Articles Tagged: Willis Dady Homeless Services

Freedom Festival, best known for planning Cedar Rapids Fourth of July festivities, is continuing to serve those who make freedom possible throughout the year.

Housing insecurity remains a complex issue with myriad underlying causes and challenges, but evidence is mounting that ongoing collaborations and newly established initiatives are starting to make a difference.

Willis Dady, a nonprofit based in Cedar Rapids, was one of 100 grant recipients from the Lowe’s Hometowns project, which is dedicated to improving communities through revitalized public and private property. The funds will be used to make ADA renovations to a house that provides a home for veterans.

In Iowa, where Trump’s executive order pushing for forcible hospitalization over supportive housing could have significant implications, one homeless services provider says “Nothing in the order does anything that is proven to end homelessness. And in fact, it does the opposite.”

County leaders say the project should increase space, safety at the seasonal overnight shelter.

The Cedar Rapids Downtown Rotary Club hosted the fourth annual Grand Impact event where three local non-profits competed for funding. The winner was Willis Dady Homeless Services, which will use its $100,000 prize to expand a recycling program.

Willis Dady Homeless Services is celebrating 10 years of putting the “fun” in fundraising with its annual Hops for Housing event.

After a decade at Waypoint, where she served as housing services director, J’nae Peterman taking a deep dive to find unified solutions for homelessness that have vexed countless nonprofits and municipalities across the country.

Lawmakers approve overhaul of Iowa’s mental health system; Willis Dady hosting annual Hops for Housing fundraiser April 27

The event at The Hotel at Kirkwood Center will feature live music, a silent auction, awareness-raising games and samples from more than 20 local and national breweries and cideries.

“We have heard loud and clear from customers that they miss some of their favorites at McDonald’s — the number one request being steak bagels,” said Scott Soifer, operator and owner of locations across Eastern Iowa.

Described as “the perfect blend of a sports bar and nightlife” that “fuses athletics and entertainment,” the new concept’s menu includes an eclectic assortment of food for a bar, including Peruvian chicken tacos, Turkish Cigar Rolls and truffle mushroom flatbread.

Quick bites from the latest headlines coming out of The Gazette newsroom

Willis Dady’s director of shelter services speaks on what’s new this year for winter shelter and how the community can help as the organization prepares for cold weather.

As the number of people living unsheltered continues to set records in Linn County, a chronically homeless population in need of different housing interventions is becoming more visible.