Hope from ashes: fire-gutted apartments renovated for homeless
For Release: January 20, 2007
Contact: Marilee Roloff or Sarah Howard at 509.624.2378 or showard@voaspokane.org
Spokane, Wash.—There was little Mark Agee could do when the Lloyd apartment building, which he owns, went up in flames in August of 2005. But when the smoke cleared, and plans to renovate moved forward, he saw a chance to make a difference.
Mark came to us with a proposition to forge a wonderful new community partnership by leasing ten of the building’s 28 units to Volunteers of America. Subsidized by HUD’s Good Samaritan Project, the units provide permanent low-income housing for single, disabled adults from our shelters and transitional housing programs (Crosswalk, Flaherty House and Hope House).
Mark’s gift offers ten formerly homeless men and women the miracle of living in a bright, beautiful new space. Residents pay 30 percent of their income for rent and receive support from an onsite case manager who offers ongoing help, including connections to community resources. The first tenants moved in at the beginning of the year.
Related Articles:
Fire burns North Side apartment building (Spokesman Review — August 13, 2005)
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Volunteers of America of Eastern Washington & Northern Idaho is one of the region’s oldest and most diversified human service charities. We nurture, support, and uplift the human spirit by working with children and youth, the elderly, homeless individuals and families, and others to empower them in reaching their full potential. Among our programs are Crosswalk, Hope House, Alexandria’s House, Aston-Bleck Apartments, Breakthrough for Families, Flaherty House, Passages Family Support, Project Safe Place and affordable housing for adults with chronic mental illness and/or HIV/AIDS.