7.4% of families in Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson county live below the poverty line. This is highest in Jefferson County, where 11.7% of families live below the poverty line. Poverty influences a variety of mental and physical health outcomes. In children, living below the poverty line is related to weight concerns and behavioral and emotional issues. Children who are economically disadvantaged are less likely to graduate and do as well in school.
“They said she had been an excellent renter and that they understood her situation and would work with her and her rent payments. I have checked back in with her, and life is still very hard, but she is working hard to deal with issues as they arise. She said she was blessed by our help and my phone call.”
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- This project aimed to interview, screen, refer and implement assistance in the form of rent and related costs available to qualifying individuals.
- The project was implemented by Jericho Road.
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The project attempted to:- Prevent 600 individuals from becoming homeless.
- Increase health outcomes for adults at risk of homelessness.
- Improve overall quality of life for those at-risk of homelessness.
575 total individuals were served. 6 of these individuals were survivors of domestic violence.
Approximately 6,000 hours of volunteer work went into this project.
90% of children were able to see a primary care physician for a checkup.
75% of individuals in this project have now applied for health insurance.
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- Seniors, those with disabilities and Veterans were all addressed in this project as well as more families and children.
- The main challenge was having enough resources to serve all those in need of help for homelessness prevention.
All participants who filed an exit questionnaire marked improvement in quality of life and gratefulness for assistance.
More participants were assisted than the team initially thought possible.
Jericho Road was able to work together with NeighborImpact, Family Access Network and St. Vincent De Paul.
The program was able to expand to other demographics in the area.