November 16, 2025 • 30 mins
Guests Megan Brown-Saldana and Todd Noack discuss how Humility Homes helps with housing insecurity in the Quad Cities and a conversation on how Rhonda's House is helping with mental health and addiction recovery.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Quad City Forum, a weekly community service program
produced by iHeartMedia to look at the issues and opportunities
that exist in our community. Now here's your hosts for
Quad City Forum, Dot Luke and Denny Linhowe.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
We are talking to Megan from Humility Homes and Services
here on the Quad City Forum today. It could end
up on different platforms too, But Megan, it seems like
every day is a new day, and certainly when we
talk about Humility Homes and Services, every day is a challenge.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Yeah. Absolutely. I think that housing is one of those
things that not enough people have it. There's not enough housing,
there's not enough safe, affordable housing. So it's an ongoing issue.
It's something that we really care about. It's why we
have a vision for a home for every person.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Now, for people that want to find out more about
what you do, could you give us just a little
thumbnail of what Humility Homes and Services is all about.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Absolutely. So, we actually were founded in nineteen ninety by
the Sisters of Humility, the Congregation of Humility. They actually
rented a van and they went to Washington, d C.
And they marched on Washington and they chanted, what do
we want housing? When do we want it now? And
they came back from that trip and they actually put
their money where their mouth was and they decided they
(01:17):
wanted to make a difference in housing. So they bought
the first home that we owned, and it had four
units inside of it, and that was for single mom.
Today we have grown to own over one hundred and
forty units, and most people actually don't know that we're
so entrenched in a housing game. When people think of
humility homes and services, they're typically going to think of
(01:38):
our eighty eight bed emergency shelter, usually because that's the
face of homelessness that we recognize. Somebody staying in shelter
is going to be similar to the person you see
standing outside and you understand that they're in crisis and
trying to bridge a gap from sleeping outside to sleeping inside,
whereas housing is a little bit more complicated than that.
(02:00):
We hope that everybody who comes to shelter then ends
up in the pipeline for housing, but that's not always
necessarily true. They work together, but they also work separately
from each other, and so we also we have several programs,
varying in how they're funded and the length of phase
in housing. That's just a few of the ways that
(02:22):
we help people now.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
The emergency shelter just for people that want to know
exactly where it's at ten sixteen West Fifth Street in Dabaport.
We talk about funding or we just came out of
and we're really just starting to come out of a shutdown.
The shutdown. We can all think, oh, I'm glad they're
finally taking care of but when you're on the edge
(02:44):
in terms of where every penny is going somewhere, the
shutdown certainly is going to affect somebody that has insecurities
in terms of where they and the family are going
to be.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
Absolutely any dollar that you had that you were going
to spend, like for exampample with Snap and Snap being
individuals who then have to spend money on food, which
is a very basic need, are going to have less
money to spend on housing. And so a situation that
was already probably teering on the edge is definitely going
to go over the edge. Most people are only one
(03:16):
dad thing away from being homeless or experiencing housing insecurity,
and so you might have all your ducks in a row,
but then when a couple things fall out of place,
so you know you can no longer afford your rent
or mortgage. In the Quad Cities, we actually have an
affordable housing crisis. And a lot of people talk about
like a housing crisis or a homelessness issue. It comes
(03:37):
down to the pricing of housing and the availability of housing.
We in the Quad Cities, fifty percent of Quad citizens
pay more than thirty percent of their income for rent
or mortgage, and so that statistic tells us that half
of everybody that lives in our community is cost burdened
by their rent or mortgage, which means that they're going
(03:59):
to have lofe us money to spend on the other necessities.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Isn't it funny when we hear that. It's not funny,
but it's just the observation of affordable We were talking
before we even started the interval interview that I remember
with when my wife and I first started off, and
you look back and throw those figures around from the
early nineteen eighties, which was another little crisis in terms
(04:25):
of affording. You know, interest rates that weren't out sky high.
You still would look at that and go, we were
worried at times with our house. And now you look
back at that and go, oh, come on, it was
only twenty nine thousand for the house, but it was scary.
And now you can see some organizations that are about
(04:46):
building houses. That's great, but then they put a price
tag on it that is absolutely not going to help
the people that really need the help.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
And a solution is definitely multifaceted. You know, we do
need new construction in some place. We need to invest
in historical buildings and get them up to standards so
that they can be used for housing. We need there
to not be empty buildings sitting. There are a lot
of things that go into kind of having a community
that has everything it needs. So that is why it's
(05:16):
a good idea that all the housing agencies work together
in their respective kind of you know niches. For us,
we have our emergency shelter, but then we really focus
on housing and then building supportive services around individuals. So
it's not necessarily enough to put somebody in a house
and say here you go, you have a house. Hope
it all gets better from here. People need support. They
(05:38):
need help on getting on the internet so they can
job search. They might need help getting an ID, they
might need help getting involved in substance abuse treatment. There
are a lot of things that are barriers for people
that then compound to make a housing issue even more
at a crisis.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
You guys are like a shafety net in a lot
of ways. So humility homes. When we talk about the
process or how is the decision made to maybe emergency
shelter as opposed to getting a house or getting an
apartment or a room, what's the process for somebody that's
(06:16):
maybe listening to us right now that maybe they know somebody,
maybe it's them, how do they contact you? And then
where's it go from there?
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Yeah, So if somebody was staying outside, the very first
thing that they're going to want to do is they're
going to reach out to an outreach coordinator. We have
one that works in Illinois, we have one that works
in Iowa, and all they do is make contact with
people who are on the verger, are living outside, and
that's very helpful in the case that shelter or something
(06:47):
isn't an option, but the outreach coordinator can come out
and help provide resources or connections so that any homelessness
is brief one time and short lived. Hopefully Otherwise people
could call our emergency shelter it's five six three three
two two eight zero six five to see for availability.
