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Iraqi Family Finds Comforts of Home at Sierra Ridge

December 2, 2015 | Posted in Housing |

It is hard to imagine having to say goodbye to the friends, neighbors and home you love. That is exactly what the Gailani family were forced to do when they left Iraq in 2011 as refugees. The Gailanis are part of our Children’s Home Initiative (CHI), an intensive support program for extremely low-income and formerly homeless families, and they live at our Sierra Ridge community in South Austin.

Salwan found a job as a dishwasher at a hotel and was making only slightly above minimum wage. The family struggled to adjust to their new life in the United States – everything, including the language, was unfamiliar and the cost of living was high.

Salwan and his wife, Sawsan, eventually learned about Foundation Communities through local refugee advocates and friends. Now that the Gailanis have a safe, stable place to call home and access to an on-site case manager and other support services, the entire family has made great strides.

Through the CHI program, the Gailanis participated in financial counseling and have been able to open a savings account and purchase their first car. Salwan, who still works seven days a week at a hotel, said this has relieved some of the family’s financial strain. The family has also relied on their case manager to assist them with paying bills online, filling out important documents and making doctor’s appointments.

“Our case manager helps with everything,” Sawsan said.

Two of the Gailani children attend nearby St. Elmo Elementary School and come to our Learning Center to do their homework and play outside with their friends. All of the children are excelling at learning English and flourishing in school.

The Gailanis’ progress aligns with the overarching success of our CHI families. Of the 45 families that graduated from the 18-month program this year, 87% fulfilled a financial literacy component and 98% of the children in the program improved or maintained their academic performance.

Despite being uprooted from their country, the Gailani family is remarkably optimistic and hopeful. Salwan and Sawsan welcomed their fourth child, Saife, just a few months ago, and they envision a bright future for him and their family as a whole. Salwan plans to buy a home one day, Sawsan is actively working towards earning her GED and the kids all have dreams of their own.

For more information about our CHI program, please click here.

Homestead Oaks: A Place for Families to Call Their Own

September 29, 2015 | Posted in Housing |

Almost all of us in Austin know someone who needs an affordable place to live. The people who call Foundation Communities home work in our favorite restaurants, play music downtown, teach our kids and build our houses. They are our colleagues, friends and family members. We want to be there for them. That’s why we continue to grow.

By the end of this year, we will welcome home another 140 families to our beautiful new Homestead Oaks community at Brodie and Slaughter, close to great schools and lots of job opportunities. Most of the families that move into Homestead will earn between $20,000 to $50,000 and they’ll pay, on average, $750 in rent.

Fourteen of the 140 apartments at Homestead will be reserved for extremely low-income, formerly homeless families with young children who will pay further reduced rents and have access to intensive case management services right where they live.

We look forward to providing our newest residents with the housing + support they need to succeed. At Homestead, this includes an on-site learning center for our after-school and summer learning programs, financial stability programs to help parents manage a tight budget, and health programs like Zumba and nutrition classes.

Homestead will be the perfect place for our residents to dream big. With 29 acres of land and 500 oak trees, it is sure to be our most picturesque community to date.

We like to imagine our students at the Stevenson Family Learning Center (named in honor of our beloved supporters John and Lois Stevenson) running and playing in the wide, open spaces. There will be a playground, tree swings, and forts. In the future, we also hope to scatter walking trails
throughout the property.

Our affordable housing communities are always built to the highest green standards, and Homestead is no exception. It will be certified LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Gold or Platinum and each apartment will have its own small solar installation. We are committed to keeping our residents’ utility bills low and our environmental footprint small.

Homestead would not have been possible without the aordable housing bonds that Austin voters approved in 2013, which we leveraged to secure critical state funds. We are thankful for the city’s support. We are also incredibly grateful to all of our generous donors who fund the on-site education, financial stability, and health programs that
truly transform people’s lives.

Foundation Communities is home to more than 5,000 people – including over 800 formerly homeless children – and counting. We can’t wait to open our doors at Homestead later this year and give 140 more families a beautiful, safe, affordable place they can call their own.

