Grant Stories
Helping Our Neediest Families
Foundation Grant Helps Sojourn House Serve Homeless Women and Children
Siblings and their mother found comfortable temporary housing at Sojourn House. A grant from the Foundation is helping Sojourn House provide the many supports needed to help homeless families achieve independence.
Sojourn House, which can accommodate up to seven families.
"Thanks to the assistance of The Schenectady Foundation, Sojourn House is a much stronger program and greater asset to the community."
Deb Schimpf, Executive Director, Sojourn House.
Run by Schenectady County Action Program (SCAP), Sojourn House provides transitional supportive housing to homeless mothers older than 18 and their children.
Ninety percent of homeless mothers have been physically or sexually abused and more than 70 seventy percent were abused as children. This population is extremely poor, and most have clinically diagnosed mental health problems. The need for supportive housing for these families is great.
Each of Sojourn House's seven bedrooms accommodate one mother and up to three children. Families also receive three meals a day and a variety of services, such as: case management; assistance finding permanent housing; life skills and parenting skills instruction; emergency child care; transportation; links to medical, mental health and addiction services; advocacy with issues of public benefits and supports and employment services such as career readiness. The aim is to help homeless families attain some level of self-reliance so that they can maintain their own housing and meet their family's basic needs.
Sojourn House targets very young adult women who are pregnant or parenting from Schenectady County. Typically the mother is homeless, moving from place to place without a permanent residence. They do not possess the parenting and life skills necessary to adequately care for themselves or their child(ren). Prior to Sojourn House, there was a lack of shelter and housing programs for pregnant or parenting women and their children. DSS would house them at a local motel. This environment was inappropriate for children and did not provide the support system necessary to help the mother change the behaviors that led to homelessness.
Sojourn House focuses on results for their clients:
- Sojourn mothers learn parenting and life skills that foster self-sufficiency.
- Sojourn mothers increase their family income through employment.
- Sojourn babies and toddlers reach age-appropriate developmental levels.
- Sojourn children attend school and/or age appropriate day care and pre-school programs to improve school performance and school readiness.
- Sojourn mothers move to permanent housing and maintain that housing for at least one year.
For more information: www.charityadvantage.com/scap/HOME.asp