(07:09):
But when it comes to housing and like a more
long time term solution, we actually utilize what is called
coordinated entry. And coordinated entry is something that a lot
of the housing agency is here in our community use
and it's a word that basically stands for this list.
And so people who are who are struggling and are
(07:29):
needing to find safe, affordable housing, they fill out this
form and it's and it is intrusive, and it does
ask a lot of very personal questions, and we always
tell people to be very honest about their circumstances because
the more barriers you have, the higher you score uncoordinated entry.
And so those highest scoring families and individuals are then
(07:51):
pulled off of that list by everybody in a room
together that works in housing. So there might be a
person at the top of the list and it's a
family and we have a one bedroom open, but vera
French has a three bedroom open, so vera French is
going to pull that family and then we're going to
move to number two. And oh, number two is a
is a couple, so they only need a one bedroom
(08:12):
and so then we would pull them. And that's how
it's a kind of a little known fact about how
housing works in the Quad Cities. Everybody works off the
coordinated entry process that is required.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
It looks like it's or it sounds like it's three
dimensional chess sometimes that you're playing because you've got to
you know, knowing everybody the context. Talk about how communication
is key, it's really important when we start to talk
about the housing situation in the Quad Cities.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Yeah, and I think that being good partners and being
good stewards is important in housing, working with the other
housing agencies. I think that's something that is important. Is
you know, you always think about what comes first, the
carter before right, somebody's really struggling with addiction and they're
living out on the street. You know, some might say
(09:07):
that until they deal with that addiction, they might not
be successfully housed. That's not necessarily what we believe. We
believe in a home for every person. We believe we're
a low barrier or no barrier organization. And just what
that means is that you don't have to come to
us with a with a preconceived situation. We want you
(09:28):
to come to us get help and if addiction. You know,
counseling is what you need, then we need to get
you that. But it's not exclusive for you to get housing.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
When you talk about low cost, in a lot of
ways for the community members for this low cost still
means that somebody's paying for it. So that must also
mean there's a lot of funds that have to be raised.
And do you find yourself in the middle of the
night waking up saying I need to find one thousand
dollars somewhere or five thousand or are you constantly like
(10:01):
even fund raising in your sleep.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
Yeah, you know, it never goes away. The work never stops. Yes,
I do wake up in the middle of the night
thinking of you know, circumstances.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
It is, how committed Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
You know, it's it's one of those things that it's
if you have a person that's on your mind, there's
always there's usually always a solution. It's just about having
the right resources, the right connections, and so yeah, there
are definitely people that I lose sleepover, but there are
just as many success stories that help me sleep well
at night. Those are the things that we forget about.
(10:40):
We recently housed, you know, an individual, a mother with
her children, and she has some extreme health issues and
has been struggling with homelessness, and so we just put
her in a home right before the holidays, and then
her kiddos are getting holiday giving gifts. And so it's
(11:00):
one of those things that as much as it is
definitely difficult and can be heart renting at times, it's
also heartwarming the work that we do and people are
so capable of their what's next, it's that the system
is typically holding them back in some way. And when
we talk about housing affordability, yes, somebody has to pay
(11:24):
that we fundraise absolutely, but actually most of our tenants
pay rent in some way or form. It's based off
of their income. So if we have somebody who is
on Social Security and has a you know, maybe a
lower monthly income, they're going to pay thirty percent of
that income, which is what fair market rate is, you know,
(11:45):
just as general practice. If somebody has more income, then
they're going to pay more. They're going to still pay
thirty percent. There it'll be a higher amount, right. And
then if somebody has no incomers and able to work,
or perhaps is on disability and they don't have income,
then they're going to pay zero dollars, and we just
believe that a certain amount of housing is going to take,
(12:10):
you know, a investment in individuals who may not otherwise
be able to pay. We believe that it's harm reduction
to have people in houses instead of having them out
in the streets, you know, trying to battle the weather
or trying to find other options. It's twenty seven dollars
around a day to house somebody. It's at least one
(12:33):
hundred dollars to take somebody to jail. It's at least
a thousand dollars to take somebody to the er. And
so at the end of the day, if we're we're
talking about money, it's okay that we have to raise
it because it really is a huge return on investment.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
When we see all of the things the umbrella that
is under humility homes and services and even and we
are talking to Megan from Humility Homes here this morning.
One of the things and the different people that are
connected and communicating all the time. There are a couple
of really great things that people could check out right
now if they like, maybe not write this instant, depending
(13:08):
on when this interview airs, but the fresh the fresh
start resale shop. That's kind of an interesting thing. And
also the closet, the corner closet's another great one too.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Yeah, so we have the shelter right you had mentioned
the address for that, but just about a seven minute
walk down is on six minus Fillmore Street. There's four
buildings that we own, all four of them, and it's
called our Jubilee Campus. And we actually do a couple
of things, but our Jubilee Campus that most people don't
know about, the first being the corner Closet donation center,
(13:40):
and so we take donations. If you use it this
morning to get ready, then it is the kind of
thing we would take you. You know, a toothbrush, a
hair brush, you used a towel this morning. You probably
got up and had used a pillow last night. Pops
and pans, coffee makers, all of those things we take
at our donate center and then those items go out
(14:02):
to individuals who need them. And so it might be
that somebody who's living outside gets something like sox and
a tent, where somebody who is moving into housing for
the first time might be getting like a clock, radio
and an air fryer. And so we encourage people to
donate anytime they have those things, they can bring them
(14:25):
to five twenty five Fillmore Street the corner closet. There's
a large wooden ramp on the back of the building
and we're open Monday through Thursday, eleven to four for
donations there. And then the other thing is that across
the street we do have our Fresh Start thrift shop.
