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Improving Housing Stability and Financial Security

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Family Housing Advisory Services, Inc. | 2401 Lake Street | Omaha, NE 68111Phone: (402) 934-7921 | Fax: (402) 934-7928 | www.fhasinc.org

TABLE of contentsExecutive Director’s Message

Our History

A Year in Review

Our Services

Our Mission, Vision & Purpose

Community Impact

Program Lends Helping Hand

Agency Financials

Our Supporters

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The current economic times have resulted in a heightened demand for FHAS ser-

vices. While service levels remain consistent today, more clients have a complexity

of circumstances that may include joblessness, imminent threat of eviction or fore-

closure, or seemingly insurmountable financial issues. These issues have made our

mission more critical than ever, “improving quality of life and eliminating poverty by

helping people achieve housing stability and financial security through education

and advocacy.”

Over our 47 years, FHAS has educated over 1,000 renters, preventing homelessness

for over 7,000, and providing over $1,000,000 in rent and utility assistance. We have

educated over 5,000 prospective homebuyers, with over 1,400 home purchases,

over 900 mortgages (through subsidiary Omaha 100, Inc), and over 300 foreclos-

ures avoided. We performed 900 fair housing reviews, were granted 305 reasonable

accommodations, and received $800,000 in relief for our clients.

We look forward to continuing this essential work to build strong and stable house-

holds and communities!

Executive Director’sMESSAGE

Teresa Hunter Teresa Hunter, MPA, JD.

“ We value collaborations that share our commitment to help people succeed. Working together we can go beyond what has been done in the past and find unconventional waysto deliver and expand ourclient success.”

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Family Housing Advisory Services, Inc. (FHAS) was chartered in 1968 as the Urban League Housing Foundation to improve opportunities for low-in¬-come families to purchase homes in Omaha. Located in the heart of North Omaha, FHAS purchased and rehab-ilitated homes for resale or rental in the early 70’s. With a goal to address housing ills in the surrounding community, FHAS became certified by HUD as a comprehensive housing counselling agency.

Over its 47 years advocating for the working poor, FHAS’ programs and services have evolved to include a broad menu of financial and as-set-building opportunities that lead to independence and lay the founda-

tion for family success. Realizing that many of the pover-ty-related issues in our community are generational, FHAS focuses on education as a basis for eliminating barriers to economic justice and success, equipping people with the knowledge and resources they need to build stability, changing our com-munity one household at a time.

About Us

Family Housing Advisory Services, Inc. was founded in 1968.

Program Areas Include:

• Homelessness Prevention• Homebuyer Education• Financial Education• Tax Assistance• Fair Housing• Homeowner Finance

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a.

b. c.

d.

e.f.

OutcomesORIENTED Client F FOCUSED

a year in REVIEW

HAS addresses housing and financial issues that

prevent success. Our services extend to spe-

cialized segments of the population, including

domestic violence survivors, youth transitioning

out of foster care, returning citizens from military

deployment or incarceration, teen parents,

reconnecting fathers, and lower-wage corpor-

ate employees. We assist persons seeking to

avert a crisis and/or to proactively improve their

housing, finances, and quality of life. Through

our unique combination of services that change

the way we think about money, saving, spending

priorities, and preparing for the future, we erad-

icate poverty and bring about self-sufficiency,

F

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g.

h.

a). Homeownership: The Norris Family became new homeowners through FHAS’s pre-purchase workshops

b). 2nd Annual Dodging for Dollars: Dodgeball benefit youth aging out of foster care

c). Friends of FHAS: Quarterly networking event for community members and partners

d). Omaha 100, Inc, celebrated its 1,000th homeowner event at the Lake Point Center Omaha in October

e). Toast to Fair Housing: Over 225 people enjoyed dinner and music in celebration of Fair Housing month

f ). Opportunity Passport Program helps particpant purchase an asset

g). Tenant Services staff working closely with local property managers

h). Earned Income Credit Program assists tax payers and is the largest poverty-reduction program in the

United States

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FHAS’s Homebuyer Education program

educates potential homebuyers about

the benefits and the responsibilities of

home ownership.

This program connects with housing

developers to prepare low-to-moderate

income homebuyers for a successful

purchase, and to ensure that they have

the knowledge to not just get a mort-

gage, but to remnain in the home while

becoming financially secure through

our highly effective and empowering

education, counseling and advocacy.

Education is essential to helping

people overcome barriers to obtaining

affordable housing.

