This past year has been a year of collaboration and opportunity. Pathway Homes continues to invest in the individuals we serve through our commitment to our mission to "embody the spirit of recovery: embracing an attitude of hope, self-determination and partnering with each individual on their personal journey toward achieving self-fulfillment and realizing their dreams." We meet this commitment and fulfill our mission by "making available to individuals with mental illnesses and co-occurring disabilities a variety of non-time-limited housing and services to enable them to realize their individual potential."
What a remarkable year we had in FY 2015! Pathway Homes' investment in a period of growth and renewal of agency programs has resulted in a significant increase of services and open doors to those on our waitlist of over 500. We remain committed to best practice service delivery while keeping staff morale high. As a result, for the fourth year in a row, Pathway Homes was named one of the "Best NonProfits to Work For" by The NonProfit Times. We ranked 6th in the nation among medium-sized nonprofits, employing 50-249 employees, and 22nd out of 50 nonprofits of all sizes. The award of unprecedented grants, expansion of service delivery into Prince William County, and emerging growth into Central Florida are but a few of the results from our commitment to partner with the greater community.
As a partner of excellence, we thank you for your continued advocacy and support of our agency. Our ability to fully realize our vision and mission can only be achieved through new and continued public and private partnerships and alliances as we look towards the future. Your continued support is evidenced by the most significant increase in public and private partnerships to date. Pathway Homes remains committed through our communication strategies to inform our stakeholders of the significant return on investment our agency provides to the community. Our services significantly reduce the overreliance on public services, increase self-sufficiency, and have consistently kept an average 98% of individuals stably housed over many years.
At the core of our growth and development remain the focus on the individuals we serve, and the quality services we provide. Hence the most important voices at Pathway Homes are the voices of the individuals we have the privilege and pleasure of serving. This voice of human resilience and hope determines our direction and focus. This influence remains the cornerstone of our organization, and defines future pathways for success. This past year was notable as we were invited to share our model of housing-first recovery-based programming at the local, state, and international arenas providing education and advocacy for mental health recovery.
This past year was also transformational. With over 200 applications for the HUD national bonus project, Pathway Homes was one of only 25 agencies awarded a 1.2 million dollar HUD grant to end homelessness amongst the most vulnerable in our population. This historic input of money into our local Continuum of Care will fund one of the most significant and aggressive efforts to end homelessness in the Fairfax, VA community and will result in a 27% decrease in the number of chronically homeless adults in Fairfax County.
We are mindful of the privilege to serve this community. We invite you to journey forward with us to eradicate homelessness, create innovative approaches to improve the quality and choice of behavioral healthcare, and advocate for best practice service provision with the most effective and efficient designs.
On behalf of the individuals we serve, staff, and the Board of Directors, I humbly thank you for your investment in our journey forward. With your continued support not only can we change lives, we can improve the quality of those lives throughout our community!
Sincerely,
Sylisa Lambert-Woodard, EdD, LCSW, LSATP, MAC
President and CEO
|
