Staff Spotlight: Wanda Price | YHOP Program Manager, Anawim Housing | June 7, 2021
Anawim Housing's Youth Homelessness Opportunities Program (commonly referred to as YHOP) serves individuals between the age of 18-24 who have either been homeless for some time or have aged out of foster care or another institution and will become homeless as a result. Individuals in this program have not had a family support system for most of their young life and are referred to Anawim Housing by Primary Healthcare. Many suffer from mental illness. The YHOP program is permanent supportive housing, meaning participants can remain in the program as long as they choose.
We serve a wide range of individuals with different life situations: Some who enter YHOP just need a little help getting back on their feet, getting their education completed, getting a job - and Anawim's program can really help provide that missing piece of safe stable housing and supportive resources to help them reach their goals. Others who come into the YHOP program may have missed out on learning some life skills or struggle with severe mental illness or substance use disorders.
Collectively, our program team hold certifications including Workforce Development Specialists, Alcohol and Drug Counselors, and Certified Prevention Specialists. Staff are trained in diversion and rapid resolutions and utilize creativity and trauma-informed approaches to help our community's most vulnerable individuals remain housed. We also connect our program participants to many community resources that help them with educational goals, behavioral health, job skill training, etc. YHOP Program Manager, Wanda Price, meets each individual tenant where they are at in their life. She works to slowly build that trusting relationship to help them discover their version of a happy healthy life, and then helps them get there - a little at a time. Wanda will help her tenants make health appointments and then follow up and drive them to their scheduled appointments to help close gaps in accessibility for our tenants and ensure they receive the care they need.
Anawim's YHOP program started in November 2020. The program leases 12 housing units. In some cases we are able to double up participants as roommates so that they can provide guidance and support to one another. This not only helps the individuals but allows us to serve more people in our program. Currently the YHOP program is also serving three families with young children.
Meet Wanda Price:
Wanda joined Anawim Housing in February 2021. She comes to Anawim with an extensive educational and clinical background - having received her Bachelor's degrees in human services, criminal justice, chemical dependency, and psychology. In previous professions, she was a substance abuse counselor, worked in corrections, was a clinical director for a treatment center, and worked for Optimal Life Services providing support for individuals with severe mental illness.
But it's more than a job for Wanda. It's a passion and a true calling - One that connected Wanda to Anawim for a second time in life:
"I have an extreme passion for our cliental. Twenty years ago, I found myself in a homeless situation with two girls, getting clean and sober myself. It was Anawim Housing who gave my hand up. So when I interviewed for the position with Anawim, it was like coming full circle. I know where these people have been because I've been there. I've lived in my car. Does it [the job] get frustrating some days? Yes. But what I know is that you have to just keep repeating yourself and building that trust. Because eventually - it may take a month or a year or five years - but eventually people come around. Everybody deserves a chance."
Anawim Housing is so grateful to welcome Wanda to our team, and we look forward to growing the YHOP program in future years.