A Letter from Executive Director, Wes Tillett
Mission Moment – The Story of Nadia
Dear Friend,
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to homelessness.
That holds true for Nadia and her two young children. Nadia came to LUM seeking help to pay the security deposit for a new apartment. She had recently left an abusive relationship and secured a full-time job, but she needed a financial boost to make that final step into renting an apartment of her own. Because of the generosity of donors like you, the LUM Good Samaritan Fund was able to provide the final $175 towards Nadia’s security deposit. She moved into her new residence, feeling relieved, grateful, and for the first time in many months, safe.
For Nadia and her children (and scores of other local households in financial crisis), the LUM Good Samaritan Fund has provided essential help, interrupting the downward spiral toward homelessness.
In 2022, the LUM Good Samaritan Fund disbursed $158,647 to resolve 2,084 financial emergencies. Being behind on rent was the most common reason clients came to LUM for financial assistance. This is not surprising considering that rental costs throughout Indiana have gone up at least 30% since 2019.
In addition to rent, LUM assists with utilities and prescription medications. The Good Samaritan Fund has a $200 limit per household per year, and any financial assistance is always paid to a third party.
The average client seeking financial assistance only visits LUM three times, typically within an 18-month span. The Good Samaritan Fund is offering an empowering hand of hope to our local neighbors who are experiencing an acute financial crisis. It is not creating dependence on this aid.
One of the unique features of this fund is that not a single penny of what you give is spent on administrative overhead. In other words, everything you contribute goes directly to assist a local family in need.
With affordable housing becoming increasingly scarce in Greater Lafayette, Lafayette Urban Ministry sees an increasing need for financial assistance provided through the Good Samaritan Fund.
Aware of this increasing need, LUM is actively listening to Nadia and other Good Samaritan Fund recipients. Here is some of what we have learned about our clients from studying our data:
- 63% have a high school education or less
- 47% do not have a bank account (the national average is 4.5%)
- 70% say that they would benefit from financial education
Equipped with this information, LUM aims to design future programming that will not only help our neighbors through their financial crisis, but also give them the tools that they need to prevent a crisis from happening in the first place.
Quite frankly, Nadia and others like her would not be thinking much about financial education and bank accounts if they were in the midst of homelessness. They would be in “survival mode.” Together we need to continue to prevent homelessness before it happens.
Would you please contribute to the LUM Good Samaritan Fund so that together we can continue to offer this strong and reliable safety net to our neighbors?
- $70 provides the average GSF disbursement to one local household on one visit
- $200 provides a year’s worth of GSF financial support to one local household
- $560 provides one day’s worth of disbursements for GSF (aiding eight local households at $70 each)
- $2,800 provides one entire week’s worth of disbursements for GSF (aiding 40 local households at $70 each)
- Set up a legacy gift (beneficiary designation, bequest, or Qualified Charitable Distribution) to LUM and be remembered for your on-going love for the people of Lafayette
- Any amount is a helpful financial boost to our neighbors in need.
My friend, please help us build a brighter horizon for Nadia, her children, and many others struggling to make ends meet in Greater Lafayette.
Your kindness can have an immediate and generational impact.
Sincerely,
Wes Tillett, Executive Director, Lafayette Urban Ministry
P.S. Donate to the Good Samaritan Fund by clicking the button below or by mailing a check made payable to Lafayette Urban Ministry (420 N 4th Street, Lafayette, IN 47901). On behalf of Nadia and her children and many others, thank you very much!