12th Annual Cares Campaign
Help us renovate the first floor of Community House!
Built in 1924, Community House on Broadway is in desperate need of a renovation.
With as many as 683 families and individuals staying throughout the year, an updated space for the kitchen, dining room and entrance is needed.
This year for our Cares Campaign fundraiser our goal is to raise $400,000.00 by the end of July to help pay for our first floor renovation!
Thanks to your support we are currently 30% of the way there!
Your generous donations goes a long way and we are so grateful and blessed by both old and new partnerships!
Thank you.
"Best decision I’ve ever made, was to walk through that door at Community House."
Two years ago in January of 2020, myself and my 3 children were in a domestic violence situation with my youngest daughter’s father. We endured physical and a lot of emotional abuse from him. We stayed in that turmoil for almost 3 years which ended in us being evicted from the place we were living. After that, the kids and I bounced around from friends to friends until I finally decided to come to the Community House in July of 2021.
When I was 12 years old I was diagnosed with PTSD that stemmed from childhood traumas being raised by a mother with severe mental health of her own. We too bounced around and one time lived at Community House. So moving back in to the shelter, I had a lot of social anxiety that made it very hard for me to adapt to all the people there. The thing that I found quickly and most comforting was the staff that was there everyday offering love and support. The help with my children played a huge part in me being able to focus on my own mental health and work with the different programs to work on a stability plan, set goals and achieve them.
The structure that Community House instilled with the kids and I….. Breakfast at 7, school bus right out front, child care for when I had appointments. Mental health counselors, case managers, and a housing specialist to help me work towards different goals. And most importantly process these things so they didn’t feel overwhelming.
Before I came to the shelter, I lived each day in survival mode as a single mother. I never had time to make goals and follow them because I was trying to get by in that day. So, the structure and support at the shelter made more of a difference in my life than I can describe. It’s also helped me parent my children differently with patience and ease.
I stayed for 245 days and I am thankful for every single one of those days. My housing specialists Stacy and Heather helped me move into the Country Run apartments which Community House has an office out there to extend my support weekly. So I now have a beautiful 3-bedroom apartment while still having all the access to my services for my children and I.
I will say that although the staff is here because it is their jobs. I never felt like that’s all it was to them. When I was sad, I could see that they would hurt for me too. When I was happy, they never failed to celebrate those good days with me. I have never in my whole life had that kind of genuine love and support from multiple people. Its changed the way I love and the way I trust.
Thank you to Community House and its Staff for helping me change my life. Best decision I’ve ever made, was to walk through that door there.
- R. Johnson
