| From Homelessness to Sustainable Living |
| Linking People to Housing & Neighborhoods |
New Beginnings began to utilize the services of a Housing Specialist in 2004.
We originally created the position to better help people leaving our programs
find adequate affordable housing. To our surprise there was no data base of
rentals in the community. You had to find a listing in the Newspaper or drive
the streets of our town to find the "for rent" signs (which turned out to be
the primary way many landlords advertised vacancies).
So New Beginnings created a data base for the community. It was obvious
that anyone needing rental housing would need this service, so New
Beginnings created Hutch Rents. The software that we use can be queried
for the type of housing a person is looking for and pages of vacancies can
be created. By refining the query we are pre-screening for both the new
tenant and the landlord. The process saves time and money for both.The
charge for listing with Hutch Rents helps pay for the expenses associated
with the data base service.
We originally created the position to better help people leaving our programs
find adequate affordable housing. To our surprise there was no data base of
rentals in the community. You had to find a listing in the Newspaper or drive
the streets of our town to find the "for rent" signs (which turned out to be
the primary way many landlords advertised vacancies).
So New Beginnings created a data base for the community. It was obvious
that anyone needing rental housing would need this service, so New
Beginnings created Hutch Rents. The software that we use can be queried
for the type of housing a person is looking for and pages of vacancies can
be created. By refining the query we are pre-screening for both the new
tenant and the landlord. The process saves time and money for both.The
charge for listing with Hutch Rents helps pay for the expenses associated
with the data base service.
| "You had to call a listing in the Newspaper to see if it was what you needed or drive the streets of the community' Now you can get just the listings that fit your needs" |
| Emergency Re-housing |
The second surprise as we began to develop the Housing Specialist's role, was how
well it combined with our Emergency Intake and Assessment Service. The Housing
Specialist creates one more avenue of assistance we can offer someone who has
already or is going to lose their housing. Those who have a source of income or will
have a source of income in the near future are referred to the Housing Specialist to
help find housing and a property owner who is willing to work with them. The
Housing Specialist continues to check on them and offer support and referrals so that
they can remain in housing.
well it combined with our Emergency Intake and Assessment Service. The Housing
Specialist creates one more avenue of assistance we can offer someone who has
already or is going to lose their housing. Those who have a source of income or will
have a source of income in the near future are referred to the Housing Specialist to
help find housing and a property owner who is willing to work with them. The
Housing Specialist continues to check on them and offer support and referrals so that
they can remain in housing.
| Coming Soon....Rebuilding Supportive Neighborhoods |
New Beginnings Housing Specialist will be part of the overall effort to help define and provide essential elements of support
within neighborhoods.
The next level of development within the office of the Housing Specialist is to create a resource guide for each of the elementary
school neighborhoods.
within neighborhoods.
The next level of development within the office of the Housing Specialist is to create a resource guide for each of the elementary
school neighborhoods.
" A former resident of Hutchinson who took a job traveling, painting grain elevators, came to us after he was laid off from his job.
He began to look for work in Hutchinson although it was difficult due to his age. Money ran out and he found himself with no
where to go. He came to our Intake and Assessment Specialist for help. That very same day he he landed a job at a local company
painting boilers. He was to start the following Monday. It was a good job paying a good wage. The problem was that he had no
money , no resources, and no where to sleep or eat until his first paycheck. He was given a motel voucher, a gift certificate for
some meals and asked to see the Housing Specialist.
New Beginnings Housing Specialist had cultivated relationships with several local landlords. Several landlords before had graciously
worked with our Housing Specialist in finding solutions for people who were down on their luck and starting over. Although the risk
was considerable, these landlords took the risk and assisted individuals being referred to them from the Emergency Shelter portion
of our programs. Their hope was that with the support of outside agencies these tenants would succeed. So the Housing Specialist
contacted one of these special people and found housing for the gentleman. However he was a paycheck away from being able to
pay the rent. Our Housing Specialist contacted the man's employer seeking some help for him. He was very satisfied with the quality
of this man's work and agreed to provide an advance on the his first paycheck to cover pro-rated rent and some of the deposit.
The Housing Specialist took the man to pay small deposits on utilities in order to get the utilities turned on in his name. She
continued to check back on the gentleman. A little later on the man had a conflict with his landlord over a mis-understanding.
Because the Housing Specialist was still offering support to him she was able to mediate the mis-understanding and keep the
relationship between the tenant and the landlord on track.
He began to look for work in Hutchinson although it was difficult due to his age. Money ran out and he found himself with no
where to go. He came to our Intake and Assessment Specialist for help. That very same day he he landed a job at a local company
painting boilers. He was to start the following Monday. It was a good job paying a good wage. The problem was that he had no
money , no resources, and no where to sleep or eat until his first paycheck. He was given a motel voucher, a gift certificate for
some meals and asked to see the Housing Specialist.
New Beginnings Housing Specialist had cultivated relationships with several local landlords. Several landlords before had graciously
worked with our Housing Specialist in finding solutions for people who were down on their luck and starting over. Although the risk
was considerable, these landlords took the risk and assisted individuals being referred to them from the Emergency Shelter portion
of our programs. Their hope was that with the support of outside agencies these tenants would succeed. So the Housing Specialist
contacted one of these special people and found housing for the gentleman. However he was a paycheck away from being able to
pay the rent. Our Housing Specialist contacted the man's employer seeking some help for him. He was very satisfied with the quality
of this man's work and agreed to provide an advance on the his first paycheck to cover pro-rated rent and some of the deposit.
The Housing Specialist took the man to pay small deposits on utilities in order to get the utilities turned on in his name. She
continued to check back on the gentleman. A little later on the man had a conflict with his landlord over a mis-understanding.
Because the Housing Specialist was still offering support to him she was able to mediate the mis-understanding and keep the
relationship between the tenant and the landlord on track.
| Contact: Sylvia Bartel 620-966-0274 extension 105 |
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| click to go to Hutch Rents |
