Written by Tanya Terry, with photos courtesy of Shelter of Flint
Featured photo: Abby Raguckas, development manager at Shelter of Flint
Abby Raguckas, development manager at Shelter of Flint, recently discussed the organization’s work addressing homelessness in Genesee County with the Courier.
In the first six months of this year, the shelter served 174 people including 101 children. Their supportive housing program currently houses 129 adults and 77 children, and last year they served over 1,200 people across three programs.
“The need for affordable housing and support for people experiencing homelessness is huge in Flint,” stated Raguckas. “We are actually at our shelter essentially every night. We have about 70 beds. So we can shelter 70 people each night, and we are having waitlists and overflow all the time. So, our work never stops. We just do our best to try and provide our staff and our support and our resources to our clients when we get them in our doors.”
The shelter hosts two annual events: the Coldest Night of the Year walk in February, which attracted about 200 people this year for fundraising, and their annual luncheon, which features client stories in videos produced by ABC 12.
Raguckas shared” This year, we have one of our clients, she’s a single mother. She has been homeless for quite a few years. She tried many times to get connected with resources and nothing really stuck for her. And so she just finally got housed a few months ago, I believe in March, and it’s doing well. She’s stable and she’s hoping to support her kids again and things like that.
“…The other client that will be featured in the video, he grew up in kind of an unstable house and he fought through some drug addiction,” Raguckas continued. “He has been clean for three years. But at one time, he was out on the streets and basically had no family, no friends, no support system…He is actually is very skilled with computers. So, he’s hoping to have a career in it. And so he now feels like he has the foundation to be able to now.”
The luncheon features a different H. William Rising Award winner each year. This year’s recipient is a long-time corporate partner, Trucordia.
The Shelter is aiming to raise at least $30,000 at the luncheon, with funds directed toward their food program due to increased grocery costs, comprehensive housing services, connecting individuals with critical resources and staff efforts to keep operations running.
Raguckas expressed gratitude for corporate sponsors and individual supporters who believe in the organization’s mission and the clients they serve.
shelterofflint.org/events or contact Abby Raguckas (810) 715-9201 ext. 305, araguckas@shelterofflint.org.
