HYANNIS – Champ Homes has recently received several grants to help fund programs and services to provide transitional housing to Cape Cod residents who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
The goal of the program is to get clients back on their feet and to a place of self-sufficiency.
Adam Burnett, the organization’s executive director, said staff does great work serving clients.
“They do individualized case management and really are pushing people forward transitioning them back to independent living, and regaining their sense of being a productive member of society,” Burnett said.
The organization has an operating budget of about $600,000 annually and depends on $300,000 in donations and fundraising each year.
Burnett said the grants received are a drop in the bucket, but greatly appreciated.
“We are striving to get more grants and get more funding, and our donor base has been incredible over the years,” Burnett said.
Burnett said the organization has long-time donors who have provided support from the mid-90s and early 2000s, along with newer donors.
Champ Homes recently received a $1,500 grant from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and $1,000 from Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank.
A $6,150 grant from the Cape Cod Foundation was awarded for Champ Homes to renovate its café.
Champ Homes serves dinner five nights each week to participants. The organization also invites Cape Abilities and Life of Cape Cod to come in one day each week to cook dinner for clients.
“All the while they are gaining the experience necessary for them to be a little bit more autonomous with their culinary skills, and often times that translates to job opportunities for some of their population,” Burnett said.
Eastern Bank awarded the organization a $1,000 grant. The Kelley Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant.
And the Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod supported Champ Homes with a $2,500 grant specifically for its efforts to transition people to independent living and housing opportunities.
“A number of banks and foundations are stepping up and supporting the good work that we are doing,” Burnett said. “And we are very, very appreciative of that.”
The Champ program has served over 2,700 individuals since opening their doors to Cape Cod residents in 1991.
Forty-seven percent of Champ Homes clients who moved on from the program in 2018 successfully transitioned to independent living.
About Brendan Fitzpatrick
