“IHS (Interfaith) supporters come from all walks of life and often come as an answer to our prayers” - quote from Interfaith’s 2011 Annual Report, as Interfaith celebrated its 20th year of operation. This is just as true today as it was ten years ago and the ten years before that.
The decade between 2001 and 2011 brought many new and exciting partnerships for Interfaith, some of which are stronger today than ever. These new partnerships and programs expanded the area in which Interfaith could serve, as well as provided ground breaking opportunities for families and communities across the state. Here is a brief summary outlining several of the high impact initiatives Interfaith helped to make a reality during our second decade of operation.
In 2006, with grant funding provided by the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation, Interfaith was able to provide both emergency repairs and accessibility modifications to owner occupied houses in not only Reno, but also Kingman, McPherson, Pratt, Rice and Stafford Counties. Before funding ended for these programs in 2009, Interfaith was able to complete up to 55 projects per year, spending on average between $10,000 and $15,000 on each home.
Hutchinson was not the only community in Reno County that needed affordable housing to rent and to purchase. In 2004, through a partnership with the Hutchinson Correctional Facility and funding available to Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs), Interfaith was able to provide homebuyer opportunities and quality rental units in Nickerson, Pretty Prairie and Arlington, Kansas. Several of the homes were constructed by inmates at the correctional facility and moved to various locations, others were built by Interfaith staff and volunteers onsite. By the close of 2010, Interfaith owned and managed a total of seventy-one rental units.
In 2008, another new partnership was formed with the State of Kansas through the Department of Commerce to provide a savings match program funded through state tax credit donations. The program was designed to help low to moderate income individuals save toward the purchase of one of four assets - post-secondary education, small business capitalization, first time home purchase, and home repair, all while receiving financial education/coaching and credit counseling. Through the program, participants’ savings would be matched 2:1 to go toward their purchase.
The program was initially marketed in Reno County exclusively. The first class was held in June of 2008, and only six people attended. Of those six, five completed the program; three of them did home repair, one purchased a home, and one started a small business. Word about this program spread quickly, and enrollment expanded to Kingman, Harper and Ford Counties. By 2009, impressed with the success of the program, the Department of Commerce approached Interfaith about expanding the program to all 105 counties, and the Kansas IDA Program was born! In the first 24 months, the program had increased its participants by 800% and continues to flourish today.
Along with the IDA Program, the existing Home Repair and Rehabilitation Program and the Affordable Rental Program, Interfaith (in partnership with Kansas Housing Resources Corporation), also began offering the Kansas Weatherization Program throughout southwestern Kansas. As nearby counties learned of the work Interfaith was doing, they began reaching out asking for help in their communities. Interfaith opened an office in Dodge City in 2009 to administer the Kansas Weatherization Assistance Program in southwest Kansas. We were immediately approached by the Dodge City officials to help with their severe housing shortage. This was the beginning of what would eventually become Santa Fe I, an eighteen unit project in southeast Dodge City.
In addition to the Dodge City expansion, in 2008, Interfaith opened an office in Anthony, Kansas. The first project was the construction of Sunrise Ridge, a twelve unit senior housing complex consisting of six duplexes. This was completed in 2009.
During that same time period, at the request of the Anthony Housing Authority, Interfaith assumed ownership of West Acres Apartments. This twenty unit complex was in various stages of disrepair. Immediately after taking ownership, Interfaith spent over $1.5 million on renovations, repairs and upgrades. Rental subsidies were available on thirteen units, creating affordable housing for low income families or individuals living in Harper County.
This decade was another building block in the foundation of Interfaith’s mission. There were partnerships that only lasted a few years, and some that have weathered the test of time. However, each program, each endeavor, and each venture are all important pieces of who Interfaith is today.