From the Executive Director

Home is the most basic of human needs. A place of safety and family, privacy and dignity. It's where holidays are celebrated, dreams are nurtured and values pass from generation to generation. To individuals, parents and children of all ages, home is everything.

Yet for many hard-working families, having a home to call their own has become a nearly impossible dream. Escalating housing costs are far outpacing incomes at the low end of the wage scale, where hundreds of Des Moines-area families with full-time workers earn less than $17,000 per year. While emergency shelters and transitional housing programs have long been available for the poor and homeless, they were never intended to provide the long-term services, support and financial assistance required to help working families lay down roots, stay together, stabilize and succeed.

For more than 20 years, Anawim Housing has helped working poor families in central Iowa establish their own homes!

My commitment to our mission began many years ago, when I joined the Sisters of Mercy to become a social worker and help children who – like myself – needed stable homes to grow up in. Through Anawim Housing, I have been able to live out that commitment, with thousands of children and their parents having enjoyed the warmth and security of our homes through the years. Today, some of those children are raising their own families in Anawim Housing homes.

But even with all the progress we’ve made, the need is significant and continues to grow.

Imagine. What would it be like if you were at the low end of the wage scale? What if you worked 40 or 50 hours a week – or more – and still couldn’t afford to rent a home? What would happen to your family? Who would you turn to? Where would you go? How much would you appreciate the security, stability and support Anawim Housing could provide?

For hard-working children and families at every income level, home is everything. For those at the lowest end of the wage scale, Anawim Housing is home.

We invite you to join us in our important work.

Sincerely,
Stella Neill, RSM
Executive Director