- A one-time infusion of $500,000 from Delaware’s American Rescue Plan Act funds will help keep the Ministry of Caring’s House of Joseph II and Mother Mary of Hope House open another year.
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development housing vouchers allocated through the Wilmington Housing Authority help the ministry maintain housing units at St. Francis Holistic Housing.
- The Ministry of Caring continues to work on obtaining additional federal, state and local funding as well as outside donations to ensure the programs are permanently funded.
The Ministry of Caring was days away from having to cut eight beds from the First State’s only supportive housing complex for people with HIV and AIDS when Delaware Gov. John Carney stepped in.
A one-time infusion of $500,000 from the state’s American Rescue Plan Act funds has helped keep dozens of residents in the ministry’s House of Joseph II and Mother Mary of Hope House permanent supportive housing from being forced out after the Delaware Continuum of Care cut nearly $700,000 from three of the ministry’s housing programs.
“I’m grateful for the governor giving this money,” said Brother Ronald Giannone, founder and executive director of the Ministry of Caring Inc. “We’re working day and night to make sure that we don’t have a crisis next June.”
Earlier this year, the continuum – a quasi-government entity made up of nonprofits, housing advocates and government support services – proposed cutting $685,991 and eliminating 41 beds and cribs from the House of Joseph II, Mother Mary of Hope House and St. Francis Holistic Housing.
WHAT ALMOST HAPPENED:Amid affordable housing crisis, this Delaware nonprofit is getting hit with $700K cut
House of Joseph II provides 24-hour medical care to people with HIV and AIDS and is the only such facility available in Delaware.
Some of these cuts were set to shutter the programs as early as June 30, forcing ministry officials to scramble to find alternative funding to keep doors open. But federal housing vouchers allocated by the Wilmington Housing Authority to the ministry’s St. Francis Holistic Housing along with $500,000 from the state helped stave off any closures this year.
“I think most of us were really, really worried,” said Charles King, a House of Joseph II resident for eight years. “This house meant a lot to all of us. It was like someone coming here and telling me I had to get out of my home that I’ve been in for eight years.”
Previous funding cuts
The ministry’s residents were thrown into uncertainty earlier this year when the continuum announced its funding awards and some of the Ministry of Caring’s programs weren’t among the recipients.
House of Joseph II resident Tenita Fisher said she contemplated suicide during those weeks of uncertainty. Fisher first came to the ministry’s HIV housing program nearly 20 years ago.
“I was one of the ones who came here to die,” Fisher said, recalling her abysmal numbers when first diagnosed with HIV. “But as the medicines got better, we got better. I left because I was good enough that I could for a little bit.”
Fisher returned to House of Joseph II about four years ago, needing support to manage her diabetes and dialysis treatment. The notion of having to find another place to live that would provide the medical and emotional support Fisher receives at House of Joseph was “devastating,” she said.
This wasn’t the first time the Ministry of Caring saw its funding cut.
Last year, the Continuum of Care cut $185,000 to the ministry’s programs, and other nonprofits have seen funding slashed in previous years for deviating from the federal government’s “housing first” strategy for ending homelessness.
HIV OUTBREAK:Cuts to HIV, AIDS housing in Wilmington come amid HIV outbreak for state’s most vulnerable
When the federal government passed the HEARTH Act in 2009, it accelerated the shift from sheltering the homeless to a “housing first” approach. It pushes for supportive housing models as opposed to emergency and transitional housing.
To execute this plan, communities created Continuums of Care to allocate HUD money to providers of emergency and permanent housing. The continuum scores and ranks each program to determine whether it aligns with the quasi-government entity’s priorities, and allocates funding through an annual, competitive grant award process.
Funding strategy moving forward
Carney’s office said the $500,000 to the Ministry of Caring is a one-time infusion of cash from Delaware’s American Rescue Plan Act funds, of which $100 million was designated for housing investments.
“The Ministry of Caring does critical work to help Delawareans who are navigating challenging circumstances,” said Emily Hershman, the governor’s spokesperson. “We are hopeful this funding will help continue that important work.”
The ministry’s St. Francis Holistic Housing received 28 housing vouchers − four of them specifically for veterans − from the Wilmington Housing Authority, which ensures a permanent funding stream to maintain the units at the transitional housing complex for women and children, Giannone said.
The ministry will pursue funding sources outside of the Continuum of Care’s purview, Giannone said, stressing his frustration with the quasi-government entity’s process.
HOUSING CRISIS:Why new affordable housing in Delaware is rented out well before the ribbon is cut
Those other revenue streams include the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS grant, other government funding opportunities, as well as donations and third-party funding possibilities, he said.
“It would be over my dead body that we close this place,” Giannone said about the House of Joseph II. “We’re not going to close this place.”
Got a tip? Contact Amanda Fries at afries@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @mandy_fries.
