Through a significant grant from the Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ, families in five neighborhoods in southwest Madison will benefit from a new Housing Services Center and a full-time housing organizer, both to address housing issues and homelessness in the area.
The unique partnership is a two-year joint project of Commonwealth, Inc., Joining Forces for Families, Public Health Madison & Dane County and ORUCC. Scheduled to begin this July, the new initiative is fully funded by ORUCC’s $130,000 gift, which is a dedicated portion of the faith congregation’s recent capital campaign.
The housing organizer will organize service providers, faith based communities and residents to share their talents in attacking the root causes of homelessness and improving housing availability in the Greentree, Meadowood, Orchard Ridge, Park Ridge and Prairie Hills neighborhoods in southwest Madison. The housing organizer will also gather and coordinate the resources at the Housing Services Center.
The Center will be located on Russett Road in the same building as the local JFF, Children’s Service Society and Public Health offices, and will be where families can access all of the available resources for housing services. JFF will also make their employment services available in the same space.
“This proposal was very impressive because of its collaborative and innovative nature,” said Barbara Hummel, chair of the ORUCC grant team. “We feel it has the potential for enormous impact on the quality of life for persons in the neighborhoods surrounding our church.” ORUCC is located at 1501 Gilbert Road in the Orchard Ridge Neighborhood.
In addition to the four lead partners, organizations such as the Early Childhood Initiative, the Meadowood Neighborhood Center, the Children’s Service Society, the Southwest Organizing Committee, the Orchard Ridge Neighborhood Association and others have expressed support for and willingness to be active collaborators in these efforts.
Another intention of the project is to involve other faith communities in the neighborhoods to organize services for neighbors in crisis, thus reducing homelessness and increasing overall housing stability in the area.
For more information, contact Rev. Winton Boyd, ORUCC Pastor, at 271-7212 or winton@orucc.org
Further comments
“Public Health Madison and Dane County is thrilled to partner with ORUCC, Common Wealth Development and Joining Forces for Families to support the creation of a Housing Organizer position for Southwest Madison. This position is innovative because it not only responds to housing crisis within a highly transient neighborhood, but also addresses the root causes of poverty and homelessness through community capacity building. ORUCC’s generosity has the potential to build community empowerment, improve the long term health of Southwest Madison and effect real sustainable change.” (Kim Neuschel and Jessica LeClair, Public Health Nurses for Dane County)
“Joining Forces for Families works with individuals and families on a daily basis who are homeless or in danger of losing their housing. In this time of tight budgets, overburdened service providers, and high unemployment – tangible help is hard to find. Despite this reality, Joining Forces for Families, Public Health Madison and Dane County, and Commonwealth Development Inc. will partner with Orchard Ridge UCC to add needed assistance and hope to southwest Madison families. I’d like to thank every member of the Orchard Ridge UCC congregation for making this exceptional opportunity a reality.” (Mike Bruce, Joining Forces for Families)
“Common Wealth Development is excited to partner with ORUCC, Joining Forces for Families and Public Health Madison and Dane County in this innovative initiative to address housing issues in Southwest Madison…We truly appreciate ORUCC’s vision and generosity. Together, in partnership, we can address immediate housing needs while strengthening the community’s resources.” (Marianne Morton, Executive Director, Common Wealth Development, Inc)