Resident Overcomes Challenges In Supportive Community

August 24, 2015 | Posted in Health |

Michael Greene spent two decades living a fast-paced life that included working in the entertainment industry and traveling all over the world. He had struggled with hyper anxiety ever since he was a teenager and ultimately turned to alcohol as a way to cope and to fuel his chaotic existence.

“My anxiety didn’t allow me to be present,” he said. “Alcohol became my normalcy, and I was like that for 25 years.”

Eventually, Michael’s drinking overtook his life and the rest of his priorities fell away. He struggled to keep jobs and soon became homeless.

Change for Michael came when he enrolled himself in the Salvation Army’s adult rehabilitation program. After graduating from the program, Michael learned about Foundation Communities. He moved into an apartment of his own at Garden Terrace, one of our communities for single adults, and has been with us for the last six years.

“I see my time at Foundation Communities as completely progressive and forward,” Michael said. “It’s my ascent to my ultimate goal, which is self-sufficiency.”

Michael has come a long way since he first arrived at Garden Terrace. His anxiety used to prevent him from coming out of his room but now he happily walks the halls and chats with his neighbors and our staff. Michael has added structure back into his life by helping to manage the food pantries at three of our communities, and he’s hoping to begin a second job in the near future.

He is also committed to maintaining a healthy lifestyle by eating a mostly plant-based diet and riding his bicycle around town to alleviate stress. “I’ve learned that pacing yourself is very important,” he said.

Michael is one of many residents who has benefited from our partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Because of a $2 million federal grant we received from SAMHSA in 2006, we were able to add social work staff at our communities for single adults, like Garden Terrace, and work closely with local healthcare providers to give our residents access to critical services.

Dr. William Kelly, a professor of sociology at UT Austin, studied the implementation of the SAMHSA grant at our communities and found that our residents benefited tremendously. Michael was one of the residents Dr. Kelly spoke with while doing his research.

“Mr. Greene is one example of how, given the right services and the right people providing them, a life can change in extraordinary ways,” Dr. Kelly said.

To learn more about our health programs, please visit //foundcom.org/health-programs/.

Our BIG News and Future Plans

August 3, 2015 | Posted in Housing |

July ended on an extremely high note. We just found out that we won nearly $15 million in tax credits from the state to build Cardinal Point, a new affordable housing community in the Four Points area with good schools and plenty of job opportunities. We are very happy about this news and can’t wait to welcome 120 low-income families home to Cardinal Point in 2017!

This is an important moment in our organization’s history. Cardinal Point is one of SIX (yes, SIX) new communities we have in the pipeline. Our waiting lists for housing have never been longer and the need for affordable housing in Austin is at an all-time high. We are excited to be growing.

Each of our future communities will provide more than just a roof over people’s heads. At Cardinal Point, for example, families will have access to our free education, financial stability and health programs right where they live. There will be a Community Learning Center with after-school and summer learning programs, ESL classes, and fitness classes like Zumba and yoga.

With the construction of Cardinal Point and our other new communities, we expect to welcome home 1,000 new residents by the end of 2017.

Here’s a quick rundown of what we’re planning over the next few years:

Homestead Apartments (pictured above) – Homestead Apartments is slated to open at the end of this year. It is located near Brodie and Slaughter and will be home 140 families.

Lakeline Station Apartments – Lakeline Station is scheduled to open in late 2016. It is located at 620 and 183 and will be home to 128 families.

Live Oak Trails – Live Oak Trails is scheduled to open in late 2016. It is located next to our Southwest Trails community in Oak Hill and will be home to 58 families.

Bluebonnet Studios – Bluebonnet Studios is scheduled to open in late 2016. It is located at Bluebonnet and South Lamar and will be home to 107 single adults, including low-wage workers, formerly homeless individuals, veterans, seniors and individuals with disabilities.

Garden Terrace Phase 3 – Garden Terrace Phase 3 is an expansion of our Garden Terrace community located on William Cannon and is expected to be complete by 2017. The expansion will be home to 20 single adults, very similar to the future residents at Bluebonnet.

