Dayton Area Chapter of the American Red Cross’ Emergency Housing Program Gets New Name & New Home
Red Cross Family Living Center To House 200 Families A Year at Gettysburg Apts.
Dayton, Ohio (November 12 , 2008) – The Dayton Area Chapter of the American Red Cross is teaming up with St. Mary Development Corp. to provide a permanent solution for homeless families in Montgomery County. On December 1st, the rebranded “Red Cross Family Living Center,” formerly the Red Cross’ Emergency Housing Program, will move into the first of thirty-seven freshly renovated units of the Gettysburg Apartments in Dayton. Sixteen units will be available on moving day with the remainder scheduled to be available on February 1, 2009, under a 15-year lease agreement with St. Mary Development Corp. St. Mary Development is funding the $1.5 Million renovation of the apartments through loans, a grant from NeighborWorks America and private donations.
Since 1981, the Dayton Area Chapter of the American Red Cross has operated the Montgomery County Emergency Housing Program (EHP), helping combat the growing problem of homelessness in Greater Dayton. For many years, the program operated out of the Dayton Metropolitan Housing Authority’s Parkside apartments with forty-five 1-to-3 bedroom apartment units. The demolition of this development had the program scrambling to find its own temporary shelter in mid-April. For the past several months, participating families have been residing at the Barrington Spring Hill Apartments.
“There are a hundred different reasons why families find themselves homeless and in need of temporary emergency shelter,” states Robert L. Kelley, Jr., Director of the Dayton Area Chapter of the American Red Cross’ Emergency Housing Program. “We have a tremendous track record of placing these families in permanent housing, thanks in large part to the generosity of those who live and work within Greater Dayton.
Supported by a combination of donor, city, county and United Way funding, this Red Cross housing program is the only in the county dedicated to housing entire, intact homeless families. Together with a similar program established for Greene County in 1990, the Dayton Area Chapter’s emergency housing programs assisted 422 families, including 731 children during the 2007 fiscal year.
Families typically stay in the apartments for a maximum of 60 days, while they address the issues in their lives that may have driven the need for emergency housing. From fires and carbon monoxide leaks to displacements from condemned dwellings, evictions and utility shutdowns, more than 100 families a month have been referred to the Red Cross’s local housing program.
“The Red Cross Family Living Center is a tremendous example of the positive impact of public, private and non-for-profit organizations partnering to make a difference and to ‘Change A Life’ for more than 200 area families each year,” states Tom Fodor, CEO of the American Red Cross Dayton Area Chapter. “When our families needed us most, Montgomery County, the City of Dayton and the Homeless Solution Policy Board stepped up with additional funding to keep this critical housing program available.”
About the American Red Cross, Dayton Area Chapter
The Dayton Area Chapter of the American Red Cross provides disaster preparedness and response, and health and safety education to residents of Montgomery, Greene and Preble counties, as well as assistance to families with members in the military. The Chapter also operates Emergency Housing Programs in Montgomery and Greene counties, and led by volunteers, responds to more than 200 local disaster incidents each year. All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of local disasters in Montgomery, Greene and Preble counties by making a financial gift to the Dayton Area Chapter of the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 517, Dayton, Ohio, 45401, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. Internet users can make a secure online donation at www.dac.redcross.org.
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