History Part II
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The changing needs of the homeless population, employers and social service agencies required that we become more flexible and be able to provide longer duration programs and services. We did not have the space to offer the services most needed by our clients. Bedrooms needed to be reconfigured for a family to live comfortably together for the longer periods required to address their more complex problems. Up to six family members shared one bedroom in the emergency shelter program. While this is tolerable for a thirty- or sixty-day stay, it would be too confining for a long term program. Our dining room was used for dinner, parenting class, board meetings, battered women’s support group meetings, homework and tutoring, crafts, holiday parties, card games and evening snacks. All of our clients would benefit from computer training, job readiness training, money management, credit repair, and life skills training, but we had no space available to offer these classes.
The first step toward our goal was to purchase a property contiguous to Emmaus House. We joined the two buildings and added space for staff offices, meeting rooms and classrooms. Expansion rather than relocation allowed us to maintain our close relationship with the Newark community. We wanted to remain accessible to University of Delaware student volunteers, who are enthusiastic, committed and a welcome example of a way to better your future through hard work and education. Thanks to a generous community and several grants we were able to secure the funding needed to complete the addition and expansion which doubled our capacity.
Current
We opened an expanded Emmaus House in September 2004. The transitional program is expanded to eight months. Transitional residents meet regularly with a case manager for support and direction. Mandatory and optional classes address the following areas:
- Parenting
- Domestic Violence
- Credit
- Employment
- Money Management
- Computer Literacy
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Residents in the transitional program are required to save a portion of their incomes for future housing needs, pay a portion of their incomes to Homeward Bound, Inc. for program fees, and learn money management with the balance. Each adult will be required to have full-time employment, a full-time job training/educational program, or a part-time job training program and part-time employment.
We have paid staff to monitor the door and activities at night. This means that clients are able to accept a job with whatever hours are offered. Meal preparation is made by a cook whose responsibility it is to provide a teaching component to help families plan meals, shop on a limited budget and handle food in a safe manner.
We provide a full range of services to the homeless families at Emmaus House. It is our hope that the stability learned at Emmaus House will positively impact the families served and generations to come.