Cardinal Point – Cardinal Point is slated to open in 2017. It will be located in the Four Points area, close to the intersection of River Place Boulevard and Four Points Drive, and will be home to 140 families.

Stay tuned for updates!

Free Minds Helps Mom Achieve College Dreams

June 16, 2015 | Posted in Education |

Crystal Luna dropped out of high school when she was 16 to take care of her new son, Mikey. She returned to school nearly ten years later because she wanted to set a good example for him and change her life.

As a single parent, she worked multiple jobs to make ends meet. Despite the challenging circumstances, Crystal wanted Mikey to see and understand the value of a college education.

“I want him to be much further in his life at the age of 30 than I am now,” Crystal said.

Crystal will turn 30 this summer and Mikey is in 7th grade. Once Crystal set her mind to returning to school,she earned her GED. She also decided to get a jump-start on her college career by applying to our Free Minds program.

Free Minds is a free two-semester college humanities course for adults living on low to moderate incomes. The rigorous program is run in partnership with UT Austin and Austin Community College (ACC). After being accepted into the program, Crystal has spent the last year studying literature, American history, philosophy and writing.

Her favorite assignment so far has been reading Plato’s The Republic. Crystal overcame her apprehension about the dense classic early on in the course and proved to herself that she could, in fact, succeed in Free Minds. Besides
exploring new literary worlds, Crystal said Free Minds has taught her how to successfully balance her life’s competing priorities: raising her son, working full-time and completing her education.

One of the reasons Crystal was able to enroll in the program and commit to its demanding schedule is because Mikey can come with her. While Crystal is hard at work in discussion groups, Mikey participates in a Creative Action class. Creative Action is one of our nonprofit partners and the class is free for children of Free Minds’ students.

“Being able to bring Mikey made it so much easier as a single parent,” Crystal said. “He loves his class with Creative Action too.”

This month, Crystal and her fellow Free Minds students will graduate with six college credits. Crystal has already applied for financial aid at ACC and plans to enroll for the summer and fall semesters. She will be pursuing an Associate’s Degree in Music Business, Performance and Technology in order to live out her dream of working full-time in the music industry.

Newly minted with a degree, Crystal envisions many more doors opening in her and her son’s future. “Free Minds prepared me for what comes next,” she said. “The program helped open those doors.” To learn more about our Free Minds program, please visit www.freemindsaustin.org.

Coaching Families to a Stronger Financial Future

April 6, 2015 | Posted in Financial Stability |

Miguel Stoupignan is an unwavering optimist and problem solver. As one of our seasoned financial coaches, Miguel works one-on-one with Foundation Communities residents and Austin community members to strengthen their financial stability. Miguel meets with clients who are struggling to make ends meet. They come to him extremely concerned about their financial future.

Miguel shares with clients the advice his father gave to him as a child. “There is no problem you can’t solve – it’s just a matter of time,” he said. “Make an action plan.”

Creating an action plan is where Miguel can help. Like our other volunteer financial coaches, Miguel meets regularly with his clients to understand their financial situations. Then, they work collaboratively to figure out how to manage tight budgets, reduce debt, improve credit, and set achievable short-term and long-term goals. Understandably, discussing financial decisions is stressful for many people.

“To me, talking about money is emotional, just like any other problem in life,” Miguel said. “The clients want to open their hearts to you.”

When first meeting with clients, Miguel said his main objective is to establish a meaningful, personal connection. This approach, along with his positive outlook, is what makes Miguel such an effective financial coach. He gets to know his clients in order to help them implement the right solutions and, ultimately, change their lives.

Becoming a financial coach was a natural fit for Miguel. After several years in the restaurant business, he now works as a consultant for companies of all sizes. Miguel stays busy with his consulting business and his family, but he has been a dedicated Foundation Communities volunteer for the last three years.

In addition to volunteering as a financial coach, Miguel also serves as a small business coach, credit counselor and tax preparer. He carves out time weekly to volunteer, which he said is as beneficial for him as it is for the folks he serves.