It's an old Saint Mary's Church, and that actually started
(14:47):
when Sister Mary and vocal mother. She used to do
yard sales and then donate the pro seats because there is,
you know, see a need, fill in need, she would
donate the pro seats. And over the years this yard
sale kind of got bigger and bigger, and then it
turned into a everyday sort of thing. And so we
have the little thrift shop that also operates full time
(15:10):
their clothes on Mondays, so they're open from Tuesday Friday,
nine am to four pm.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
You know, Megan, I gotta tell Megan, I gotta tell you,
I think the symmetry of having the Fresh Start reso
shop in a church just seems perfect.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
It's really cool and the church is really cool, and
we actually it's a good segue. We have an upcoming event.
It's called our Holiday Sip and Shop. We have it
every year. It's on the second Saturday of December, and
we'll have cocoa and cookies and we'll actually have our
our wonderful players playing the our eighteen eighty three Mulline
(15:54):
type organ, so they'll be playing like Christmas classics on
the organ and people will be able to come in
and enjoy those goodies while they shop. Everything is half
off on set on that set second Saturday sale at
the first Thirst store, and so we invite anybody from
the community to come check it out. Definitely to shop,
you know, we're getting closer to the holidays here you
might find some good stuff, but also any of the
(16:17):
proceeds that come through the store actually directly go to
housing because HUD will match anything we sell at twenty
five percent wow. And so we have a little working operation.
And then the other two buildings that are on campus.
One is administration and the other one is where our
(16:38):
service coordinators have all of their offices, so that individuals
who are in housing set up their supported meetings in
one on one with their caseworkers in that building. So
lots of traffic stay. I'm busy on the Jubilee Campus.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
So really, what you're what you're saying, Megan, is people
can shop for Christmas gifts okay, and gets their Christmas
list done as they also help people get housed here
in the Quad Cities absolutely.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
And the woman who takes care of our fresh Start
thrists up, she has such an eye. You're just gonna
find something that works for you, whether that's like a
very niche like crocheted chicken. You know, we get some
like really random things or just even like some cute flannels,
zip ups, things that are definitely in season. Just all
(17:31):
the things that you could want are usually going to
be found at the thrift shop. And yes, it goes
then to a good cause. You know.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
I'm amazed too where it seems almost like it's self
sustaining a little community within a community and just having
having things that the church just you know, to me,
I just love the whole thing here. Now we have
to we should say this as many times as we can.
We just a website of people are list right now
(18:00):
and they want to find out more what is it?
Probably give it a couple of times.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Yeah, So our website is going to be www dot
Humilityhomes dot org and we welcome anybody to find more
information about our programs, how to get help, how to
donate to us. All of that information is going to
be on our website. It's www dot humilityhomes dot org.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Love that. Now, you have another event that's coming up
here fairly soon. Do you want to talk about that
at all?
Speaker 3 (18:34):
Yeah. So we're kind of in the thick of what
we call holiday giving. So we ask the community every
year to help us provide a holiday wish list to
every one of the kiddos in our programming. I'm very
delighted as of this morning and as of last night,
(18:54):
delighted to share that every single child on our wish
list has been adopted by a donor, which is just
absolutely amazing and we couldn't do it without people that
are listening right now. But we are really still looking
for individuals to buy Walmart gift cards. We give the
Walmart gift cards to the adults in our programs, and
(19:16):
then people who stay at emergency shelter as just a
very small token of something that they can go and
make a decision with spend that twenty dollars in whatever
way for whatever they need. It's just a very little
small light for the holiday season, and we're really asking
the community to consider getting those for us. It takes
(19:38):
around four hundred gift cards to make sure that everyone
gets one, and it is one of those things that
if you can't you can't share with the class, then
you can't really give them out. So we want to
make sure that we get everybody covered, and that can
be found on our website at www dot humilityhomes dot
(19:58):
org slash holiday. There's more information there and we will
take those gift cards all the way up until December
seventeenth for this cause.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
I'm loving this and both Danny and I are loving this.
It's also something that we had talked about because we
Megan and I had talked just a little bit. By
the time this interview airs, it'll be a few days ago,
but as we were setting things up, it's interesting when
we get to this time of the year, there are
a lot of people want to give, and it's so appreciative,
(20:30):
but sometimes they think that just once they've given, then
that their job is over, or that okay, they don't
have to worry about people going hungry in the quad
cities or being having clothing that's warm enough, But this
is an issue. It's probably surprising the numbers when we
talk about people that it could be food insecurities or
(20:53):
housing insecurities, at least just in the Quad Cities.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Yes, I do know the homelessness increased by forty four
percent last year. That was a number that was reported
by another service agency. And so homelessness has increased, But
we also know that an affordability has increased and food
prices have increased, and now individuals you know, are facing
(21:20):
not being able to eat. It's very complicated and as
things change and as things get harder, we we definitely
want people to consider us for the holidays, but think
about year long. What does it look like to help
out a person when it's really hot out, you know,
going and buying bug spray or sunscreen. Things that people
(21:40):
who are staying outside absolutely need, but are not things
that we think of first thing when we think of
what someone living outside needs. So we always just you know, yes,
we want, we want your support right now, and if
that is where the support ends, I'm so very grateful
for it, and so are the people that we work with. However,
(22:01):
you can always stay connected. We take volunteers, we take
donations throughout the year. Those items help individuals too, So
next time you get a new set of towels, give
us your old towels take them to us. You know,
think about the items in your life that you could
live without and what they would do for another person.
(22:22):
Those are things that a person can do all year long.
