July 7, 2020
Each year, approximately 65 youth are discharged from Delaware’s foster care system. Many cannot return to their biological families and are at high risk of homelessness. West End Neighborhood House – the state’s primary provider of housing and support services for this vulnerable population – is using FHLBank Pittsburgh's Affordable Housing Program (AHP) to grow its capacity to help.
Since 2008, the organization's Life Lines Program has been awarded three AHP grants totaling $1.05 million to help create transitional and permanent housing for dozens of youth aging out of the foster care system.
The most recent, in 2019, was a $750,000 AHP grant awarded through a partnership with Pennsylvania-based FHLBank member Fulton Bank. The grant will be used in combination with funding from other sources to create 10 new single-occupancy residences and a Resource Center space to support homeless youth with everyday tasks that are difficult when you do not have support or housing stability. Services such as washing machines and dryers, meals, mailboxes and more will be available to the youth as they develop their plan forward for housing and job stability. One of the new homes will be Life Line’s first fully handicapped-accessible residence, and the Resource Center will be the first of its kind serving this population in the state.
According to Life Lines Program Director Stacy Shamburger, "The total cost of all phases of this project will be about $2.4 million, and the AHP grants have been a significant portion of that funding. The most recent grant has also helped us attract other funding. The fact that AHP is supporting this effort for the third time is meaningful to other investors."
Tracy Fletcher, Fulton Bank's VP of Commercial Community Development Lending, concurs. "Projects like Life Lines need some kind of subsidy to make them viable," he says. "AHP can be used with other programs, and it is often AHP that closes the funding gap to make a project viable."
The new homes will be constructed adjacent to the existing Life Lines homes and will replace the last portion of vacant and blighted properties in a four-block radius on Wilmington’s West Side. The site is located near a bus line, a hospital, a shopping area, West End Neighborhood House and other services. The design is also consistent with the West Side Blueprint Communities® revitalization efforts, which is also supported by FHLBank Pittsburgh.
Fulton Bank helped Life Lines apply for AHP funding through its Fulton Forward™ initiative, which was created to stimulate economic empowerment, break the cycle of generational poverty and revive underserved communities. Nicole Earle, Fulton Bank's Commercial Community Development Officer, expressed her belief that without AHP, this population would be homeless. "We are fortunate to have access to AHP," she says, "and a strategic partner like FHLBank to help projects like this come to fruition."
Since 2008, the organization's Life Lines Program has been awarded three AHP grants totaling $1.05 million to help create transitional and permanent housing for dozens of youth aging out of the foster care system.
The most recent, in 2019, was a $750,000 AHP grant awarded through a partnership with Pennsylvania-based FHLBank member Fulton Bank. The grant will be used in combination with funding from other sources to create 10 new single-occupancy residences and a Resource Center space to support homeless youth with everyday tasks that are difficult when you do not have support or housing stability. Services such as washing machines and dryers, meals, mailboxes and more will be available to the youth as they develop their plan forward for housing and job stability. One of the new homes will be Life Line’s first fully handicapped-accessible residence, and the Resource Center will be the first of its kind serving this population in the state.
According to Life Lines Program Director Stacy Shamburger, "The total cost of all phases of this project will be about $2.4 million, and the AHP grants have been a significant portion of that funding. The most recent grant has also helped us attract other funding. The fact that AHP is supporting this effort for the third time is meaningful to other investors."
Tracy Fletcher, Fulton Bank's VP of Commercial Community Development Lending, concurs. "Projects like Life Lines need some kind of subsidy to make them viable," he says. "AHP can be used with other programs, and it is often AHP that closes the funding gap to make a project viable."
The new homes will be constructed adjacent to the existing Life Lines homes and will replace the last portion of vacant and blighted properties in a four-block radius on Wilmington’s West Side. The site is located near a bus line, a hospital, a shopping area, West End Neighborhood House and other services. The design is also consistent with the West Side Blueprint Communities® revitalization efforts, which is also supported by FHLBank Pittsburgh.
Fulton Bank helped Life Lines apply for AHP funding through its Fulton Forward™ initiative, which was created to stimulate economic empowerment, break the cycle of generational poverty and revive underserved communities. Nicole Earle, Fulton Bank's Commercial Community Development Officer, expressed her belief that without AHP, this population would be homeless. "We are fortunate to have access to AHP," she says, "and a strategic partner like FHLBank to help projects like this come to fruition."