“ FHAS has helped my wife and I get out finances in ‘order and the workshops were very beneficial during our quest to homeownership. “ -Don & Mary

2014 Agency Highlights

Prevented Homelessness/

Obtained Housing 1,986

Foreclosures Avoided 15

Households requiring homeless prevention services 3,726

Total Tax Returns 6,227

Fair Housing Resolutions Negotiated 1,217

Residents Budgeting, Credit Repair and Saving 618

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MISSION: To improve the quaiity of life and eliminate poverty through housing stability and financial security.

VISION: All families will be stably housed and financially strong.

PURPOSE: To educate and empower people to obtain, maintain and retain housing, and reach financial security, advancing prosperity of the community.

OURmission, vision & purpose

“People coming together as a community can

make things happen.”-Jacob Rees-Mogg

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The communities that we serve rely on us to help them avoid

homelessness, access affordable housing, understand their housing rights and eliminate poverty. Our

community involvement is through collaborative partnerships with

private and non profit organizations.

895

92%

23%

$3,347,226

Disabled individuals received services ranging from housing,

financial education and fair housing assistance.

of Omaha’s homeless populationrepresent families with children.

of clients served arelow to moderate income

in Earned Income Credits claimed for prior tax year

6,300young people in Nebraska age out

of foster care without a permanent family.

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$328,922 $328,922 $452,500$100,728Rent and Utility

Funds DistributedValue of relief

received for clientsMatching Funds

Distributed

IMPACT BUILDSstonger communities

Homelessness Prevention Many families are only one paycheck

away from homelessness, and for

1,642 in the Omaha area this fact is

all too real. The majority of homeless

in the Metro Omaha area are single

mothers with children, representing the

fastest growing segment of the home-

less population. These circumstances

lead to poor school attendance and

childhood health problems. As stated

in the Economics of Poverty, more than

3.5 million Americans are affected by

homelessness for at least part of the

year each year.

“We feared that we would have to move back in with relatives, or worse face homelessness. “

Our goal is to improve conditions in our community and make the greatest impact, we diligently make the effort to meet our clients at the ground level.

According to the Corporation for Enterprise Develop-ment (CFED.org) January 2013, 29% of Nebraska resid-ents have almost no savings to cover emergencies or save for the future.

Tenant Services Fair Housing Financial Management

FHAS provides individuals and families with the know-ledge necessary to make sound financial choices, increase savings, decrease debt, and eliminate payday lenders. FHAS’s financial education program helps people to understand the concepts of saving, earning interest, and budgeting, providing the skills to manage credit and loans and to work with financial institutions and assets.

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Family Housing Advisory Services partners with the United Way of the Midlands and the Siemer Institute for Family Stability to Stabilize Families in Omaha.

Program Lends Helping Hand

Don’t tell Nikka Walker something is impossible. Unless you want her to make it happen.

Walker, 34, had a son while still at Burke High School. She continued to study at Blackburn Alternative School and vowed that she would graduate with her class.“I had people in my ear talking ... ‘You will not graduate with a son,’ ” she said. “I kept telling them: I bet I will. You keep telling me what I can’t do, and I’ll do it.” As it turned out, she was so motivated that she could have graduated early.

Walker uses that same motivation in a year-old housing stability program for parents of school-age children through Family Housing Advisory Services and United Way of the Midlands. After living in several locations and suffering financial setbacks, she’s working with a case manager in the Family Support Pro-gram to achieve her goals: perman-ent housing, debt reduction and a balanced budget.

The Siemer Institute for Family Sta-bility (SIFS) is a national, integrated, comprehensive model to prevent family homelessness and reduce school mobility.

It was created to capitalize on the impressive successes of 10 programs designed to reduce student mobility through homelessness prevention in cit-ies throughout the country. The Siemer Institute has given the Omaha program $50,000 each year for three years. United Way of the Midlands and the Mutual

of Omaha Foundation each will give an additional $25,000 for three years.

Walker credits counselors and God for her success. Her mo-tivation comes from a desire to defy the odds.

Working to bring financial stability, good health and self-sufficiency to Omaha, NE and

Council Bluffs, IA residents facing poverty.

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“I neverthought that I would have my

own house!”

