Articles Tagged: Waypoint

Renan Machado says as an advocate he may be a “punching bag” some days but doesn’t take it personally. His job is to support family and friends of a loved one lost in a violent crime.

Following a record unsheltered summer count in 2022, the trend continues upward for winter, too.

State and local agencies report an increase in demand for heating and energy assistance in recent years, and they’re bracing for what are expected to be the highest heating costs households have seen in 25 years.

As Cedar Rapids nonprofits and homeless residents prepare for winter, some advocates fear the situation will get worse before it gets better.

Waypoint Housing Services is seeing large increase in those needing housing and emergency shelter. This last fiscal year went from serving around 3,000 to over 13,000.

On the heels of a state report on lives lost to domestic violence in 2022, victim advocates say a measure on the ballot Nov. 8 will make it harder to enact gun laws in Iowa to keep firearms out of the hands of abusers.

The county-hosted panel discussion on Thursday highlighted the kind of work that would better prepare the community and its residents for future disasters. In particular, panelists said immigrant and refugee populations, elderly residents and smaller communities are the most vulnerable.

The Safer Communities Act — a bipartisan gun safety bill signed into law by President Joe Biden on June 25 — closed what was known as the “boyfriend loophole” on a national level, but gaps still in exist in Iowa that keep the loophole open in most cases, experts say.

Quentin Blazicek is one of four Cedar Rapids fathers who enrolled last fall in the Caring Dads program, a 17-week support group offered by Waypoint for dads who want to improve their relationships with their children to end or avoid controlling, abusive or neglectful behavior.

With increased demand and funding cuts, the nonprofit’s I Believe camaign is more critical than ever this year to keep services going for the homeless, poor, victims of domestic violence and violent crime.

The COVID-19 pandemic is being looked at as one cause of a surge in domestic violence during the past two years, but other factors are involved as well.

After a life in service to others, in particularly women and children through her work in Cedar Rapids’ nonprofit community, Elizabeth Hoskins, the former executive director of Waypoint Services, died Jan. 27 at age 73.

The Caring Dads Program has a goal of helping fathers improve their relationships with their children and end controlling, abusive and neglectful behavior.

This year’s season will be the last at the Fillmore Building

Penny Galvin has led the Survivors’ Program, which helps families and friends who have lost loved ones to homicides and vehicular homicides, since 2009.