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History and programs of Shenandoah Alliance for Shelter
Shenandoah Alliance for Shelter, Inc. was incorporated in 1989 by a group of concerned citizens to provide shelter and assistance to homeless families with children within Shenandoah County. There were no provisions in the county to prevent families from being evicted from their homes if they were temporarily unable to pay rent and no shelter facilities within the county or in surrounding counties to house homeless families. Churches were doing what they could to assist families who fell into financial difficulties, but there was no organization whose mission was to provide assistance to families with children. Families who had to go into shelters in either Winchester or Harrisonburg had to separate into a shelter for men and a shelter for women and children.
After receiving a pledge of financial support from local residents, this group of concerned citizens organized an open meeting to discuss housing needs for homeless families. It was determined that an organization willing to screen applicants to assess their needs, to network with other charitable organizations and to raise funds to provide assistance was necessary. The Shenandoah Alliance for Shelter was created with the mission to prevent homelessness and to assist the homeless back to self-sufficiency.
SAS was incorporated in November 1989; applied for and received 501(c)(3) non-profit status and began operations in January 1990 with a start-up fund of $75,000.
The volunteer Board of Directors decided to provide interest-free loans to families for rent in order to prevent them from becoming homeless.
A family in danger of eviction due to non-payment of rent can request a loan from the Alliance. These loans are paid directly to landlords or
rental agencies on behalf of the families, and a generous repayment plan is worked out with the family. A written agreement for repayment is
entered into with the participating family. This very briefly describes our Homeless Prevention Program.
In order to assist families who were homeless to transition back to self-sufficiency, the Alliance rented two apartments to house homeless families. During this transition period, participants needs were assessed and steps they needed to take in order to return to permanent housing were identified and implemented. In 1991, at our request, the County Board of Supervisors made an apartment at the County Farm available to us for use by a family as transitional shelter, at no cost to the Alliance. This was the beginning of our Transitional Housing Program (THP). Today, we have the capacity to house up to seven families at the County Farm. This time in the THP provides participants the opportunity to secure work if unemployed, to save money and establish a budget and then to transition back into permanent housing as quickly as possible. Typical stays in the shelter are usually 3 to 6 months. Some stays are shorter, and a few may extend to over a year, depending on individual needs and circumstances.
When a family contacts the Alliance for assistance, they are interviewed to determine priority of needs, degree of assistance required, and actions the family must take to help themselves. References are checked and background information is researched in order to ascertain the type of assistance most appropriate for each case. This help may involve referrals to other agencies for specific needs such as food pantries, DSS, clothes closets, AA, ALANON, Northwestern Community Services, Response, Inc., Blue Ridge Legal Services, and the many other volunteer services available. The Alliance maintains close working relationships with the Salvation Army, Department of Social Services, Rental Assistance, Virginia Tech Extension Services, church outreach groups and Pastors and ministers throughout the county.
In order to maintain participants' self esteem, as well as a means of providing funds for other families in need, families receiving loans sign an agreement to repay in monthly amounts mutually agreed upon. Repayments are usually set to begin about three months after the loan is granted. Repayment amounts are usually set at about $10 to $25 per month.
Shenandoah Alliance for Shelter functions with a volunteer Board of Directors, paid staff of two people and literally hundreds of volunteer workers throughout the County. Families are carefully interviewed and screened prior to receiving any assistance in order to ascertain that they can be helped effectively and economically. We strive to be very responsible stewards of any and all funding we receive.
With so much cooperation amongst so many groups, and in conjunction with the assistance of the Shenandoah County government, these programs have been very effective. Since we started operations in 1990, we have assisted over 1000 families including over 1500 children to help themselves and to overcome temporary difficulties.