/purpose: Transitional Living Program
Program description: FRIENDS, Inc. provides rent assistance to the Washington County domestic violence/sexual abuse survivors in FRIENDS’ Transitional Living Program. Funds will be used to pay rent to clients’ landlords for 12 months while the client pays down their debt, participates in case management and classes on employment-related issues, parental skills, alcohol and drug abuse prevention, mental health counseling services, and other related issues.
Guest House of Milwaukee
Program name/purpose: Family Flex Fund Community Case Management
Program description: In partnership with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and in alignment with the Family Flex Fund, this grant will provide flexible financial assistance for community case managers covering security deposits, first month’s rent, monthly bus passes, moving expenses, move-in supplies, and food-related gift cards.
Habitat for Humanity of Waukesha County
Program name/purpose: Habitat for Humanity of Waukesha County Homeownership Program
Program description: Habitat engages with homeowners holistically to break the cycle of poverty perpetuated by inaccessible safe, stable housing. Requiring financial literacy education, helping build their home alongside staff and volunteers through 200 hours of sweat equity per adult, and learning homeownership basics, this program addresses the impediments to housing stability throughout all stages of the process. One of the major costs that those in the Habitat homeownership program bear is the closing costs associated with purchasing their affordable home. The amount can range between $2,000-$6,000 and can be a significant barrier to expedient housing or create financial insecurity within the critical first months in their new home. This grant will cover these closing costs for homeowners to stabilize their newly found permanent housing.
Hope House of Milwaukee
Program name/purpose: Family Bonds Housing Program
Program description: This program helps get families off the streets immediately by housing them in an on-site shelter while working to help them find an apartment of their own. While in the program, Hope House pays a portion (or in most cases, all) of participating families’ rent for up to two years while they receive wraparound supportive services including GED classes for adults and tutoring classes for youth.
Impact, Inc.
Program name/purpose: Family Flex Fund
Program description: The Family Flex Fund provides tiers of flexible financial assistance and case management for families that would otherwise be using crisis services to avoid homelessness. The Family Flex Fund is used to fill gaps in the availability of federal rent vouchers, so that families can move out of shelter and into their own homes quickly. This program provides up to 12 months of wraparound supportive case management to stabilize housing security. It also serves families at imminent risk of homelessness to prevent them from needing to enter the shelter system. The Family Flex Fund has moved over 204 families out of homelessness over the past two years with 99.5% remaining stably housed.
Legal Action of Wisconsin
Program name/purpose: Eviction Defense Project
Program description: This grant will provide pro-bono, same-day legal representation for families in eviction cases in Milwaukee small claims court. In addition to legal representation, the Eviction Defense Project (EDP) advises tenants who only receive a notice terminating tenancy with no case filed, as well as assisting tenants with post-judgement matters, such as emergency stays of already ordered writs of eviction or motions to clarify CCAP records. EDP has been able to seal dismissed cases almost ten times as frequently as unrepresented tenants. EDP works in concert with Legal Aid Society’s EvictionFreeMKE (EFM) project by serving clients with same-day representation when they have not applied for extended representation before their case or do not meet EFM’s eligibility requirements, as well as taking overflow of clients from EFM when appropriate.
Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee
Program name/purpose: Housing SOS
Program description: Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee’s Housing SOS program funds a housing attorney who plays a key role in ensuring residents stay out of eviction court and in their homes. It addresses pre-filing matters, such as notices to quit or cure, security deposits, conditions of housing, and legal services. This housing attorney works with the City of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services, Community Advocates, Legal Aid Society’s civil division, the EvictionFreeMKE project, and Rental Housing Resource Center partners.
Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin & Upper Michigan
Program name/purpose: Waukesha Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA)
Program description: This program addresses the housing and case management needs of households eligible for Tenant Based Rental Assistance in Waukesha County. The TBRA case manager assists clients in identifying safe, appropriate, and affordable housing for clients, issues vouchers, and facilitates payments to landlords and utility companies. Participating households receive ongoing supportive services based on needs identified in their individualized service plans.
Meta House, Inc.
Program name/purpose: Safe Housing, Strong Families program
Program description: Meta House provides a supportive living environment for low-income families with women head-of-households undergoing substance use disorder treatment. While living in family housing within Meta House’s Recovery Community, women are supported by case managers, peer specialists, the Child and Family team, and therapists to help families strengthen relationships and build a foundation for achieving goals. Families stay an average of 4-6 months.
