“Everything is easier with a little support,” says Reach employee Maddie Moran. Maddie had been with Reach in the Independent Living Support Services Department since May 2018. She is now taking on a new role as our Housing Support Coordinator to help Reach launch this new service.
Hennepin County is transforming their previous Group Residential Housing Program to Housing Support, and Maddie is excited to be a part of this process on behalf of Reach. She explains that she participates in monthly meetings, which allow various providers to share feedback among each other and with the county to ensure success for this program.
Maddie Moran
As Maddie, herself, fully transitions into her new position, she will eventually work exclusively on assisting individuals with disabilities through the process of finding housing. Although those who have received our services have always been able to get help with housing, doing so now through our more formalized Housing Support Program will mean additional Economic Assistance funding for them, since this qualifies as a separate service. Maddie says she is eager to support others in “becoming more integrated in the community by finding a home they want to live in.”
Community Living Program Manager Larissa Beck agrees, saying that the bottom line for Reach adding this new service is “to find housing for more individuals, allowing them to live independently.” Once Maddie can help someone find housing and feel settled, then another Reach employee can assist in keeping them on track, if needed. “My personal philosophy,” states Maddie, “is that if someone is housed, happy, and safe, the rest of life will be easier.”