Mike, married father of four, moved into his family’s new apartment last month, and he is brimming with ambition to get his life back on track.
Mike explains that before he started working with Partners for Housing, he had gone through addiction issues that eventually led to a marital separation and caused him to lose his housing and custody of his children. He checked into a substance abuse rehabilitation (rehab) program, and during the 90-day program, he was able to restore his health and make goals for his life as an individual, husband and father.
Upon discharge from rehab with a newfound stamina, Mike decided “enough is enough” and needed to choose what was important – his children and his marriage. Mike knew that his goals needed to include sobriety, job search, securing housing, reconciling with his wife, and getting his children back. Mike was able to get a job with a local sanitation company and has risen to the level of lead supervisor.
“It’s a job I really enjoy, and I’ve worked hard to achieve and maintain my standing in the company,” he commented.
His children have been in foster care for several months due to other family issues, and when we spoke, he talked about the importance of his family in every sentence.
Mike was accepted into Partners for Housing’s (P4H’s) Rapid Rehousing (RRH) program. Through RRH, the P4H housing team works with clients to identify barriers and set goals to overcome them to attain stable housing and a healthy life. The program models advocacy and empowerment to help clients become self-sufficient by the end of their participation. Additionally, clients in RRH receive a rental subsidy to ensure that they are only spending, at most, 30% of their household’s income on rent. During their time in the program, clients and housing team continue to work collaboratively to overcome barriers that had prevented them from maintaining stable housing in the past.
Rehousing people is no easy task. There are so many reasons that people may have lost housing in the past – medical crises, job loss, substance abuse, past eviction, incarceration, house fire, divorce – just to name a few.
Mike had been struggling to find adequate housing due to his criminal record. After landlord appeals and letters of recommendation, he was able to find housing for his family. He and his wife have reconciled and are working together to regain custody of their children, whom they currently see on weekends or during school breaks.
Mike also has started taking classes toward his degree in Automotive Technology. His plan is to use this degree to be promoted within his current company to a truck service position.
When asked about his short- and long-term goals, Mike explained, “In five years, I plan to be done with school, have a higher-paying job, pay off my debt and start saving to buy a home.”
His words to encourage others: “If you know what you want, put all your energy into it and keep trying. Work hard to achieve it. Anything is possible.”
Gloria Presses on, Driven by Faith
If you know what you want, put all your energy into it and keep trying. Work hard to achieve it. Anything is possible.
Reset
I have a bad habit. Oftentimes my laptop travels with me between the office and home to work on when I have time. I’m regularly juggling lots of work things, many that I don’t complete in a day. Whether it’s letters, grants, email communication, reports, scheduling appointments, etc., they may sit in a holding pattern on my laptop, waiting for me to complete them. That is until recently, when something that I needed to finish by a deadline was lost before saving it when my computer forced a “reboot.” Frustrated, I waited until it RESTARTED, UPDATED and RESET – and then I could get back on track.
This scenario reflects life for all of us. We hurry, we procrastinate, unfortunate things happen that change our plans, and we must grin and bear it. Sometimes it is by our own doing (i.e. – if I would shut down my laptop each evening, it wouldn’t force me to reset when not convenient!), and sometimes things happen to us without any warning or reason.
This is the case with the people we serve. Some have indeed made decisions that they later regret (I know I’ve made many!), and others have been caught by surprise when things out of their control led to housing instability.
Some people feel that you get what you deserve – make a wrong decision, you must live with the consequences. I agree that this is important, however some of the people we work with find that a wrong decision made years ago, for which they’ve paid the consequences, continues to prevent them from living a flourishing life.
Mike’s story (on the front page) is one of a decision made when there was a lot to lose. It’s encouraging that the consequences led to an awareness and motivation to make things right and get back on track to his goals – he was given the chance to RESET. Mike is working full-time and taking classes to get back to a great life with his family.
Helping our clients reset, achieve life goals and increase their income are important pieces to the puzzle. During our time-limited transitional housing programs, if a client has not increased their income, we’d be setting them up to fail and that’s not what our program is about. We want them to reach the goal and complete our program before their time is up, so we can go on to help another family.
We are excited to see where Mike and family’s journey will lead next. Talk about motivated – this guy lifts people up just by hearing the passion in his voice! He just needed someone to give him a chance to RESET!
Thank you for coming on this journey with us. You’re the hero who supports our vision, our amazing team supports those that need a reset, and our clients are the champions with their eye on the prize – What a Team! We believe that everyone deserves a home, regardless of who they are, where they’ve come from or what has brought them to our door. We so appreciate your willingness to PARTNER with us in this impactful work!
