This past Monday I joined one of our local Kiwanis chapters as a guest for their weekly meeting. The minute I stepped through the door, people came forward to introduce themselves and shake my hand. Active and involved down to the last person, their commitment to service and community quickly became apparent as we settled in for the meeting.  “Fines” of a quarter or so were levied and members laughed good-naturedly as they paid. As they shared news about a particular event or happening they were excited about, they contributed “happy dollars” to what I could only determine was a pot of joy.

And the Kiwanis share their joy in the community. Recently, Avalon Housing received a grant from the Kiwanis to help expand a Document Support Program for Avalon Tenants. Carole McCabe, Director of Tenant Programs, writes a bit here about the impact of this program and the pivotal role the Kiwanis play for our tenants.

“As our tenants work toward self-sufficiency, they are almost always involved in accessing government and community resources through applications for entitlement benefits, food, furniture, financial assistance, and more.  Obtaining the necessary documents for this process- birth certificates, drivers licenses, state identification cards- is costly, especially when transportation costs are included. For families in particular, the cost of these documents goes above and beyond what they are able to plan for in their limited monthly budgets.  It is also uncommon for these families to be able to afford a car, and assistance with bus tokens and passes can make a big difference in being able to access these essential resources. 

“Despite the barriers our tenants may face - prior homelessness, mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence - they work hard to be an integral part of the community. They live, work, and play in the Ann Arbor area. The support from Kiwanis will assist tenants in accessing community resources. This will allow them to afford and locate the basic needs, including food, clothing, health care, child care, and household supplies. If a family has fewer worries about day-to-day needs, they will be on their way to being an active part of the community, which benefits all of us. 

“We have been funding direct tenant assistance like this from the Carrot Way Community Center operations budget, but the need has increased as our successful engagement efforts have expanded the number of tenants who are involved in moving forward with their action plans.