Fellowship Housing in Hoffman Estates helps moms get back on feet

With the downturn in the economy, single mothers are among the hardest hit, often living paycheck to paycheck and one small crisis away from homelessness.

Enter a Hoffman Estates nonprofit organization that quietly has helped women with children rebuild their lives for nearly two decades. Fellowship Housing Corp. will celebrate its 20th anniversary next month at its third annual gala, co-chaired by Connie Payton. Last year's event raised $250,000 for the agency's comprehensive programs.

“We're still serving people the same way we have for 20 years,” says Executive Director Brooke Bartlow. “So often, our clients come to us after having been living with family or friends in an extra bedroom or basement. But it's not a space of their own, and it's not stable. We're trying to provide them with stability.”

Right from the start, Bartlow stresses that Fellowship Housing does not provide emergency shelter, but instead concentrates on its two-year transitional housing program that offers mentoring, financial counseling and help in securing employment.

During its 20 years in the Northwest suburbs, Fellowship Housing has helped more than 300 families, with more than 90 percent of them successfully graduating from the program and moving on to independent living.

Tony Orsini, president and CEO of Orsini Healthcare in Elk Grove Village, had never served on a nonprofit board of directors before, but he found Fellowship Housing's mission so compelling he took the plunge.

“Now, I'm hooked,” Orsini said. “I not only serve on the board, but we employ four of the Fellowship women. So I'm witnessing firsthand how lives are being changed.”

="briefhead">How the program works

Families move into Fellowship Housing apartments in Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates, where the women live in community with other single mothers. The community environment, Bartlow says, creates a sense of normalcy and stability.

A case manager meets with the residents every month to develop a comprehensive goal plan, concentrating on establishing financial literacy, parenting skills and emotional healing.

The women also meet regularly to discuss their common problems and ways to address them.

="briefhead">Debt retirement program

Key to establishing stability is the organization's debt retirement program, which is a matching program funded by donors. Women are taught to budget and required to save money every month.

The dollars they put toward retiring their debt then is matched by key supporters, helping mothers eradicate debt.

#8220;Debt repayment is one of our core components,#8221; Bartlow says. #8220;Lower debt results in higher credit scores, providing our graduates with greater access to housing opportunities upon graduation.#8221;

She points to recent statistics that show Fellowship Housing graduates have improved their credit scores by an average of nearly 130 points. What's more, clients significantly reduce or eliminate their debt during their two years in the program.

="briefhead">Habitat for Humanity partnership

Without debt, Fellowship graduates make perfect candidates for homes built by Habitat for Humanity. The two organizations have formed a recent partnership. Last year, three of the eight graduate families worked alongside Habitat for Humanity volunteers to provide sweat equity while building their own homes, and eight families have been Habitat recipients since 2007.

Orsini says what convinced him was that the women are not being given handouts, but they have to work, create a budget, put aside savings and learn to create a margin for car repairs, medical bills and unexpected expenses.

#8220;At first, I thought it was like boot camp,#8221; Orsini says. #8220;But the more I listened, the more I realized that this is what it takes to change a life and break a cycle of poverty.#8221;

Fellowship Housing Corp.

2060 Stonington Ave., Hoffman Estates, IL 60169

<b>Mission:</b> To empower single mothers, moving them from homelessness to hope, one family at a time.

<b>Number of employees:</b> Eight, including three full time and five part time.

<b>Operating budget:</b> $750,000

<b>Ways to help:</b> Third-annual gala Feb. 26, where last year, seven business leaders sponsored one family's rent for a year by donating $12,500 each.