And more opportunities like that are on our website at
www dot humilityhomes dot org and most specifically, you can
volunteer at humilityhomes dot org slash volunteer.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
I'm loving that you're going to say that website one
more time here, but I do I do think it's
important that point that you're bringing up, where so many
times people want to declutter and they don't know where
to get rid of their stuff. Yeah, and because they're
worried about they don't want to throw it in a
landfill where they en yet and it's perfectly good clothing,
(22:59):
think of Humility homes yep.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
And it's tax deductible, So we win, You win, participants win.
It's a happy time all around. We have those hours
and then there's a list on our website of the
things we take and don't take, but we pretty much
take it all. If it's a household item, a hygiene item,
a cleaning item, or clothes, those are all things that
(23:23):
we're going to ongoing have a need for. We if
I can put a pitch out there, I especially need
small men's clothes, so small T shirt, small long sleeved
sizes like thirty two and thirty four pants. Those are
the things that we go through the quickest. And so
if anybody is listening and they have a size thirty
two person in their life, I would love for them
(23:46):
to clean out their closet and bring those men's pants
to us.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Sounds good. The address again if they want to go
drop them off.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Is five twenty five Fillmore Street, Davenport, Iowa, Okay.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
And just as we roll out here in Omegan again,
thanks for fitting us into your busy schedule website to
find out more all.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Right, If anybody needs to find out more information about
Humility Homes and services, you can do that at www
dot humilityhomes dot org.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
If you or your organization would like to be featured
on Quad City Forum, please visit the contact page and
our station website. Now back to Pat Luke and Danny.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Linhowe Dad Noak, Executive director with Life Connections Peer Recovery
Services on the phone Todd. When we hear Life Recovery
peer services, what does that mean?
Speaker 5 (24:37):
We are a peer run nonprofit and that means that
the majority of our board of directors are people in
recovery with mental health or addiction, and one hundred percent
of the staff, including myself, our people in recovery. And
when I say that we all walk different paths. Mine
is a physical recovery, an addiction recovery, and a mental
(24:59):
health recovery. So it's a little different than some of
the other staff, but some parts we share the same qualities.
I begin my recovery about seventeen years ago and sixteen
years ago I've been in recovery fully from addiction and
pain management and also mental health. And so for about
(25:22):
ten years I did a lot of advocacy for the
role of the peer support specialists. And so when I
seen the need happen and our institutions were shutting down
in twenty fifteen, I had a vision to open up
what is going on in a lot of other states
(25:43):
and some states have multiple peer run respite and what
that means is that is a diversionary piece that can
help somebody from not having to use an er, not
go into impatient, and not be lie up in a
jail cell, and you could stay up to seven days
(26:05):
and get the support from other trained staff members that
have been there, and just change your environment. And for me, Pat,
if I would have changed my environment in my beginning
of my recovery, I might not be where I am today.
But I'm glad I've walked the walk that I walk
because now we run the only peer run rest but
(26:27):
in Iowa, and the only after our wellness recovery center.
And I like to think about this when I'm talking
to possible thunders to the state, to politicians, is that
it costs about two thousand dollars a day to be
in an end patient. And here's the thing. You don't
get a lot of help when you go to the
(26:47):
end patient because nothing ever really gets resolved because they
get mad when they see that person come back thirty
days later. But here's the big kicker for everybody. The
kicker is at Ronda's house. It only costs an average
of four hundred and thirty dollars a day to fund
this for each person. So if we had four hundred
(27:10):
and thirty dollars a person per day. Not only are
we saving a ton of money, we are putting people
into the skilled buildings of what it takes to walk
that path in recovery.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
With Ronda's House, how are things worked out where you
try to help as many people as you can.
Speaker 5 (27:29):
So we can have people go to our website and
just fill on and online the reservation, or they can
call for a reservation at our phone number and that's
five six three six five nine one one seven one.
We do a very very limited screening. I like to
call it's our reservation, just like a bed and breakfast,
(27:52):
and then once we have them approved to come, they
walk in and it's basically whatever they need need. We
actually have a lot of people that come in with
co occurring disorders. We've been able to help a lot
of people get into twenty eight day treatment programs around
the state for that co occurring If they need to
(28:14):
come instead of going to an er because they're going
through grief, that's totally fine. It's whatever it is they
need pat And you know the thing is, it's we
are able to listen to them however long they need
right and a lot of times when you go to
a counselor unfortunately they're looking at the clock. You know,
(28:37):
I got another patient coming in. Well, I'm sorry, but
we need to work with these people when they need it,
not when we want to work with it.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
And how do you do that? Though? For people that
are more than a few miles away.
Speaker 5 (28:50):
The best way is through our website, through an inquiry there,
or if it is the respite house, they can absolutely
call the respite house. But let's just say they want
to get a hold of somebody and they don't want
to leave their home. They don't need to leave their home.
They can actually call the Wellness Recovery Center and that
phone number, real quick is five six three two zero
(29:14):
six one four four seven. But here's the nice thing
about the Wellness Center, and let's just say they are close.
They could just walk in. There's no appointments needed. We're
there when they need it. We are their appointment.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
You got to give that number again, five six.
Speaker 5 (29:31):
Three two zero six one four four seven.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
You've been listening to Quad City Forum, a weekly community
service program produced by iHeartRadio. If you were your nonprofit
organization would like to be featured, please visit the contact
page in our station website or contact quad City Forum
and care of iHeartMedia, Quad Cities three five three five
East Kimberly Road, Davin Fords, Iowa five two eight zero
(29:59):
seven
Welcome to Quad City Forum, a weekly community service program
produced by iHeartMedia to look at the issues and opportunities
that exist in our community. Now here's your hosts for
Quad City Forum, Dot Luke and Denny Linhowe.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
We are talking to Megan from Humility Homes and Services
here on the Quad City Forum today. It could end
up on different platforms too, But Megan, it seems like
every day is a new day, and certainly when we
talk about Humility Homes and Services, every day is a challenge.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Yeah. Absolutely. I think that housing is one of those
things that not enough people have it. There's not enough housing,
there's not enough safe, affordable housing. So it's an ongoing issue.
