By Andrew Barnes, Alyssa De Leon, Sumauri Emory, Alo Flores-Lamas, and Carley Rhoades

Programs

Allies Way provides direct support for families who are currently unhoused. On their website, they implore these families to reach out with any information on their current living situation and exactly how they can help. Through their program Haven of Hope, their main form of service is helping families who are living in extended-stay hotels figure out how best to get them out of that situation. The organization helps them through the crisis by figuring out what went wrong and how they can turn things around. This is done through five main steps: stabilize the crisis by providing basic needs, find the barrier that has held you back, remove whatever is in your way, move towards making steps to secure housing, and follow up after 30 or 60 days to see how everything has settled. Every family moves at their own pace, but Allies Way wants to make sure they are moving in the direction of a better future. With that being said, not every family can be promised these things. It is a sad reality, but with the team being as limited as they are, it is hard to find support for every family that reaches out. This is why Allies Way is always asking for volunteers and donations. They do this so they can ensure as many families as they are able to get the help they need. Apart from Haven of Hope, Allies Way also has another main program centered around helping the children of these families succeed in all educational endeavors, known as Haven Scholars.  

Haven Scholars is a newly launching program that helps students with any transportation, school supplies, or funding needs they could use to get them through to graduation. This program also extends into their first year of college, covering any application fees and other costs of starting college. In addition to all that support, the students also have a personal advocate they can call regarding any problems or encouragement during tough times throughout the semester. There are many reasons students drop out in their first semester of college, such as an unexpected bill or a small emergency. To ensure the student continues their education, Allies Way has a “Stay Enrolled Fund” they can pull from to help with anything of that nature. 

In light of the team’s recent donation from Drake, there could be useful changes made to the presentation and outreach of their programs. They do a fair job at breaking down what they’re trying to achieve for the Haven of Hope program and Haven Scholars, but they would benefit from showing more of what they’re doing in the community. For example, they could provide personal stories or pictures of the team with the families they have helped. This will help appeal to those currently going through these struggles and see that there is a way out. These stories or group photos could also be added to the team’s social media to help people gravitate towards the website. 

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