The Welcome Home Fund is a restricted fund that is managed by the Coalition for the Homeless that supports the work of The Way Home by removing barriers for people moving into permanent housing. The Welcome Home Fund provides Welcome Baskets full of home goods, furniture, and one-time financial assistance for things like deposits that other funding sources may not cover.

The Welcome Home Fund would not be an available resource if it was not for our incredible individual donors, private foundation supporters, and community partners leading in-kind donation drives.

As we begin our work in 2019, we first wanted to look back on the accomplishments of the Welcome Home Fund in 2018.

Our Accomplishments In 2018

First and foremost, because of your commitment, we removed barriers for more than 650 individuals and welcomed them home in 2018. Specifically, we:

  • provided 430 individuals with crucial funds to assist with the payment of rental applications, deposits, and utility deposits;
  • furnished 100 apartments for clients in apartments throughout Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery Counties;
  • supplied over 600 Welcome Baskets to partner agencies of the Way Home for their clients moving into permanent housing;
  • worked with 15 various faith-based organizations, schools, and businesses to host Welcome Basket in-kind drives; and
  • connected groups doing other, non-Welcome Basket in-kind donation drives to partner agencies in need

Before the creation of the Welcome Home Fund, case managers and housing navigators often had to scramble to find “extra” money in their budgets (or even pay out of their own pockets!) for things like home supplies and deposits. To see just how impactful the Welcome Home Fund is, check out the video below filmed with our partner Avenue 360 and someone recently housed through The Way Home.

In total, more than $275,000 in funding and in-kind goods were collected by the Coalition in 2018 and disbursed to direct service provider partners of The Way Home so their clients could move into permanent housing.

Looking To The Future

We will need over $375,000 in monetary and in-kind support to match the move-in projections for individuals and families leaving homelessness in 2019.

All donations are welcome! In 2019 we will continue our work as the “hub” for direct in-kind community donations to partners of The Way Home. We will also help provide in-kind drive supplies including boxes and flyers to any organizations, clubs, or groups willing to host a Welcome Basket drive. This is a great way for your group of colleagues, students or friends to support the work of the Way Home.

Be sure to follow The Coalition and The Way Home on social media to stay up-to-date on our successes and information on how to take action! We are also planning on kicking off a number of education initiatives and campaigns to help community members learn how to maximize the impact of their donations and generosity, and empower the public to “be the key” to ending homelessness. Stay tuned for more information on these projects!

Lastly, if you have any suggestions or inquiries about the work of the Welcome Home fund we invite you to connect with Renee Cavazos, the Development Coordinator for the Coalition at rcavazos@homelesshouston.org. We’d love to hear your ideas!

Thank you again to everyone who has supported our work – without you, we would not have been able to create warm and welcoming homes for nearly 700 people in 2018. With a 51% reduction in homelessness since 2011, the partners of The Way Home have proven that we accomplish more when we work together toward shared goals. You are a critical part of that success and we are excited to work with you in 2019!