Humility of Mary Housing

The mission of Humility of Mary Housing is to promote and strengthen the self-sufficiency of individuals and families, especially the poor, through advocacy, supportive services and quality housing. In serving the poor, the organization targets our community’s most marginalized populations - including low-income seniors, chronically homeless young men, and chronically homeless single parent families. The vision of the organization is to empower those served to live a more abundant life. All activities are executed under HMH’s core values of respect, integrity, justice, collaboration, and compassion.

Unlike other shelter options, families may stay as long as they need to build a stable pathway out of chronic homelessness. Faith House is the only Lorain County program operating under Humility of Mary's Caring Compass model - providing safe housing first, establishing a support plan, working at lasting independence, and strengthening life skills. There are always families waiting to enter Faith House. In essence, community need is never met,

Humility of Mary Housing’s Permanent Supportive Housing model revolves around the organization’s custom intervention approach - the Caring Compass. The Caring Compass provides an array of program and property management services designed to assist individuals and families to achieve residential stability and strengthen their support networks. The goals of the Caring Compass approach are to assist individuals and families served in:
1. avoiding a return to homelessness;
2. obtaining and maintaining permanent community housing
3. increasing employment opportunities;
4. enhancing financial wellbeing,
5. expanding participation in the community; and
6. promoting physical and mental wellbeing.

Humility of Mary Housing’s Permanent Supportive Housing programs have two prongs that work together to maximize success for residents.

First, the organization provides housing. At all Humility of Mary Housing sites, apartments are one, two, or three bedroom units and include a full kitchen, bathroom, living room, and independent heating and air conditioning systems. Most buildings also include a common entrance foyer with a controlled-access entry system. All apartments are fully furnished and equipped with appliances and on-site laundry facilities.

Second, the organization provides supportive services. HM Housing staff assist participants with any and all concerns that impact their ability to maintain housing. The type and scale of the specific supportive services available to participants is highly individualized, based on each household's strengths and special needs. Upon enrollment, the needs of each participating head-of-household are assessed around mental health, chemical dependency, and medical problems; educational and vocational/employment needs and interests; and parenting or children’s challenges.

Outside its core structure, the Caring Compass model has some key features designed to ensure that households remain in Permanent Supportive Housing or move to other appropriate permanent housing:

First, the model is designed to stabilize participants upon entry. Under the model, HMH staff offer assistance and intervention to help participants learn the basics of independent living and identify and change the patterns of behavior which threaten their ability to live a stable life.

Second, the model leverages the support of community partners. While the network of services provided by HMH staff is comprehensive, it should be clear that it is not meant to provide for all of the participants' needs. HMH staff link with other community agencies to form a multi-disciplinary group offering an array of resources.
Third, the Caring Compass approach to supportive services incorporates the Stages of Change model. Program staff members recognize that changes in behavior occur gradually - with the individual moving through stages from being uninterested to deciding and preparing to make a change. Once a commitment to change is made, determined action is taken and, over time, efforts to maintain the new behavior occur. Program participants receive a level of intervention appropriate to their position on the Stages of Change continuum.

Finally, HMH recognizes that substance use, legal and illegal, is a part of the world in which we live. While recognizing that the abuse of alcohol and other drugs is inherently harmful to the wellbeing of the individual, HMH has found it more effective to concentrate on an individual’s behavior rather than on the detection of alcohol or substance use. As a rule, HMH staff will not conduct alcohol or drug testing on program participants.

Humility of Mary Housing brings many capabilities to their mission and supporting programming.

Longstanding Support from the Sisters of the Humility of Mary - Humility of Mary Housing was started by the Sisters of The Humility of Mary. Still today, the mission enjoys support from the Sisters in many ways and the spirit of their charism resonates throughout the organization.

Strong Leadership and Experience - A senior leadership team including an Executive Director, Finance Director, Director of Programs & Services/ Quality Improvement, and a Director of Property/ Housing Services coalesce to run the organization. Together this group 40 years of nonprofit management experience combined. They and their team members regularly attend professional development opportunities. They are supported by a strong board of community leaders including a Sister Carolyn Marshall, HM, retired principal of Magnificat High School for girls.

HUD Oversight and Continuum of Care Involvement - Humility of Mary enjoys support and funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. We report back to HUD and other funders annually at a minimum out measurable outcomes to include successful program completion, income attainment, housing stability, and financial management. The organization is also part of the Continuum of Care entities across its service region.

Rigorous Evaluative Processes - Professionals at Humility of Mary are committed to quality evaluative processes. These are conducted for the purposes of outcome tracking, refining of organizational processes, improving resident experience, contributing to meaningful community and statewide data, and funder and stakeholder reporting.

Facilities Across the Region - Humility of Mary Housing provides housing & supportive services to homeless individuals and families and low-income seniors in four northeast Ohio counties for over 30 years.

CARF Accreditation - Humility of Mary Housing is proud to recently have achieved CARF Accreditation. CARF (The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) Accreditation signals Humility of Mary Housing’s commitment to continually improving services, encouraging feedback, and serving the community.

Strong Community Partnerships - Humility of Mary Housing’s model leverages the support of community partners. Case managers help link residents with other community agencies to form a multi-disciplinary group offering an array of resources designed to meet the variety and complexity of needs presented by program participants. Estimate how many community partners across region?

Use of Best Practices - Permanent Support Housing is a nationally recognized model, widely considered best practice in meeting the needs of homeless individuals and families with disabilities.

Strong and Regularly Updated Strategic Plan - Humility of Mary operated under a Strategic Plan addressing organizational sustainability, evolving community need, and communications.

Recently marking its 30th anniversary, and under the leadership of newer Executive Director Fred Berry, Humility of Mary Housing has achieved several notable organizational accomplishments. First, leaders worked to address the sustainability of the organization. The endowment was increased from $425,000 in 2016 to over $560,000. Under the supervision of a new Finance Director hired in 2019, leaders are working to employ best practices, regulations, policies, and procedures to enforce stronger fiscal management and oversight. The organization submitted an application to be able to bill for Medicaid, which will dramatically support financial sustainability. Additionally, leaders made some notable staffing changes to best meet the goals of the organization. Maintenance manager and case manager positions and social work interns were added to fill gaps and expand programming. Job descriptions were reviewed and updated in 2019.

Humility of Mary faces several key future challenges and leaders will work to overcome these in the coming years. Some of these are unique to the organization and some are common among most nonprofits. External challenges include a growing need for services in this region and aging facilities. Internal challenges include unpredictability in government grant funding streams, challenges in identifying new stable long-term funding sources, and the difficulties that come with uniting a consolidated organization with several stakeholder groups and local identities.

Humility of Mary is operating under a Strategic Plan that runs through 2020. Under it, long-range plans are expressed as three overarching organizational goals. These goals address many of the challenges considered above and include 1) Obtaining and maintaining organizational sustainability; 2) Further defining the needs of the community served to respond to ever-evolving needs; and 3) Improving communication throughout the ministry by increasing clarity and promoting a consistent and compelling mission. The organization has made progress on these goals and will continue to work toward them this calendar year.