We believe that everyone deserves a home, regardless of who they are, where they’ve come from or what has brought them to our door. We so appreciate your willingness to PARTNER with us in this impactful work!
We believe that everyone deserves a home, regardless of who they are, where they’ve come from or what has brought them to our door. We so appreciate your willingness to PARTNER with us in this impactful work!
Upcoming Events
Night at the MoonDogs
Vs Rochester Honkers
$14 ticket includes a voucher for a hotdog, drink and chips.
To purchase tickets, mail a check to:
Partners for Housing
Attn: MoonDogs
12 Civic Center Plaza | Ste 2145
Mankato, MN 56001
Community Wednesdays @ Extra Innings
Every WEDNESday in July
Join us each Wednesday in July for lunch or dinner. Extra Innings sill donate a portion of their proceeds toward our mission to provide housing stability.
220 S Minnesota Ave, Saint Peter 56082
TGK Dip Jar
Your donation gets doubled! Visit TGK anytime during the month of July. For every dollar donated using the Dip Jar or by purchasing a paper house, TGK will match your entire donation.
1730 Commerce Dr, North Mankato or 1771 Bassett Dr, Mankato
Mankato Marathon
partners for housing is honored to participate in the Mankato marathon charities program, October 14 -15, 2022.
Four champion runners will represent P4H in this fundraising endeavor. Please visit partnersforhousing.org/marathon for more information or to sponsor one of the champion runners.
With our move last fall, Partners for Housing will no longer be able to collect and store furniture and household items for our guests. We will continue to accept consumable items, such as personal and feminine hygiene products, diapers and pull-ups, as well as cleaning and basic office supplies. For a complete list of frequently needed items, please visit tinyurl.com/PartnersAmazonList.
If you have gently used furniture or other household items you would like to donate to help people get situated in their new apartments or homes, email assistance@afreshstartmankato.com or text 507.594.8493
Thank you!
A special note of thanks to Greater Mankato Area United Way for their ongoing funding, which allows us to continue operating our emergency shelters and programs.
Funds raised through Pedal Past Poverty
P4H’s 10th annual Pedal Past Poverty was another amazing success. Riders and volunteers had a great time joining our staff for this exciting stationary bike race, supporting families in the region who have faced homelessness!
Presented by MEI – Total Elevator Solutions, the event was held at MRCI – East Park, 1750 Energy Drive in Mankato. We are grateful to have been able to hold the event on its traditional date – the last Saturday in February – and at indoor location again!
Community members, participants and sponsors helped raise over $93,000, with School Sisters of Notre Dame’s five teams bringing in $34,053.22! Tour de Notre Dame VIII teammate, Sister Rose Anthony Krebs, raised $4,838.00 alone.
A total of 1,177.9 miles were biked during the event! Of the 222 participants, Zach Gronholz was the fastest rider overall, and
Team MEI – Total Elevator Solutions (the presenting sponsor) biked 70.6 miles! For more results, please visit partnersforhousing.org/pedal.
Due to generous donations from local businesses, we were able to distribute $20,000 worth of coupons, prizes, and services.
The event would not have been possible without the generous support from our business partners:
MRCI; Mankato Family YMCA; Kato Moving & Storage; PrintWear Graphics; Pepsi; River Bend Business Products; Kwik Trip; Radio Mankato; and many more!
We are currently seeking sponsorships and teams for the 11th annual event, which will take place on Saturday, February 25, 2023. Contact 507.387.2115 x4 to be a part of PPP 2023! For more information, visit Pedal Past Poverty.
Race Title Sponsor – $5000+
Silver Medal Sponsors – $2500+
Bronze Medal Sponsors – $1000+
Honorable Mention Sponsors – $500+
- All American Foods
- Harrison corp. (Mankato ford)
- Orthopaedic & Fracture Clinic
- Profinium Bank
- Valley News Corporation
Race Finisher – $250+
- Blake Hahn Financial
- Maschka Riedy Ries & Frentz
Board of Directors
Vision
All people have a safe place to call home.
Mission
To guide individuals and families on a path towards housing stability
- Represent a diverse population
- Interested in fundraising
- Lived experience of homelessness
- Human resources experience
The Board of Directors is seeking additional volunteer members. If you are interested in making a difference in the lives of others by helping to provide stable housing, this might be a great opportunity for you.
We LOVE our Supporters!
A big Thank You! to our friends at Union Presbyterian Church, St. Peter, MN who donated goodies and baskets for our kiddos in shelter. Our staff and interns had fun hiding the eggs for the hunt!
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