Celebrating Success at Maskani Apartments

Housing is fundamental to the growth of individuals, families, and communities. A stable roof over one’s head helps develop a sense of opportunity, safety, and comfort that is necessary to build a life of independence and success. In Milwaukee, Heartland Housing’s Maskani Place has been supporting participants for several years.

For Maskani Place residents Geraldine and her daughter Pryesha that sense of safety and opportunity have led to very real successes. Despite living homeless for years, Pryesha was able to graduate high school one year early.

“She’s going to go far, I know it. We’ve gone through so much and have overcome so much, and she’s still been able to reach her goals.”

Geraldine and her family know a thing or two about overcoming obstacles. For years, Geraldine and her children struggled to find affordable housing. The family grew up in Chicago, living in various neighborhoods in the city’s west, south, and north sides. During this time, Geraldine worked selling auto parts and cashiering at convenience stores.

“I did it all because I had to. There was nobody else there for me. It was hard raising my kids, but I made it happen.”

With no real support structure, Geraldine raised her children, paid the rent, and put dinner on the table – all on her own. After years of struggling to make ends meet, the opportunity to build a new life emerged when a friend invited the family to move into an open apartment in Milwaukee. Geraldine and her kids jumped at the chance. While the family had even fewer connections in a new city, the chance to start fresh was too good to pass up.

But in just a few short months, the opportunity seemed to dissipate. Geraldine was having a hard time finding work and the friends that provided the apartment were ready to part ways.

All of a sudden, Geraldine and her children were without a home in an unfamiliar city.

And they made it work for years – first at an overnight emergency shelter, and then in transitional housing. Enduring the day–to-day of shelter life wasn’t easy, especially for a mom and her children. The rooms for families had to be shared, and the crowded space wasn’t favorable for things like homework and play.

“It was frustrating, no privacy. The shelters were ready to put you out at any moment’s notice. My kids are respectful; they aren’t going to clown, so we made it work.”

Pryesha remembers life in the shelter system vividly. She remembers the difficulties, the frustrations, the fears brought upon by not having a place to call home. When Heartland Housing’s Maskani Place invited them to move into a new permanent supportive housing unit, Pryesha hoped to move in as soon as they signed the paperwork.

Just a few days later, that day finally came. Geraldine remembers it all fondly.

“Everything came in when the time was right. Heartland gave us beds right when we moved in and over time, all of the furniture arrived making us feel at home again.”

After spending years feeling out of place, the warmth of Maskani Place was a welcome experience.

“It was so beautiful, so welcoming. I knew this was a good thing when I got here. The people here give us good advice and help us with whatever we need.”

Pryesha’s new home couldn’t have come at a more critical moment. The ambitious young woman was entering high school, and the newfound security of her own room supported a smooth transition. Pryesha is a natural when it comes to her studies, and she enjoys most of her subjects , which made it easy to take on extra coursework and summer school to achieve early graduation.

“Math, English, I like it all. If I had to choose, I would say I enjoy writing the most. I like to consider myself a writer.”

Nothing could keep Pryesha from her goals. Difficult homework, bad weather, school drama – none of it slowed her down. Where most students found barriers, Pryesha wouldn’t flinch. Where most students found an easy way out of an assignment, Pryesha would tackle it head on. To her, there was only the ultimate goal.

Even through crisis and health concerns, the young woman found perseverance. Pryesha was in the middle of her junior year when she was struck by a car, breaking her arm and giving her a serious concussion. The school, her doctors, and her mother all wanted her to slow down and let her body heal, but all she could think about was her goal.

“Despite being hit by a car, I was so determined. I was still so focused on doing better in school and getting to where I wanted to be.”

Pryesha found the inspiration needed to power through by leaning into her mother’s courage. Geraldine suffers from arthritis, back issues, and depression – but through it all, she was able to find security for her and her children.

“When we were without a home, it was so hard for my mom to focus on her health. She had to focus on us, and getting us off the street. I wasn’t going to slow down. No way.”

Graduation was a monumental day for the Maskani residents. With Pryesha graduating a year ahead of schedule, Geraldine feels both proud and hopeful in the fact that her child’s success has placed her on a path toward security. Pryesha sees herself majoring in IT and minoring in business, with the hopes of one day building her own company and working for herself. She has enrolled in Milwaukee Area Technical College to keep costs down and, then will transfer to the University of Wisconsin Madison next year.

