OUR NEIGHBORS PLACE INC
PO Box 274, River Falls, WI 54022 www.ourneighborsplace.org

---

Organizations Filed Purposes: Provide emergency services, homeless shelter, and food to those in need.

TRANSITIONAL HOUSING AND TBRA In 2019, Our Neighbors' Place continued to operate a transitional housing program designed to stabilize and rehouse families experiencing homelessness in one of the most expensive and selective rental markets in the state of Wisconsin. Residing in a 4-unit building in a quiet neighborhood in River Falls under the care of a professional case manager, families have the potential to stay for up to 24 months. They contribute 30% of their income toward rent as they work toward their individual goals of securing permanent housing. In April of 2016, ONP signed a memorandum of understanding with WestCAP to provide Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) to address the need for affordable rental housing for low-income households with at least one disabled member and who are experiencing homelessness or who are imminently at risk of homelessness. To this end, WestCAP and Our Neighbors' Place agreed to work together to assist these individuals and families in Pierce and St. Croix Counties with Tenant Based Rental Assistance grant funds. This agreement has since been renewed; the purpose is to serve households by providing safe, affordable housing and case management services to program participants. Under this arrangement, Our Neighbors' Place serves as a referral source for the TBRA program, and WestCAP provides program operations functions. ONP screens all applicants, determines eligibility, completes certification of homelessness; secures medical statement of disability; refers program applicants to other community based services including applying for Section 8 housing assistance; completes all program documentation; secures statement of earnings; and completes monthly service reports. WestCAP provides security deposits and the rental assistance funds; pays housing assistance payments to landlords on behalf of program participants; conducts housing inspections; assists in negotiating lease changes and evictions; assists in handling landlord/tenant complaints; and conducts re-certifications. WestCAP and Our Neighbors' Place coordinate and integrate the TBRA program with other mainstream resources, including health, social services, and employment programs for which our clients experiencing homelessness may be eligible. These services are coordinated through formal and informal systems among area service providers. This year (2019), 62 households were placed in housing after direct contact with the case manager. Of these: 8 households were housed via TBRA (Tenant Based Rental Assistance). 5 families were housed via Our Neighbors' Place Transitional Housing for Families. 33 households were housed by diversion through Housing Counseling. 16 households were housed by referral through Coordinated Assessment and Prioritization. An additional 95 households were placed on the prioritization list awaiting housing.

DAY CENTER Functioning as a drop-in center for those in need, the Day Center is staffed by volunteer Guest Coordinators, a Case Manager, and the Executive Director. This Day Center team functions as advocate "navigators," helping connect applicable internal and external community resources with those who call or come by in person. The Day Center supports all other programming for Our Neighbors' Place (Backpack Program, Transitional Housing, and the Closet) while also providing scheduling, phone service, and a meeting space for the Pierce County Salvation Army and other organizations such as WestCAP and Pierce County Veterans Office. With this full-time team in place, ONP has improved and streamlined continuity of service in a way that allows for much greater Day Center service utilization. In 2019, again we had a substantial increase in use, seeing 4,870 points of contact - an 18% increase over 2018. Of the unique clients in 2019, 56% were adults and 43% were children (1% was unknown). In terms of resources provided, we have witnessed noteworthy increases across several categories. The number of food resources provided increased to 1445 in 2019. This increase can be attributed to several partnerships Our Neighbor's Place has forged with both Panera Bread (Hudson WI location), Pierce County Hunger Prevention Council, and the River Falls Community Food Pantry, all of which donate incredible amounts of food on a regular basis. In other service categories, the number of referrals to outside agencies was also up. Shower (82), Laundry (151), and Living Room and Rest (209) all saw moderate increases. The Day Center also dispensed 100 gas cards and 42 food cards to decrease food insecurity and help with transportation to employment and medical visits. Finally, the number of clients utilizing case management services and shelter referrals again increased over 2018 (634) to 2019 (779). As the Day Center continued to draw significant numbers of families with children in 2019, partnerships such as with Jump Start to Literacy that provides free books for children, and the Salvation Army, serving both families and adults, continue to be a natural fit for the clients we serve. Moreover, as we continue to cater to the needs of children, we offer both hope and a tangible response to the growing problem of childhood poverty in Wisconsin. The Day Center also continued to serve as a pickup location for the Backpack Program in 2019.

BACKPACK PROGRAM The Our Neighbor's Place Backpack Program, a durable partnership with the River Falls School District and Ezekiel Lutheran Church, continued to be our most visible community program. The Rotary Club and other community groups and foundations gave substantially to this program over the course of 2017-18 school year. The program also continues to boast the most volunteers of any ONP program. These backpacks deliver enough food for a family of four for one weekend each week during the school year. In 2018-19 school year, the program had over 90 students enrolled. From Sept 2018 - May 2019, we delivered 2,067 backpacks (average of 229 per month). Those backpacks included 14,642 pounds of non-perishable food and 2,339 vouchers for perishable food (milk, bread, meat, produce, eggs). Additionally, 2019 marked the first Summer Backpack Program. Partnering with the River Falls Lions Club (who provided funding and volunteers), the traditional school year program was extended throughout the summer. From June - August 2019, 646 backpacks were distributed (average of 215 per month). Those backpacks included 5,426 pounds of food and 646 vouchers for perishable food (milk, bread, meat, produce, eggs).

---

---

Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (public 990 form dataset) from: https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202041439349301824_public.xml