I’m excited to announce that effective July 5th I will be working for a new non-profit. You may not know this but Almost Home was my very first job post-college—and like any good first job it has prepared me to take on a more challenging role at my next place of employment. While I am excited for this next phase of my professional life I am sad to be leaving such a wonderful organization and I look forward to supporting Almost Home even after my employment ends. So today I being you my Top 10 reasons I will continue to support Almost Home.
- Almost Home fills a service gap in our community. Almost Home is the ONLY non-profit in the greater St. Louis area that serves homeless teen mothers. Without Almost Home these young women would be in shelters that may not be able to meet their needs.
- I got to work with some pretty cute office mates:
3. Almost Home uses its funding appropriately. As someone who has seen how our donations are spent I am comfortable saying that I look forward to becoming a donor because I know that Almost Home uses donations in a way that are honest, transparent, and in line with its mission.
4. Almost Home is a “last resort” for many of our clients. What I mean by this is that Almost Home is often the last stop for many young women before they officially “age out” of the foster care system/ youth serving organizations. Of course there are services for homeless adults but they rarely allow their clients to stay for up to two years—for many of our clients Almost Home is their last opportunity to stay at a transitional living facility where they will have the time and support needed to really focus on getting their lives back on track.
5. I loved working at an organization where I got to see our clients every day. All of the staff office’s are directly connected to the housing unit which means that all staff get an opportunity to interact with the clients every day. I really enjoyed meeting our clients and having the privilege of celebrating their successes with them.
6. Almost Home is so much more than just a transitional living facility- it truly is a holistic program that helps clients learn the skills needed to live independently. Almost Home provides education services, mental health, life skills classes, and parenting classes.
7. Almost Home is willing to take risks and try new approaches so that the organization can always be sure that it is delivering the best services to its clients. In the two years I have been at Almost Home I have seen the program department make numerous changes to ensure that they are best serving our clients.
8. I am so excited that Almost Home now has an Alumni Support Program aimed at providing services to alumni of the transitional living facility because I know for many of our alumni Almost Home represents their only support system. For many of our alumni the staff at Almost Home has replaced their parents/caretakers in terms of being the “go to” source for help, advice, and support.
9. Almost Home is changing the lives of two generation at once. For every young woman we help we also help her child.
10. And perhaps my #1 reason for supporting Almost Home is because I know the agency makes a difference in the lives of its clients. I have seen young women graduate from high school, get their first jobs, better connect with their children, make advances in therapy, complete substance abuse programs, become engaged in their education, strengthen their literacy skills, and complete so many other amazing accomplishments.
Do you think I left anything out? Why do you support Almost Home?
Best,
Ashlie Hutcherson
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