Metro Milwaukee Mediation Services (d/b/a Mediate Wisconsin)
Program name/purpose: Landlord-Tenant Mediation Program
Program description: In this program, professional mediators deescalate tension between tenants and landlords, help them identify common interests or goals, connect with available financial and supportive services, and craft an individualized solution that makes sense to both parties. This grant serves households across Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington, and Ozaukee counties and closely collaborates with the Rental Housing Resource Center.
Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity
Program name/purpose: Homeowner Foreclosure Prevention
Program description: The Homeowner Foreclosure Prevention program will serve up to 10 non-Habitat homeowners (max $4,000/homeowner) with foreclosure prevention funds in the neighborhoods of Amani, Harambee, Midtown, Park West, and Washington Park (zip codes 53205, 53026, 53208 & 53212). Financial assistance is to help pay delinquent property taxes and delinquent water bills. Clients must participate in foreclosure prevention and budgeting/financial education services provided for free by Housing Resources Inc.
My Way Out, Inc.
Program name/purpose: Reentry Housing Assistance
Program description: This program provides security deposit and up to three months of rent assistance for justice-impacted parents as they exit correctional institutions and get restabilized with their family. Individuals received personalized supportive case management for up to three years with a focus on employment opportunities and housing navigation. Clients are connected to a technology platform and mobile app to track progress on their needs, risks, support services, appointments, education & job-readiness training, and employment interviews. This program has a partnership with second-chance employers and credentialling programs.
Outreach Community Health Centers Inc.
Program name/purpose: Rapidly Re-Housing Families
Program description: Outreach Community Health Centers Inc. serves referred families with multiple co-occurring health and behavioral health disorders that have recently been connected with temporarily subsidized rental housing. This program provides wraparound supportive case management for parents and their children. This grant will fund a Case Manager/Resource Specialist to work with parents willing to pursue education, training, and employment assistance resources, developing individualized plans for post-subsidy household self-sufficiency. This grant will also support a Children’s Advocate to serve the needs of children in the program.
Pathfinders
Program name/purpose: Preventing Family Homelessness for Young Adults
Program description: This program follows a scattered-site transitional housing model that offers person-centered wraparound supportive services for youth-led households (ages 16-25) that invest in safety, positive connections, education and employment, life skills, and social-emotional wellness. This grant supports a Housing Specialist and housing-related financial assistance and wraparound supportive services for young adults and their minor children.
Program name/purpose: Family Flex Fund Community Case Management
Program description: In partnership with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and in alignment with the Family Flex Fund, this grant will provide flexible financial assistance for community case managers to prevent homelessness and increase housing stability for households led by young adults, ages 18-25.
The Salvation Army – Waukesha County
Program name/purpose: Rent and Utility Assistance Program
Program description: This program provides financial assistance to Waukesha County households at risk of homelessness due to an inability to make rent payments, owing significant rent arrears or are in danger of being disconnected from utilities. Program staff work with clients to provide wraparound supportive services, case management, and referrals to other appropriate community resources.
The Salvation Army – Wisconsin & Upper Michigan
Program name/purpose: Emergency Services Program
Program description: This program provides flexible financial assistance and information, and referral services for families who need support to achieve or maintain housing stability. Assistance will include security deposits, rent, utility payments, clothing vouchers, furniture or household items, bus tickets, and expenses related to securing copies of social security cards, birth certificates, and IDs.
United Methodist Children’s Services of Wisconsin, Inc.
Program name/purpose: UMCS Supportive Housing Program
Program description: The UMCS affordable, supportive housing program provides apartments for 72 unique households, most of them single mother-led families with young children. This supportive housing unit includes an onsite social worker, childcare center, and emergency food pantry. UMCS also provides housing-related assistance and other forms of support to the Washington Park neighborhood and nearby areas. This grant will support the salaries of the supportive housing staff, cost of case management software, and flexible financial assistance for tenants in crisis.
Wisconsin Veteran’s Network, Inc. (d/b/a VetsNet)
Program name/purpose: Housing Advocacy for Veteran Families in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington, and Ozaukee Counties
Program description: VetsNet works closely with the County Veteran Service Officers in our four-county area and the Center for Veterans Issues to identify families experiencing housing instability. This grant provides direct financial support to benefit veterans with families living in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington Counties. Support may include rent or mortgage assistance, tax payments, utility payments, temporary hotel stays, major appliance repair and installation, and other expenses that keep the veteran and family safe and secure in their environment.
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