It's something that we really care about. It's why we
have a vision for a home for every person.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Now, for people that want to find out more about
what you do, could you give us just a little
thumbnail of what Humility Homes and Services is all about.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Absolutely. So, we actually were founded in nineteen ninety by
the Sisters of Humility, the Congregation of Humility. They actually
rented a van and they went to Washington, d C.
And they marched on Washington and they chanted, what do
we want housing? When do we want it now? And
they came back from that trip and they actually put
their money where their mouth was and they decided they
(01:17):
wanted to make a difference in housing. So they bought
the first home that we owned, and it had four
units inside of it, and that was for single mom.
Today we have grown to own over one hundred and
forty units, and most people actually don't know that we're
so entrenched in a housing game. When people think of
humility homes and services, they're typically going to think of
(01:38):
our eighty eight bed emergency shelter, usually because that's the
face of homelessness that we recognize. Somebody staying in shelter
is going to be similar to the person you see
standing outside and you understand that they're in crisis and
trying to bridge a gap from sleeping outside to sleeping inside,
whereas housing is a little bit more complicated than that.
(02:00):
We hope that everybody who comes to shelter then ends
up in the pipeline for housing, but that's not always
necessarily true. They work together, but they also work separately
from each other, and so we also we have several programs,
varying in how they're funded and the length of phase
in housing. That's just a few of the ways that
(02:22):
we help people now.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
The emergency shelter just for people that want to know
exactly where it's at ten sixteen West Fifth Street in Dabaport.
We talk about funding or we just came out of
and we're really just starting to come out of a shutdown.
The shutdown. We can all think, oh, I'm glad they're
finally taking care of but when you're on the edge
(02:44):
in terms of where every penny is going somewhere, the
shutdown certainly is going to affect somebody that has insecurities
in terms of where they and the family are going
to be.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
Absolutely any dollar that you had that you were going
to spend, like for exampample with Snap and Snap being
individuals who then have to spend money on food, which
is a very basic need, are going to have less
money to spend on housing. And so a situation that
was already probably teering on the edge is definitely going
to go over the edge. Most people are only one
(03:16):
dad thing away from being homeless or experiencing housing insecurity,
and so you might have all your ducks in a row,
but then when a couple things fall out of place,
so you know you can no longer afford your rent
or mortgage. In the Quad Cities, we actually have an
affordable housing crisis. And a lot of people talk about
like a housing crisis or a homelessness issue. It comes
(03:37):
down to the pricing of housing and the availability of housing.
We in the Quad Cities, fifty percent of Quad citizens
pay more than thirty percent of their income for rent
or mortgage, and so that statistic tells us that half
of everybody that lives in our community is cost burdened
by their rent or mortgage, which means that they're going
(03:59):
to have lofe us money to spend on the other necessities.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Isn't it funny when we hear that. It's not funny,
but it's just the observation of affordable We were talking
before we even started the interval interview that I remember
with when my wife and I first started off, and
you look back and throw those figures around from the
early nineteen eighties, which was another little crisis in terms
(04:25):
of affording. You know, interest rates that weren't out sky high.
You still would look at that and go, we were
worried at times with our house. And now you look
back at that and go, oh, come on, it was
only twenty nine thousand for the house, but it was scary.
And now you can see some organizations that are about
(04:46):
building houses. That's great, but then they put a price
tag on it that is absolutely not going to help
the people that really need the help.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
And a solution is definitely multifaceted. You know, we do
need new construction in some place. We need to invest
in historical buildings and get them up to standards so
that they can be used for housing. We need there
to not be empty buildings sitting. There are a lot
of things that go into kind of having a community
that has everything it needs. So that is why it's
(05:16):
a good idea that all the housing agencies work together
in their respective kind of you know niches. For us,
we have our emergency shelter, but then we really focus
on housing and then building supportive services around individuals. So
it's not necessarily enough to put somebody in a house
and say here you go, you have a house. Hope
it all gets better from here. People need support. They
(05:38):
need help on getting on the internet so they can
job search. They might need help getting an ID, they
might need help getting involved in substance abuse treatment. There
are a lot of things that are barriers for people
that then compound to make a housing issue even more
at a crisis.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
You guys are like a shafety net in a lot
of ways. So humility homes. When we talk about the
process or how is the decision made to maybe emergency
shelter as opposed to getting a house or getting an
apartment or a room, what's the process for somebody that's
(06:16):
maybe listening to us right now that maybe they know somebody,
maybe it's them, how do they contact you? And then
where's it go from there?
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Yeah, So if somebody was staying outside, the very first
thing that they're going to want to do is they're
going to reach out to an outreach coordinator. We have
one that works in Illinois, we have one that works
in Iowa, and all they do is make contact with
people who are on the verger, are living outside, and
that's very helpful in the case that shelter or something
(06:47):
isn't an option, but the outreach coordinator can come out
and help provide resources or connections so that any homelessness
is brief one time and short lived. Hopefully Otherwise people
could call our emergency shelter it's five six three three
two two eight zero six five to see for availability.
(07:09):
But when it comes to housing and like a more
long time term solution, we actually utilize what is called
coordinated entry. And coordinated entry is something that a lot
of the housing agency is here in our community use
and it's a word that basically stands for this list.
