Joppa

Our key goals for the next 12 months include:
1. Finish the rezoning process and code approvals to start building the first Village
2. Help 50 more people experiencing homelessness get back into permanent housing
3. Perfect Thriftmart model and prepare to open a second thrift store

Our key goals for the next 3‐5 years include:
1. One transitional Joppa Village is built and fully occupied
3. 300 additional people off the streets via third-party housing
4. Offer one or more Joppa KIDS programs nationwide
5. Two Thriftmart nonprofit thrift stores are supporting our core operating costs

Our strategies include the following:
1. Continue working through the Joppa Village Coalition to finish the rezoning and code approval processes to start building the first Tiny Home Village in Iowa in 2024. Our Des Moines mayor co-chairs this coalition, which includes two Des Moines City Council Members, a Polk County Supervisor, the Des Moines Deputy City Manager and Homeless Policy Administrator, and our Joppa CEO and cofounder.

2. Continue hiring staff and training volunteer teams to utilize our proven processes to help people get off the streets and rebuild their lives. We also opened a Homeless Resource Center in 2021. We have seasoned Aftercare and Circle-of-Friends programs that have enabled Joppa to help more than 550 homeless families and individuals find housing, with over 80% remaining in housing today.

3. Continue working with our team to improve our Thriftmart thrift store model and grow sales and profitability.

Our capabilities for meeting our goals include the experience and success of working directly with homeless people for nearly 15 years, financial acumen, and technology capabilities. Joppa has demonstrated critical and creative thinking, personal and social capability, and ethical understanding. We have a deep intercultural understanding of poverty, mental health, addiction, and the other root causes of homelessness and how to help people successfully transition out of homelessness and stay off the streets.

Our staff and trained volunteer teams have proven programs and processes for helping people get off the streets and rebuild their lives. This process starts with our highly effective Outreach programs, where we meet people, build relationships and help them survive. We also have a Homeless Resource Center open throughout the week and a seasoned Aftercare program that continues the connection and support as people rebuild their lives, become self-sufficient, and have new Circle-of-Friends.

Our progress includes the following:
1. We have more than 20 acres under contract, along with the experience, staff, and the right people on the Joppa Village Coalition, as well as the credibility, reputation, and donor base. We have commitments for 15% of the total cost of the project.
2. We recently opened a Homeless Resource Center, and with continued Outreach and Aftercare, we are serving more people than ever.
3. Construction is complete, and we are working with a marketing firm and launch team to ensure our first nonprofit thrift store, Thriftmart, launches successfully and holds its grand opening in late summer or early fall.

We've been working directly with people experiencing homelessness and providing weekly outreach to all the people living under bridges, in tents, shacks, and vehicles for nearly 15 years. We understand this population and how to reach them.

Joppa has helped more than 550 families and individuals find housing; over 80% of these men, women, and children remain in housing today. Joppa has sustained its weekly outreach and aftercare programs for more than 760 consecutive weeks, year-round, regardless of the weather. It now serves an average of 326 people weekly, with a small staff of professionals and 1,862 dedicated volunteers contributing nearly 40,000 hours last year.