“You are doing something to solve a problem, which is satisfying, and you are making friends,” Miguel said. Miguel has no plans on slowing down any time soon and jokes that he won’t retire until 2060. He also encourages others to find the volunteer opportunity with Foundation Communities that best fits them.

“It’s going to complete you,” he said. “You learn a lot, not only because of the issue at hand, but because of the clients.”

Tax Prep Leads Resident to Fresh New Start

January 5, 2015 | Posted in Financial Stability | Keywords: Financial Stability, Community Tax Centers

When Joyce Guagliardo first visited our Community Tax Centers a few years ago, she lived in less than ideal circumstances.

Joyce was in and out of the hospital and for a while she was homeless, sleeping on other people’s couches or living in her car. Years of serious physical and mental health issues made it impossible for her to maintain a full-time job.

Joyce’s family had always prided themselves on their work ethic.

“I had never relied on anyone for anything,” she said.

It was hard for her to give up work and remain optimistic about the future given her health challenges.

Since being introduced to Foundation Communities, Joyce said that she finally feels like she’s moving forward again.

Most significantly, Joyce and her husband Lawrence moved into Buckingham Place Duplexes, one of our family communities in south Austin. As residents, the Guagliardos have participated in many of our financial stability programs, learning how to cut their utility bills in half and taking our money management classes.

Earlier this year, Joyce returned to our Community Tax Centers and met with long-time volunteer Sid Stuewe. She cried when she found out she was going to meet with Sid because she felt relieved to be in such capable hands.

Every time she visits the Community Tax Centers, Joyce said our volunteers are friendly and knowledgeable. “I’m not in the dark about anything,” she said. Joyce said she is incredibly grateful to Foundation Communities and to all of the dedicated volunteers she has met over the years.

We rely on over 2,000 volunteers annually to carry out the programs that serve our residents and neighbors. In 2014, volunteers at our Community Tax Centers prepared more than 20,000 tax returns, resulting in over $36 million in refunds for hard-working, local families. We hope to assist even more families during the 2015 tax season and we need you! As a Community Tax Centers volunteer, you’ll truly make a difference for folks like Joyce.

For more information about volunteering with our Community Tax Centers, contact Jackie Blair at Jackie.Blair@foundcom.org or 512-610-7377.

Capital Studios: A Home in the Heart of Austin

September 30, 2014 | Posted in Housing |

Capital Studios, the first affordable housing in downtown Austin in 45 years, is set to open soon. Later this year, 135 individuals will move in to our brand-new community in the heart of the city we all love.

For our newest residents, Capital Studios will be a fresh start. Musician and current Foundation Communities resident Evan Johns said finding us made him feel like the luckiest man alive.

Evan toured the world playing music and earned a Grammy nomination. He moved to Austin and cemented his status as a guitar legend. But decades of being surrounded by free alcohol and drugs destroyed his bones, liver and kidneys. Evan sought treatment for his addiction but had little money and nowhere to go when it was time to leave.

Like many of our future Capital Studios residents, Evan would have been homeless without Foundation Communities. Now Evan spends his days doing what he loves – writing songs and playing guitar.

“I’m deeply grateful for getting a second chance at life,” Evan said.

We worked hard to overcome the challenges Capital Studios presented and are especially grateful to the early and energetic support of the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association and the Downtown Austin Alliance.

As with all of our new communities, Capital Studios required neighborhood support, as well as citywide voter approval of affordable housing bonds, in order for us to secure state funding to build it.

Capital Studios will be home to our signature education, financial stability, and healthy living programs. Residents will have access to dedicated case managers, college prep classes, integrated health care, and one-on-one financial coaching, among other opportunities to transform their lives. We rely on the continued support of generous donors like you to fund these vital onsite services.

We can’t wait to welcome our newest residents to Capital Studios. We expect their stories, like Evan’s, will fill our hearts with hope and propel us forward. There’s plenty of work left to do to provide deeply affordable homes for those who need it most in Austin. Capital Studios moves us in the right direction.

Thank you to all of you for joining us on the journey to build this beautiful new community.