And so people who are who are struggling and are
(07:29):
needing to find safe, affordable housing, they fill out this
form and it's and it is intrusive, and it does
ask a lot of very personal questions, and we always
tell people to be very honest about their circumstances because
the more barriers you have, the higher you score uncoordinated entry.
And so those highest scoring families and individuals are then
(07:51):
pulled off of that list by everybody in a room
together that works in housing. So there might be a
person at the top of the list and it's a
family and we have a one bedroom open, but vera
French has a three bedroom open, so vera French is
going to pull that family and then we're going to
move to number two. And oh, number two is a
is a couple, so they only need a one bedroom
(08:12):
and so then we would pull them. And that's how
it's a kind of a little known fact about how
housing works in the Quad Cities. Everybody works off the
coordinated entry process that is required.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
It looks like it's or it sounds like it's three
dimensional chess sometimes that you're playing because you've got to
you know, knowing everybody the context. Talk about how communication
is key, it's really important when we start to talk
about the housing situation in the Quad Cities.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Yeah, and I think that being good partners and being
good stewards is important in housing, working with the other
housing agencies. I think that's something that is important. Is
you know, you always think about what comes first, the
carter before right, somebody's really struggling with addiction and they're
living out on the street. You know, some might say
(09:07):
that until they deal with that addiction, they might not
be successfully housed. That's not necessarily what we believe. We
believe in a home for every person. We believe we're
a low barrier or no barrier organization. And just what
that means is that you don't have to come to
us with a with a preconceived situation. We want you
(09:28):
to come to us get help and if addiction. You know,
counseling is what you need, then we need to get
you that. But it's not exclusive for you to get housing.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
When you talk about low cost, in a lot of
ways for the community members for this low cost still
means that somebody's paying for it. So that must also
mean there's a lot of funds that have to be raised.
And do you find yourself in the middle of the
night waking up saying I need to find one thousand
dollars somewhere or five thousand or are you constantly like
(10:01):
even fund raising in your sleep.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
Yeah, you know, it never goes away. The work never stops. Yes,
I do wake up in the middle of the night
thinking of you know, circumstances.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
It is, how committed Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
You know, it's it's one of those things that it's
if you have a person that's on your mind, there's
always there's usually always a solution. It's just about having
the right resources, the right connections, and so yeah, there
are definitely people that I lose sleepover, but there are
just as many success stories that help me sleep well
at night. Those are the things that we forget about.
(10:40):
We recently housed, you know, an individual, a mother with
her children, and she has some extreme health issues and
has been struggling with homelessness, and so we just put
her in a home right before the holidays, and then
her kiddos are getting holiday giving gifts. And so it's
(11:00):
one of those things that as much as it is
definitely difficult and can be heart renting at times, it's
also heartwarming the work that we do and people are
so capable of their what's next, it's that the system
is typically holding them back in some way. And when
we talk about housing affordability, yes, somebody has to pay
(11:24):
that we fundraise absolutely, but actually most of our tenants
pay rent in some way or form. It's based off
of their income. So if we have somebody who is
on Social Security and has a you know, maybe a
lower monthly income, they're going to pay thirty percent of
that income, which is what fair market rate is, you know,
(11:45):
just as general practice. If somebody has more income, then
they're going to pay more. They're going to still pay
thirty percent. There it'll be a higher amount, right. And
then if somebody has no incomers and able to work,
or perhaps is on disability and they don't have income,
then they're going to pay zero dollars, and we just
believe that a certain amount of housing is going to take,
(12:10):
you know, a investment in individuals who may not otherwise
be able to pay. We believe that it's harm reduction
to have people in houses instead of having them out
in the streets, you know, trying to battle the weather
or trying to find other options. It's twenty seven dollars
around a day to house somebody. It's at least one
(12:33):
hundred dollars to take somebody to jail. It's at least
a thousand dollars to take somebody to the er. And
so at the end of the day, if we're we're
talking about money, it's okay that we have to raise
it because it really is a huge return on investment.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
When we see all of the things the umbrella that
is under humility homes and services and even and we
are talking to Megan from Humility Homes here this morning.
One of the things and the different people that are
connected and communicating all the time. There are a couple
of really great things that people could check out right
now if they like, maybe not write this instant, depending
(13:08):
on when this interview airs, but the fresh the fresh
start resale shop. That's kind of an interesting thing. And
also the closet, the corner closet's another great one too.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Yeah, so we have the shelter right you had mentioned
the address for that, but just about a seven minute
walk down is on six minus Fillmore Street. There's four
buildings that we own, all four of them, and it's
called our Jubilee Campus. And we actually do a couple
of things, but our Jubilee Campus that most people don't
know about, the first being the corner Closet donation center,
(13:40):
and so we take donations. If you use it this
morning to get ready, then it is the kind of
thing we would take you. You know, a toothbrush, a
hair brush, you used a towel this morning. You probably
got up and had used a pillow last night. Pops
and pans, coffee makers, all of those things we take
at our donate center and then those items go out
(14:02):
to individuals who need them. And so it might be
that somebody who's living outside gets something like sox and
a tent, where somebody who is moving into housing for
the first time might be getting like a clock, radio
and an air fryer. And so we encourage people to
donate anytime they have those things, they can bring them
(14:25):
to five twenty five Fillmore Street the corner closet. There's
a large wooden ramp on the back of the building
and we're open Monday through Thursday, eleven to four for
donations there. And then the other thing is that across
the street we do have our Fresh Start thrift shop.
