As part of Fulton Bank’s community engagement efforts across the American Northeast, its employees worked with West End Neighborhood House and FHLBank Pittsburgh to support the development of housing for homeless and at-risk youth in Wilmington, Delaware.
The housing and supportive services are managed by West End’s Life Lines program, which serves current and former foster care youth, unaccompanied youth and those who identify as LGBTQ. Clients range in age from 16 to 23.
Young adults transitioning out of foster care face many challenges, including finding adequate housing and social services. Often without family support, a credit history, a job or even a secondary education and basic life skills, they are at far greater risk of homelessness than those coming from more stable home environments.
For those identifying as LGBTQ, the challenges are even greater. According to UNICEF’s Voices of Youth reporting, LGBTQ youth have a 120% higher risk of homelessness than their heterosexual peers.
Life Lines Program Director Stacy Shamburger explains. “Many at-risk youth lack the resilience, support, community and safety that most of us are fortunate to have. Our mission is to help them become their best selves, and our job is to provide them with safe, stable housing and the tools they need to feel supported along their journey.”
With the project’s completion in April 2022, West End Neighborhood House and the project’s developer, Cornerstone West Community Development Corporation, increased Life Lines’ housing capacity to accommodate 33 youth. Three of the 10 new beds are prioritized for LGBTQ youth through Life Lines’ Pride Program.
“As a member of FHLBank Pittsburgh, we have ready access to capital and to products that help us better serve our communities,” said Wm. Smokey Glover, Executive Vice President, Director of Fair and Responsible Banking at Fulton Bank. “FHLBank’s Affordable Housing Program enabled us to work with local partners to fund this Life Lines project and help young people in our region who are aging out of foster care. Fulton Bank is proud to work with FHLBank and support projects like this as part of our mission to change lives for the better.”
The housing was made possible through Fulton Bank’s support of a 2019 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) award of $750,000. The sponsorship was part of the Fulton ForwardTM initiative which offers programs, products and services in affordable housing, job training and workforce development, financial education and economic development.
“FHLBank Pittsburgh is one of only a few funders of affordable housing in our area,” according to Sarah Lester, Cornerstone West’s President and CEO. “The AHP grant was the largest single, non-governmental source of funding for our capital campaign, and we couldn’t have created this housing without it.”
The project produced a new three-bedroom home, a one-bedroom ADA-compliant home – Life Lines’ first fully accessible unit – and the rehabilitation of two three-bedroom townhomes. All homes have full kitchens, washers and dryers and are completely furnished. The ADA-compliant house is designed to accommodate a non-ambulatory, sight and/or hearing-impaired individual.
Since its inception in 2001, Life Lines has served more than 1,000 of Delaware’s former foster care and low-income homeless youth.
“Fulton Bank has actively utilized the FHLBank’s credit and community products to enrich the communities they serve,” said Fred Banuelos, FHLBank Pittsburgh Community Investment Business Development Manager. “Their investment in this economically and ethnically diverse region builds upon their dedication to this community and invests in LGBTQ and accessibility resources for youth in Delaware.”
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Learn more about this project on the FHLBank Pittsburgh website under “AHP”: Life Lines Provides Housing for Homeless Youth in Delaware.
The Affordable Housing Program (AHP) helps FHLBank members participate in the development of affordable housing in the communities they serve. Learn more by visiting https://www.fhlb-pgh.com/AHP.
FHLBank Pittsburgh provides reliable funding and liquidity to its member financial institutions, which include commercial and savings banks, community development financial institutions, credit unions and insurance companies in Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. FHLBank products and resources help support community lending, housing and economic development. As one of 11 Federal Home Loan Banks established by Congress, FHLBank has been an integral and reliable part of the financial system since 1932. Learn more by visiting www.fhlb-pgh.com.