The next chapter for Geraldine and Pryesha is bright. We’re confident that Pryesha and Geraldine will be ready for just about whatever comes their way, and we’ll be ready to help every step of the way.

“Being here, with Heartland Alliance, is so comforting. When you feel like nobody loves you or wants to see you make it, they are here for you.”

Responding to Gun Violence in Chicago

Prison taught me a lot of things.

In 2008, I was released on parole after spending more than 14 years in prison. I have since earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in social work from Northeastern Illinois University and the University of Chicago, respectively.

Early on, in prison, I learned that most people looked exactly like me. They came from poor neighborhoods and from families overwhelmed by the struggles of day-to-day life, not to mention a lack of access to employment and education. Most of my fellow inmates had personally experienced violence and trauma. And, like me, their fight-or-flight instinct was on overdrive.

The men who rotated through what seemed like a revolving prison door shared the same goal as me—to never return. Somehow, many of us fell short. Nearly everyone who returned to prison lacked the same things—a plan for how to survive outside of prison; a network of people who would stick by them when they faced setbacks; and access to a support system to help them cope with feelings of hopelessness, loss, and frustration.

My understanding of these tenets has informed my work as a violence interrupter at Cease Fire, as the founding director of the YMCA’s Urban Warriors program, and now as a senior director at Heartland Alliance, where I lead READI Chicago—an ambitious initiative designed to address the needs of individuals who are most vulnerable to violence involvement and for whom traditional service models often don’t work.

Through READI Chicago, we are offering paid transitional jobs, cognitive behavioral therapy, and other supports to individuals at highest risk of violence involvement to help decrease violence and create better futures. Together with men and women who are as committed as I am to tackling Chicago’s gun violence challenge, we are focusing on individual behavior change and creating access to opportunity and positive, nurturing relationships.

Specifically, READI Chicago has forged partnerships with employers who are willing to provide participants with practical job training and skills. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps participants learn how to slow down their thinking in times of stress and to control impulses. These skills take time to nurture and develop. Our 24-month program model provides ample time for participants to practice these skills on the job. And READI Chicago doesn’t give up on our participants—even when they encounter setbacks. We know progress isn’t linear. An evaluation led by the University of Chicago Urban Labs will determine whether our efforts have an impact on individuals and communities over time.

After spending much of my time in prison contemplating how my future would have meaning, my goal is clear—to use my experiences as a former gang member and inmate, as well as my formal education, to save lives, and to help others heal from trauma and create a way forward. READI Chicago has the potential to help men who share a similar background find and realize their own dreams for a safer and better future.

Celebrating Summer at Chicago FarmWorks

At Heartland Alliance, we believe in a holistic approach to ending poverty – one that requires access to quality housing, healthcare, jobs, and justice. From the locally grown produce distributed across Chicago at our local food pantries, to the job training and placement programming – our Chicago FarmWorks Urban Farm in East Garfield Park embodies that holistic approach while also bringing communities together.

It’s been a busy summer at the farm. Leaders from corporate and civic life have come together to make the FarmWorks program a hotbed of volunteerism, community activism, and revitalization. As a result, over 500 people have visited the 2-acre farm to help with everything from weeding and plot planning, to planting and tending the crops, and even preparation for harvest time and fall food-pantry logistics. This work simply couldn’t be done without the tremendous help of our individual, corporate, group, and nonprofit partners.

Conagra Brands has generously invested financial resources to help ensure the farm is working at its best capacity to increase access to the healthy, local food that individuals and families need to reach their full potential. With Conagra’s support, FarmWorks has been able to create a drip irrigation system to improve yields; build a greenhouse and other structures to start more seedlings on-site and extend the growing season; and implement a more reliable and robust vegetable transport plan for our partner pantries. Thanks to Conagra, we’ve been able to increase our yield and distribution of additional servings of vegetables for communities experiencing food insecurity. This year alone we will grow and distribute 40,000 servings of food, impacting more than 1,400 Chicagoans.

It takes a village to create such an impact, and we also couldn’t do this work without other partners like the City of Chicago, the Chicago Community Trust, and Chicago Tribune Charities/McCormick Foundation, as well as hundreds of volunteers from companies like BCG, Aon, Exelon, & Northern Trust. All have contributed hours of labor on the farm itself and invested resources to ensure the continued success of the program.