For more information about our Future Communities, click here

Summer Learning Keeps Local Students Engaged

August 5, 2014 | Posted in Education |

For many of the students we serve in our after-school and summer programs, our on-site Learning Centers are a second home. Maryam and Ali Alattabi, Iraqi refugees who moved to Sierra Vista with their parents a year ago, said they love coming to their Learning Center.

“I come in and smile,” said Maryam, who is 12 and headed to 6th grade next year.

Neither Maryam nor her 10-year-old brother Ali could speak English very well when they arrived in the United States almost two years ago, but now they are practically fluent, thanks to the individualized support they receive year-round from us.

“I got help with math problems,” Maryam said. “The teachers at the Learning Center made me understand more.”

Even though school is out for the summer, learning continues for the more than 700 kids enrolled in our free 6-week summer learning program. At all ten of our Learning Centers, students are staying academically engaged through reading, science, technology, engineering, and math activities that reinforce the skills they gained during the school year.

There is also plenty of time for fun, like swimming and volleyball, exciting field trips and interesting guest speakers from the community.

Summer learning is critical for our students because it helps narrow the achievement gap and prevent “summer slide.” Research shows that low-income students tend to fall behind during the summer months because of limited access to year-round academic support.

Our unique summer learning program provides kids in kindergarten through 5th grade the consistent academic support they need to succeed right where they live and at no cost to their parents.

Maryam and Ali’s mother said her family feels happy, comfortable and safe since moving to Sierra Vista. As part of our Children’s Home Initiative program for at-risk or formerly homeless families, they receive additional support services from our staff.

We expect that Maryam and Ali and the rest of the students in our summer learning program will wow their new teachers this fall!

For more information about our Summer Learning Programs, click here

Top Things To Do When Moving To A New Home

May 26, 2014 | Posted in Uncategorized |

Whether you are interested in our Buckingham Palace, Sierra Ridge, Vintage Creek or Crossroads Austin family apartments or studios for single adults or you are more eager to move to our North Texas community, we invite you to get in touch with us and let us handle everything for you. We can recommend the best locations for you and our family while emphasizing the importance of sustainability. Get ready for a gorgeous smoke free, healthy environment in the close proximity of public transportation and other important amenities in the city. And if you are all packed and on the verge of moving, here are a few helpful thing to keep in mind when reaching your new home.

Pest-proof Your Home

This will save you from a lot of trouble later on; even if the place looks spotless and you see no reason why you should do this, it’s better to be safe than sorry. You should think about setting off a bug bomb calling an exterminator who can come and spray the apartment so you can stay on the safe side. You will be bringing in food and flavors that tend to attract various bugs and ants, so it’s best to be proactive and avoid actually having to deal with a pest invasion later on. This is especially advised if you have small children who will crawl on the floors a lot – you don’t want them exposed to harsh chemicals after you move in. So take advantage of the few hours you have at hand before the moving truck unloads and call a specialist.

Start Fresh – Change Locks, Install Windows Treatments

It is a good idea to give your place a thorough clean and insist on the floors, windows, and baseboards. It is a good idea to have windows treatments installed so you can enjoy a tranquil night protected against curious eyes lurking out the window and checking your belongings out.

Have a locksmith come over and evaluate the state of the locks around the house and rekey them or install fresh ones you can never know who else still has a duplicate key for your how place, so this step is mandatory. For those of you who are about to move to the Greater Chicago area, a fast Chicago locksmith in the area that handles lock rekey and lock installation for homes is the best solution. You can try to uninstall the old locks and install new ones by yourself but it will most likely be a challenge task and the last thing you need before you move is handle yet another stressful event. The peace of mind you will gain from hiring the service of authorized locksmiths are easy to grasp; find a licensed company that offers mobile services on a 24/7 basis so they can handle your lockouts or fast key duplicate needs as soon as possible. Pick a crew with small flat rates and always inquire about any additional fees they might add to the final costs you originally agreed upon. Unexpected work and tools might be needed or complex locks, but make sure you do not get ripped off by scammers who are not few in this industry.

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