DOZENS OF YAKIMA RESIDENTS TO RECEIVE HELP WITH HOUSING INSECURITY
Yakima Valley Community Foundation grants Triumph $10,000 to curb clients’ rent costs

Yakima, Wash., Aug. 12, 2015 – With fair market rent for a studio apartment in Yakima County hovering around $430, housing staff at Triumph Treatment Services said clients, especially those with no income after treatment, struggle to secure housing.

The agency received help from a local foundation Wednesday that should limit that struggle, though. Yakima Valley Community Foundation staff awarded Triumph a $10,000 grant that will pay for clients’ first month of rent, said TJ Mattingly, Triumph’s housing operations manager.

According to agency data, 40 out of the 150 women who graduate from Triumph’s pregnant and/or parenting women’s (PPW) programs each year leave treatment with no income or housing. Beth Dannhardt, Triumph’s executive director, said the YVCF funds will be able to “assist in ‘up-front’ housing costs and help provide stability and security for (clients).”

With stability in mind, Dannhardt and Triumph’s executive management decided the support program will be called Steps of Stability, or SOS, also a nod to Triumph’s motto, “Offering safe paths to health and hope.” All tenants in Triumph’s transitional housing programs receive case managed assistance and resource referrals, which provide a support system for clients who may not have it elsewhere.

Triumph’s approach to housing is in accordance with the Yakima Valley Community Foundation’s mission, which is “to connect people, resources and ideas for thriving people and vibrant places.” Mattingly said Steps of Stability funds will provide a service that no other housing agency in the area can.

And when people are recovering from chemical dependency, it’s important to seek a routine, Dannhardt said. “We are excited and grateful for this opportunity as (clients) work to become responsible citizens of our community,” she said.

For more information about grant support from Yakima Valley Community Foundation, visit http://www.yakimavalleycf.org/Home.aspx.