And most importantly, we couldn’t make these incredible impacts without the support, input, and hard work of the very people we serve. Heartland Alliance participants work the soil of the farm throughout the year, gaining valuable employment experience and education. We work one-on-one with the community in the constant effort to build a more-impactful program and to provide produce that the community most wants to eat. Tomatoes, hot peppers, spinach, lettuce, radishes, mustard greens, collard greens, green beans, onions, potatoes, okra, cucumbers, summer squash – we grow over 20 different types of produce, all recommended by the community itself. As a result, nearly 80% of our participants reported satisfaction with the quality and variety of the produce they received at our Vital Bridges food pantries.

And you, too, can help make an impact! Throughout the year, the Chicago FarmWorks program has monthly volunteer days where anyone can join in the fun and get their hands dirty. Check out the Heartland Alliance Facebook Page for upcoming events or learn more about FarmWorks here.

Illinois Families in Deep Poverty Better Able to Meet Basic Needs Through the COIN Act

Download the Full Press Release

First Increase to TANF Grant in a Decade

Chicago, IL. June 26, 2018 – Illinois families living in deep poverty will see a significant increase in their cash assistance, provided by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, with the adoption of the Creating Opportunities for Illinoisans in Need (COIN) Act in the 2018-2019 Illinois budget implementation bill.

The TANF program provides monthly cash assistance to needy children and their families which must cover all non-food expenses, including rent, utilities, clothing, personal hygiene products, diapers, and transportation. And while the current cash grant is much needed to help cover expenses, it is just not enough for families to fully support their basic human needs.

The amount of the TANF grant has only been increased twice in the past 22 years and monthly grants have fallen to 21-25% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). With this legislation, monthly grants will increase to 30% of FPL for all TANF cases on October 1, 2018.

“TANF should help families in our state get back on their feet and move out of poverty but with grant amounts so low, most families are struggling just to survive,” explains Kimberly Drew, Associate Director of Policy & Advocacy with Heartland Alliance. “This grant increase is an important step in the right direction but we have more to do to make sure no child in Illinois is living in extreme poverty.”

With this increase, smaller families with 2-3 members will receive around an additional $100 in their monthly grants and larger families with 4-6 members will receive an increase of $150-$250 per month. For example, a family of three in Cook County (a mom, with two children) currently receives $432 per month but now will be eligible for $520 per month.

“No state has devoted less of its TANF funding for cash assistance than Illinois,” says Dan Lesser, Director of Economic Justice at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law. “We’ve seen the poorest families in our state have to make the most difficult of choices in order to get by. But with the adoption of the COIN Act, Illinois families will see the first increase in cash support in a decade.”

In addition, the COIN Act will:

Eliminate county groupings so the amount of the grant will no longer vary by where someone lives.
Ensure that child-only grants are at least 75% of the full grant amount. Child-only grants are provided to households where a relative other than the parent is caring for the child so there is support for costs related to the child’s care.

Maxica Williams, a mother of four children and cancer survivor, testified in front of the House- Appropriations-Human Service Committee about her experience with TANF before the increase.

“There hasn’t been an increase to the grant amount in 10 years but the cost of everything has gone up. You are forced to make the decision every month on what’s not going to get paid. If I buy the cheap feminine hygiene products for my daughters that means I may have to end up buying them new clothes.” After hearing about the increase to the grant Maxica shared “This means a better chance of survival for my family, landlords may rent to me, I can pay our bills, buy clothes and toiletries for my children. It means the world.”

Heartland Alliance, in partnership with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, and with the support of bill sponsors Rep. Mary Flowers and Sen. Mattie Hunter, led this effort. Strong bipartisan support was also displayed by elected officials across the state. Advocates will continue to champion for future TANF increases to create even more opportunity for Illinois families to be able to meet their most basic needs.

Please contact Amber (Cason) Crossen for questions, information and interview requests.

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Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights – Heartland Alliance, one of the world’s leading antipoverty organizations, works in communities in the U.S. and abroad to serve those who are homeless, living in poverty, or seeking safety. It provides a comprehensive array of services in the areas of health, housing, jobs and justice – and leads state and national policy efforts, which target lasting change for individuals and society.

Chicago Coalition for the Homeless – The only non-profit in Illinois dedicated to advocating for public policies that curb and can ultimately end homelessness. Our organization leads strategic campaigns, community outreach, and public policy initiatives that target the lack of affordable housing in metropolitan Chicago and across Illinois.

Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law – The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law provides national leadership in advancing laws and policies that secure justice to improve the lives and opportunities of people living in poverty.

Creating The Space Between Impulse and Action

At the thrice-weekly therapy sessions, six or so men sit in a semi-circle, trying hard not to look vulnerable while discussing difficult emotions – a first for many.