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Revenue Government Grants $450,000

United Way $499,000

Grants- Foundations ( Non Corporate) $329,000

Grants/Contributions- Individual Corporate $83,000

Contracts $666,000

Rental Income ( Lake Point Center) $155,500

Miscellaneous $1,000

Direct Assistance Income $250,000

Total Income: $2,434,750

EXPENSESSalaries, Taxes & Benefits $1,759,200

Professional Services & Fees $41,000

Travel/Conference/Staff Development $60,500

Rental & Maintenance Equipment $17,150

Supplies $23,900

Printing/Copying/ Advertising $18,500

Telephone $24,200

Postage $3,450

Occupancy & Utilities $124,400

Insurance $44,600

Miscellaneous $4,000

Direct Assistance Used $250,000

Depreciation $63,000

Total Expenses: $2,371,750

2014 FINANCIALstatements

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OUR supporters

AAA BankingACLU NebraskaAlec GorynskiAmerican National BankAmy LawrensonAndrew & Virginia PowellAnn Marie KudlaczAnne AtteaAntonio CuldernArbor BankBank of the WestBarry & Deborah DancerBarry & Mary GerkenBill WegeBrandon JohnsenBrian SchumacherCarol DorseyCarol RussellCatherine MahernCecelia CreightonCharlie Graham Body & Paint CoCheryl J MixChristen BlackledgeChristy SnyderCity of Council BluffsCity of OmahaCompletely KidsContractor Development Services IncCorey DickmeyerCorporation for Enterprise Development (CFED)Cynthia TiedemanDale BarrDan K. GomezDaniel & Rhonda UherDaniel FischerDanielle CroughDanielle HillDanita TurnerDavid & Rhonda HeinemanDavid LevyDavid PantosDavis Companies Deborah KeatingDepartment of Housing & Urban Development Disabled American VeteransDonna LenzDowntown Omaha Inc.Earl RedrickEd FicenecElliott BassettEmily HeyenFirst National BankFrank HayesFred ConleyGoldman Sachs & CoGwenette MurrellHolli TinglehoffHoly Name Housing CorporationIowa Civil Rights CommissionIvan & Mary Lou Meyers

James C. Semerad FoundationJay & Linda TwomeyJeffrey BakewellJeffrey WagnerJeremy ChristensonJermaine Hickey Jill FennerJill JonesJoanie Wilder-MurrayJoe DarrowJoe GarciaJohn & Dianne Scott John BooneJohn HartigenJoseph & Paula GarciaJoseph HiggsJoseph SullivanJudith DierkhisingJudy RhoadsKacie AnkenbauerKarl KehmKJ Property Management, LLCLake Candlewood ApartmentsLeslie SeymoreLiliana ShannonLincoln Commission on Human Rights Lincoln Financial Foundation Linda MarchelloLogan ForsytheLozier FoundationMarc BowmanMaria AdradaMaria LundinMary Ann LamannaMatthew LawverMelissa GastonMetro Omaha Tobacco Action CoalitionMichael & Connie MatejkaMichael & Kristin LyonMichael CarrollMichael RobinsonMichael WilsonMichele NathanielsMichelle Hadley McGheeMike MatejkaMutual Insurance FoundationNaomi ChambersNebraska Children & Families FoundationNebraska Housing Developers AssociationNeil VacekNicholas ZwiebelNP Dodge Nustyle Development CorporationOmaha Area Board of RealtorsOmaha Community FoundationOmaha Public SchoolsOut Front Properties IncP J Morgan Investments IncPatricia Rocha

Patrick James O’MalleyPaul & Marjorie HartnettPaul FarrandPeggy HunterPeggy MahoneyRandlph & Nancy LivingstonRay & Pam ClarkRaymond AranzaRhonda HeinemanRichard & Barbara PlottRichdale Management Inc.Robert & Bertha DavisRobert & Hancock CompanyRobert & Norita MattRobert BroomRoberta Behm StanderRobin & Raymond FredericksRoeberto PerezRoger & Catherine CarrollRonald & Roselyn VolkmerRonette SteffesRotella’s Bakery Sam WalkerSamuel & Roberta PintoSamuel WalkerSandra MontgomeryScott & Jodi MooreSeldin CompanySelect AutoShannon SnowSherwood FoundationSiemer Institute for Family StabilitySioux City Human Rights CommissionSisters of Charity Sokolof FoundationSouthern Sudan Community AssociationState of Nebraska Stephen Center IncSusan BaumertSusan CostanzoSusan KoenigTara MuirTD AmeritradeTeresa Coleman HunterThomas & Sarah CalhounTim Butz & Barbara JessingTimothy JohansenToni KelseyTracey RuckerTrung TranUnion Pacific CompanyUnited Way of the MidlandsUS Bank Vicki Quaites-FerrisWeitz FoundationWells Fargo FoundationWestern Manor LPWilliam & Ruth Scott Foundation William R Wege

Family Housing Advisory Services, Inc. | 2401 Lake Street | Omaha, NE 68111Phone: (402) 934-7921 | Fax: (402) 934-7928 | www.fhasinc.org