It's an old Saint Mary's Church, and that actually started
(14:47):
when Sister Mary and vocal mother. She used to do
yard sales and then donate the pro seats because there is,
you know, see a need, fill in need, she would
donate the pro seats. And over the years this yard
sale kind of got bigger and bigger, and then it
turned into a everyday sort of thing. And so we
have the little thrift shop that also operates full time
(15:10):
their clothes on Mondays, so they're open from Tuesday Friday,
nine am to four pm.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
You know, Megan, I gotta tell Megan, I gotta tell you,
I think the symmetry of having the Fresh Start reso
shop in a church just seems perfect.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
It's really cool and the church is really cool, and
we actually it's a good segue. We have an upcoming event.
It's called our Holiday Sip and Shop. We have it
every year. It's on the second Saturday of December, and
we'll have cocoa and cookies and we'll actually have our
our wonderful players playing the our eighteen eighty three Mulline
(15:54):
type organ, so they'll be playing like Christmas classics on
the organ and people will be able to come in
and enjoy those goodies while they shop. Everything is half
off on set on that set second Saturday sale at
the first Thirst store, and so we invite anybody from
the community to come check it out. Definitely to shop,
you know, we're getting closer to the holidays here you
might find some good stuff, but also any of the
(16:17):
proceeds that come through the store actually directly go to
housing because HUD will match anything we sell at twenty
five percent wow. And so we have a little working operation.
And then the other two buildings that are on campus.
One is administration and the other one is where our
(16:38):
service coordinators have all of their offices, so that individuals
who are in housing set up their supported meetings in
one on one with their caseworkers in that building. So
lots of traffic stay. I'm busy on the Jubilee Campus.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
So really, what you're what you're saying, Megan, is people
can shop for Christmas gifts okay, and gets their Christmas
list done as they also help people get housed here
in the Quad Cities absolutely.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
And the woman who takes care of our fresh Start
thrists up, she has such an eye. You're just gonna
find something that works for you, whether that's like a
very niche like crocheted chicken. You know, we get some
like really random things or just even like some cute flannels,
zip ups, things that are definitely in season. Just all
(17:31):
the things that you could want are usually going to
be found at the thrift shop. And yes, it goes
then to a good cause. You know.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
I'm amazed too where it seems almost like it's self
sustaining a little community within a community and just having
having things that the church just you know, to me,
I just love the whole thing here. Now we have
to we should say this as many times as we can.
We just a website of people are list right now
(18:00):
and they want to find out more what is it?
Probably give it a couple of times.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Yeah, So our website is going to be www dot
Humilityhomes dot org and we welcome anybody to find more
information about our programs, how to get help, how to
donate to us. All of that information is going to
be on our website. It's www dot humilityhomes dot org.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Love that. Now, you have another event that's coming up
here fairly soon. Do you want to talk about that
at all?
Speaker 3 (18:34):
Yeah. So we're kind of in the thick of what
we call holiday giving. So we ask the community every
year to help us provide a holiday wish list to
every one of the kiddos in our programming. I'm very
delighted as of this morning and as of last night,
(18:54):
delighted to share that every single child on our wish
list has been adopted by a donor, which is just
absolutely amazing and we couldn't do it without people that
are listening right now. But we are really still looking
for individuals to buy Walmart gift cards. We give the
Walmart gift cards to the adults in our programs, and
(19:16):
then people who stay at emergency shelter as just a
very small token of something that they can go and
make a decision with spend that twenty dollars in whatever
way for whatever they need. It's just a very little
small light for the holiday season, and we're really asking
the community to consider getting those for us. It takes
(19:38):
around four hundred gift cards to make sure that everyone
gets one, and it is one of those things that
if you can't you can't share with the class, then
you can't really give them out. So we want to
make sure that we get everybody covered, and that can
be found on our website at www dot humilityhomes dot
(19:58):
org slash holiday. There's more information there and we will
take those gift cards all the way up until December
seventeenth for this cause.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
I'm loving this and both Danny and I are loving this.
It's also something that we had talked about because we
Megan and I had talked just a little bit. By
the time this interview airs, it'll be a few days ago,
but as we were setting things up, it's interesting when
we get to this time of the year, there are
a lot of people want to give, and it's so appreciative,
(20:30):
but sometimes they think that just once they've given, then
that their job is over, or that okay, they don't
have to worry about people going hungry in the quad
cities or being having clothing that's warm enough, But this
is an issue. It's probably surprising the numbers when we
talk about people that it could be food insecurities or
(20:53):
housing insecurities, at least just in the Quad Cities.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Yes, I do know the homelessness increased by forty four
percent last year. That was a number that was reported
by another service agency. And so homelessness has increased, But
we also know that an affordability has increased and food
prices have increased, and now individuals you know, are facing
(21:20):
not being able to eat. It's very complicated and as
things change and as things get harder, we we definitely
want people to consider us for the holidays, but think
about year long. What does it look like to help
out a person when it's really hot out, you know,
going and buying bug spray or sunscreen. Things that people
(21:40):
who are staying outside absolutely need, but are not things
that we think of first thing when we think of
what someone living outside needs. So we always just you know, yes,
we want, we want your support right now, and if
that is where the support ends, I'm so very grateful
for it, and so are the people that we work with. However,
(22:01):
you can always stay connected. We take volunteers, we take
donations throughout the year. Those items help individuals too, So
next time you get a new set of towels, give
us your old towels take them to us. You know,
think about the items in your life that you could
live without and what they would do for another person.
(22:22):
Those are things that a person can do all year long.
And more opportunities like that are on our website at
www dot humilityhomes dot org and most specifically, you can
volunteer at humilityhomes dot org slash volunteer.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
I'm loving that you're going to say that website one
more time here, but I do I do think it's
important that point that you're bringing up, where so many
times people want to declutter and they don't know where
to get rid of their stuff. Yeah, and because they're
worried about they don't want to throw it in a
landfill where they en yet and it's perfectly good clothing,
(22:59):
think of Humility homes yep.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
And it's tax deductible, So we win, You win, participants win.