As a group, the participants have determined their overarching goal: To stay out of prison and to stay alive.

Almost anywhere else, such an objective would seem simple; life stripped down to its most basic essence. But this is Englewood, one of the most dangerous communities in the city and these men have been identified as being at the highest risk for gun violence involvement.

They are here as part of READI Chicago, a pioneering new program that connects these individuals with jobs and a comprehensive array of supportive services – including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) sessions such as this one, which has the potential to help keep emotions from boiling over into shootings, according to research at the University of Cincinnati.

The hope is that by investing in these lives now, we are also investing in the long-term safety of our city. CBT is based on a singular philosophy: Thoughts impact behavior, so if you can alter – or at least slow down – thinking, “it can open up different options that can lead to better outcomes,” said Joan Liautaud, Heartland Alliance Health’s senior director of clinical operations.

On this morning, Liautaud opens the session by reviewing expectations, followed by a check-in with each participant, indicated by a thumb’s up, sideways or down.

“I need to know if they’re carrying something heavy. Maybe they had a problem with their baby’s mother or had a buddy killed over the weekend,” said the psychologist, who has worked with both mentally ill and criminal-justice involved populations for more than 20 years.

Then, she moves to today’s topic: Giving and receiving constructive criticism, an essential skill for workplace success. But for many here, even the most benign feedback can seem like a personal attack.

They role play various scenarios, with Liautaud gently guiding them along the way. “What do you want to say? Where and when do you want to say it? What was going on in your body when you acted aggressively? How can we behave in a way that serves our higher goals of staying out of prison and staying alive?”

Since violence is often the result of split-second decision-making, a key part of CBT – and Liautaud’s mission – is to teach coping strategies to keep conflicts from escalating and rein in the surge of adrenaline that might spur someone to pick up a gun. She helps them pinpoint tools that would be effective in stressful situations, such as listening to music, counting backwards from 20 or even walking around the block – “all ways to slow down the automatic thoughts that have gotten them in trouble.”

After six months of working with the READI Chicago participants – some of whom have committed extremely violent crimes – Liautaud is keenly aware of not how their worlds are so different, but how much is shared. For example, almost every man has talked about the missed funerals of parents and other loved ones while they were in prison, she said.

“We always find the commonality between me and them, as we are all human beings.”

Outreach Workers: Using Their Past to Help Others Become Better Men

Marlon Chamberlain pulls his car onto Drexel Boulevard, where he spots a work crew diligently picking up trash.

“There are my guys,” he says, with a pride that borders on paternal. “Every day, someone will say something that tells me that this program is working.”

Just a few blocks away, Raymond Andrus is meeting with a young man, just out of Dixon Correctional Center. “That was me 15 years ago. “He’s smart, ambitious…and I can save him a whole lot of mess, if he’s willing.”

Across town, Daryl Pierce – aka “Blue” – is in Austin, exchanging some easy banter with another individual who was formerly incarcerated, still wavering about going straight. At one time, Pierce so dominated the West Side drug trade that he had 28 employees.

“In my warped mind, I just thought of myself as Binny’s, giving people what they want….but, man, it’s a percentage game – and it always catches up with you.”

Chamberlain, Andrus and Pierce are uniquely positioned to combat one of Chicago’s most intractable problems: Gun violence. As outreach workers for READI Chicago, they are on the front lines of a daily battle for the soul of our city.

This innovative program was launched last fall with the goal of signing up 500 individuals who are most vulnerable to gun violence and offering them something better – paid transitional jobs, therapy and wrap-around supportive services for up to two years.

Outreach workers are deployed across four communities – North Lawndale, Austin, West Garfield Park and Greater Englewood – which make up 10 percent of the city’s population, but almost a third of its homicides.

On many days, convincing a man to change his life trajectory is an uphill climb. It can take weeks – even months – of relationship-building to finally get a green light.

When talking with a potential candidate, “I never use the word ‘program,’ ” Chamberlain explained. “I call it a ‘lifestyle.’ I’m not here to tell you to stop doing anything… I’m giving you an opportunity, with people who are willing to help you in whatever you want to do, whether that’s getting job skills or opening your own business.”

All three men have been involved in other anti-violence efforts –but each believe that READI Chicago’s approach is unique.

For starters, most of the outreach workers are born and raised in the neighborhoods they serve. They all have similar life experiences – gangs, drugs, poverty, school failure, involvement in the criminal justice system – which gives them both compassion for and credibility with participants.

