World We Imagine Part 3

 Vincent Village

The United States is currently facing a homelessness crisis with nearly 600,000,000 people experiencing the issue. This crisis means individuals and even families with young children not knowing where they will sleep at night, where they will experience the feeling of safety, and when they will ever experience stability again. With increasing inflation rates in 2022 making the cost of living more expensive, the number of homeless people will only unfortunately continue to increase as individuals cannot afford basic necessities. 

Vincent Village is an organization seeking to alleviate the problems of the homeless through providing shelter, care, advocacy, affordable housing and supportive services for homeless families. Specifically, traditional shelters provide temporary housing for the homeless, but do not offer any support services that would allow the homeless to break the cycle of poverty. In contrast, Vincent Village provides temporary housing but also long-term care, training, and resources so that residents can become self-sufficient.

The first aspect of Vincent Village support service is life skills training. This includes but is not limited to, household management, family health and nutrition, parenting, cooking, shopping, time management, and personal hygiene. With these skills, Vincent Village residents are able to sufficiently take care of themselves outside of the village. The HOME Academy Education & Employment Program provides financial literacy, employment readiness, resume writing, job search, dressing for success, interview training, basic on the job skills and etiquette, wellness classes, and college assistance. This provides the foundation for their residents to find employment, which can provide a stable source of income. Next, Vincent Village offers individualized case management for each resident, which involves intake and assessment, action plan for self-sufficiency, weekly goal setting and monitoring, advocacy, referrals, and daily support and encouragement. This provides hope for the residents in seeing that they have a timeline for achieving their goals. Lastly, Vincent Village provides family services including childcare, transportation, substance abuse/mental health services, counseling, and health care. This ensures that outside factors which traditionally prevent the homeless from succeeding in employment are not a barrier for Vincent Village residents. 

By solving the homelessness problem, Vincent Village indirectly helps the planet by reducing debris that would otherwise end up as litter or a pollutant. Specifically, those who are homeless often do not have access to disposable waste areas, causing their waste to end up on the streets and water pathways. By reducing the number of families that are homeless, Vincent Village reduces the amount of waste that is not properly disposed of. 

I am passionate about Vincent Village because it began in my hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana, which has one of the highest eviction rates in the country. Vincent Village has transformed the community by still allowing homeless people to feel self-worth and dignity because of the training and opportunities provided. 

Anima Mundi Development Partners should invest in Vincent Village because it is a social enterprise that fulfills the needs of the triple bottom line.