It's a happy time all around. We have those hours
and then there's a list on our website of the
things we take and don't take, but we pretty much
take it all. If it's a household item, a hygiene item,
a cleaning item, or clothes, those are all things that
(23:23):
we're going to ongoing have a need for. We if
I can put a pitch out there, I especially need
small men's clothes, so small T shirt, small long sleeved
sizes like thirty two and thirty four pants. Those are
the things that we go through the quickest. And so
if anybody is listening and they have a size thirty
two person in their life, I would love for them
(23:46):
to clean out their closet and bring those men's pants
to us.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Sounds good. The address again if they want to go
drop them off.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Is five twenty five Fillmore Street, Davenport, Iowa, Okay.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
And just as we roll out here in Omegan again,
thanks for fitting us into your busy schedule website to
find out more all.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Right, If anybody needs to find out more information about
Humility Homes and services, you can do that at www
dot humilityhomes dot org.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
If you or your organization would like to be featured
on Quad City Forum, please visit the contact page and
our station website. Now back to Pat Luke and Danny.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Linhowe Dad Noak, Executive director with Life Connections Peer Recovery
Services on the phone Todd. When we hear Life Recovery
peer services, what does that mean?
Speaker 5 (24:37):
We are a peer run nonprofit and that means that
the majority of our board of directors are people in
recovery with mental health or addiction, and one hundred percent
of the staff, including myself, our people in recovery. And
when I say that we all walk different paths. Mine
is a physical recovery, an addiction recovery, and a mental
(24:59):
health recovery. So it's a little different than some of
the other staff, but some parts we share the same qualities.
I begin my recovery about seventeen years ago and sixteen
years ago I've been in recovery fully from addiction and
pain management and also mental health. And so for about
(25:22):
ten years I did a lot of advocacy for the
role of the peer support specialists. And so when I
seen the need happen and our institutions were shutting down
in twenty fifteen, I had a vision to open up
what is going on in a lot of other states
(25:43):
and some states have multiple peer run respite and what
that means is that is a diversionary piece that can
help somebody from not having to use an er, not
go into impatient, and not be lie up in a
jail cell, and you could stay up to seven days
(26:05):
and get the support from other trained staff members that
have been there, and just change your environment. And for me, Pat,
if I would have changed my environment in my beginning
of my recovery, I might not be where I am today.
But I'm glad I've walked the walk that I walk
because now we run the only peer run rest but
(26:27):
in Iowa, and the only after our wellness recovery center.
And I like to think about this when I'm talking
to possible thunders to the state, to politicians, is that
it costs about two thousand dollars a day to be
in an end patient. And here's the thing. You don't
get a lot of help when you go to the
(26:47):
end patient because nothing ever really gets resolved because they
get mad when they see that person come back thirty
days later. But here's the big kicker for everybody. The
kicker is at Ronda's house. It only costs an average
of four hundred and thirty dollars a day to fund
this for each person. So if we had four hundred
(27:10):
and thirty dollars a person per day. Not only are
we saving a ton of money, we are putting people
into the skilled buildings of what it takes to walk
that path in recovery.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
With Ronda's House, how are things worked out where you
try to help as many people as you can.
Speaker 5 (27:29):
So we can have people go to our website and
just fill on and online the reservation, or they can
call for a reservation at our phone number and that's
five six three six five nine one one seven one.
We do a very very limited screening. I like to
call it's our reservation, just like a bed and breakfast,
(27:52):
and then once we have them approved to come, they
walk in and it's basically whatever they need need. We
actually have a lot of people that come in with
co occurring disorders. We've been able to help a lot
of people get into twenty eight day treatment programs around
the state for that co occurring If they need to
(28:14):
come instead of going to an er because they're going
through grief, that's totally fine. It's whatever it is they
need pat And you know the thing is, it's we
are able to listen to them however long they need
right and a lot of times when you go to
a counselor unfortunately they're looking at the clock. You know,
(28:37):
I got another patient coming in. Well, I'm sorry, but
we need to work with these people when they need it,
not when we want to work with it.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
And how do you do that? Though? For people that
are more than a few miles away.
Speaker 5 (28:50):
The best way is through our website, through an inquiry there,
or if it is the respite house, they can absolutely
call the respite house. But let's just say they want
to get a hold of somebody and they don't want
to leave their home. They don't need to leave their home.
They can actually call the Wellness Recovery Center and that
phone number, real quick is five six three two zero
(29:14):
six one four four seven. But here's the nice thing
about the Wellness Center, and let's just say they are close.
They could just walk in. There's no appointments needed. We're
there when they need it. We are their appointment.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
You got to give that number again, five six.
Speaker 5 (29:31):
Three two zero six one four four seven.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
You've been listening to Quad City Forum, a weekly community
service program produced by iHeartRadio. If you were your nonprofit
organization would like to be featured, please visit the contact
page in our station website or contact quad City Forum
and care of iHeartMedia, Quad Cities three five three five
East Kimberly Road, Davin Fords, Iowa five two eight zero
(29:59):
seven
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The Brothers Ortiz
The Brothers Ortiz is the story of two brothers–both successful, but in very different ways. Gabe Ortiz becomes a third-highest ranking officer in all of Texas while his younger brother Larry climbs the ranks in Puro Tango Blast, a notorious Texas Prison gang. Gabe doesn’t know all the details of his brother’s nefarious dealings, and he’s made a point not to ask, to protect their relationship. But when Larry is murdered during a home invasion in a rented beach house, Gabe has no choice but to look into what happened that night. To solve Larry’s murder, Gabe, and the whole Ortiz family, must ask each other tough questions.