“There’s nothing you can tell me that I haven’t heard before,” said Pierce, who has lost three cousins to homicide. “These younger guys…they all see the money and the fancy car, but there aren’t many who come out of this life successfully. For every one person driving that fancy car, nine others are in jail or dead. “If I could do it all over again, I’d take that entry-level job at McDonald’s.”

Second, there’s the precision targeting, provided by data from the University of Chicago Crime and Poverty Labs, which helps the staff really focus their energy and resources where it will have the most impact.

Finally, this intervention is about the power of unwavering support. It’s about more carrot and less stick – or what Chamberlain calls “just loving on people.”

He cited a recent example of a homeless client, who arrived at the work site intoxicated. Rather than suspend him from the program, “we got him something to eat, some new clothes and he can come back tomorrow like nothing happened.”

Of course, there are critics clamoring for punitive measures, but the client’s consequences were limited to the loss of a day’s pay. “How does it help to cut someone off?” asked Chamberlain. “That same guy could pick up a gun, rob someone and get seven or eight years [in prison.] Meanwhile, he’s not getting the help he needs, so when he comes out, we’re just repeating the same cycle all over again.”

In the end, they said, the clients all want the same thing: They want to know if they can trust you, if you care about them and if you can make them better men.

“But really, it’s up to each individual to do the hard work,” said Pierce, who is now pursuing a master’s degree in social work. “Because if you don’t want to invest in yourself, who should?”

Dreams for the Future

It’s back to school time again and the students of our Refugee & Immigrant Community Services (RICS) and One Summer Chicago programs are thinking about their dreams for the future, the challenges facing young people today, and the tools that Heartland Alliance has provided to help them learn, grow, and reach their full potential.

Groundbreaking Sealing Expansion Bill Signed

Governor Rauner Signs a Bill into Law that Expands Eligibility for Sealing Convictions, Providing Thousands of Illinoisans with Better Opportunities

Today, Governor Rauner signed HB2373, which creates better opportunities for people with criminal records by expanding the number of convictions that are eligible to be sealed under Illinois law. This legislation makes Illinois the nation’s leader in removing collateral consequences for people impacted by the criminal system and focuses on reducing recidivism to ensure that Illinois families can achieve positive outcomes associated with stable housing, access to employment and educational options.

In Illinois, about 45% of adults have some sort of criminal record. People with criminal records are
routinely denied opportunities for quality jobs, safe housing, and education. By expanding eligibility for
sealing, HB 2373 will help Illinoisans with a criminal record reach their full potential. Sealing allows
people to petition the court to remove records from public view and have an individualized decision
made by a judge.

“I have been partnering with the Restoring Rights and Opportunities Coalition of Illinois (RROCI) and
colleagues on both sides of the aisle for years to help fix our broken system of collateral consequences
for those with criminal records,” said Representative Camille Lilly, who championed the bill. “This bill
shows huge progress in that work and will mean more opportunity for jobs, housing, and education for
thousands of Illinoisans.”

Under HB2373, most records can now be sealed and marks a big shift in allowing people to move
beyond their past. The bill has a limited number of convictions that will remain ineligible for sealing,
which include: records related to driving under the influence, domestic violence, harm to animals, and
sexual assault. Before today, Illinois law allowed for only nine convictions to be sealed.

“As the leading organization that helps people seal their criminal record, we anticipate that this law will
change the futures for thousands of individuals who felt there was no hope,” said Beth Johnson, Legal
Director of Cabrini Green Legal Aid.

Senator Don Harmon, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said, “It is fundamentally unfair that
someone who made a bad decision earlier in life should never be given a second chance. If these men
and women have paid their debt and served their sentence, they should not be shackled with a
document that forever deprives them of the ability to take care of themselves and their families.”

The bill was one of a number of bills signed today that will improve the lives for people who interact
with the criminal justice system. According to Governor Rauner, “Signing HB2373 is another important
step forward in our ongoing effort to make Illinois’ criminal justice system more efficient and effective.
This law will help people with criminal records obtain jobs, safe housing, and high-quality education,
thereby reducing the likelihood of re-incarceration.”

“Finally, I can have an opportunity to provide for my family and show society I am rehabilitated,” said
Karlos Lloyd, a leader with the FORCE Project (Fighting to Overcome Records and Create Equality) with
Community Renewal Society who will be personally impacted by the bill. “Now I can be a role model and
father figure to many young people who have doubted the system of rehabilitation.”

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Restoring Rights and Opportunities Coalition of Illinois (RROCI) – RROCI is a coalition spearheaded the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, Community Renewal Society, Cabrini Green Legal Aid, and Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights. RROCI is committed to solutions driven with a community voice and believes that Illinois needs a fair system of justice that recognizes human dignity and that everyone deserves a meaningful future.

Heartland Alliance for Human Rights and Human Needs – Heartland Alliance, one of the world’s leading antipoverty organizations, works in communities in the U.S. and abroad to serve those who are homeless, living in poverty, or seeking safety. It provides a comprehensive array of services in the areas of health, housing, jobs and justice – and leads state and national policy efforts, which target lasting change for individuals and society.

Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA) – CGLA has been providing legal services to the community since 1973, and while our reach has expanded beyond the Cabrini Green neighborhood, our focus has narrowed to working for and alongside individuals, families and communities impacted by the direct and collateral consequences of the criminal justice system. Each year, over 6,000 people access CGLA’s services to remove or prevent barriers to employment and education caused by criminal records and to stabilize families and housing threatened by arrest or conviction. Through zealous legal services, social supports and systemic advocacy, CGLA seeks to strengthen individual lives, protect families, and mobilize communities impacted by arrest and incarceration.

Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) – CCH is a statewide organization dedicated to advocating for policies
that curb and ultimately end homelessness in Illinois. We organize people who have been impacted by
homelessness including people with records, victims of trafficking, unaccompanied youth, low-wage workers, and
families. CCH’s ultimate goal is to ensure that the most vulnerable in our society are treated with respect, dignity, and value. We are committed to eliminating the structural inequalities that serve as barriers to achieving that goal.

Community Renewal Society (CRS) – CRS is a 135 year-old organization that works with people and communities to address racism and poverty. CRS transforms society towards greater justice and compassion. CRS works to inform organize and train faith communities and individuals to advocate for social and economic justice. FORCE (Fighting to Overcome Records and Create Equality) is a program of of CRS led by people with records, their families, and faith allies organizing to create change and justice for people with records.

Moving the Needle

In order to move the needle and make progress in the social sector, we need to look at things through a different lens than we’ve been offered, and work together in new mutually reinforcing ways.

In this essay Heartland Alliance President Evelyn Diaz explores challenges and opportunities in front of the social sector and Chicago. She was named 2016 Making a Difference honoree by Chicago Women in Philanthropy. The award recognizes Evelyn’s service record in Chicago’s public and philanthropic sectors and her commitment to advancing causes that impact the lives of women and girls. The essay is based on the keynote address originally prepared by Evelyn for the organization’s annual luncheon and award ceremony, which took place on March 3, 2016.

Protecting Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

With 1.2 million Syrian refugees, Lebanon is host to the highest percentage of Syrian refugees per capita—one in five—of any country in the world. Women and children make up 79% of the registered refugee population, with children constituting 53.2% of this figure. Violence, overcrowded shelters and insufficient incomes are the most pressing issues among this community.

HAI has been working in Lebanon since 2008 in the following ways:

Combatting gender-based violence and expanding access to services. HAI has created and continually staffs safe spaces that serve over 2,700 women and girl refugee survivors of violence and those at risk of experiencing violence. These walk-in safe spaces include mental health and legal services, vocational training and child care services. These locations also share information about the rights given and services available to refugees.

Healing trauma and restoring well-being. HAI collaborates with existing social and health clinics to provide sliding scale and free services for Syrian refugees. The organization has trained clinic staff to provide mental health services for refugee survivors of violence.

Paving a path to sustainability. HAI brings together high-level national and local government, along with non-governmental organizations to help them better understand and respond to violence against Syrian refugee women and Lebanese host community member In addition, HAI partnered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to expand gender-based violence response and prevention in eight community centers inside eight Palestinian camps in Lebanon.

Protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) refugees. LGBT individuals have the right to be safe, healthy, engaged and empowered. HAI works with local partners to meet the most pressing needs of LGBT communities and increasing acceptance and support from within the larger refugee and host communities. HAI conducted the first assessment of its kind on the specific vulnerabilities facing LGBT refugees in Lebanon. This landmark report informs HAI’s and other organizations’ programming in working with this particularly vulnerable group of refugees.
Ensuring education for all. HAI provides training for Syrian refugee adolescent girls and children who are unable to participate in formal education because of language barriers.

Economic Opportunity