St. Anne's Center

This year, 250 children called St. Anne's Center their home. This represents a staggering milestone in the history of St. Anne's. These children are members of 125 different families who found themselves homeless this year. In 2010, St. Anne's Center sheltered more families with children than in any other year since opening in 1984. These children of hopeless families became a statistic without even knowing it.

Most of these families became homeless for the first time due to economic difficulties. St. Anne's emergency shelter services helps to keep these families from sleeping on the streets. Resident programs are bundled together with intensive case management in order to assist families in becoming accountable. This type of program allows the family to stay together, maintain their employment, and have their children continue to go to school. Finally, the permanent housing program works to help families and individuals become self-sufficient once again; moving them quickly out of the shelter situation and into a home of their own.

So far this year St. Anne's has been able to: shelter thousands of men, women, and children; serve meals to over 45,000 individuals; give out thousands of hygiene kits, bus tokens, and clothing items; and, most importantly, move 75 families out of shelter and back into permanent housing.

Despite all the help St. Anne's has provided, there continues to be a growing need for shelter services.

As a result, there is the struggle to provide the best help possible at the lowest cost possible. The cost to operate the Center is low considering the number of people who are helped each year. However, the cost to house and feed one individual for one year is over $8,500. That is approximately $24 per day per individual, with over 150 individuals being housed each day during the winter months. With household utility costs constantly on the rise, imagine the cost to run a home that houses 150 people or more. At St. Anne's Center, the yearly utility costs alone are well over $40,000.

As winter approaches and the days grow shorter and colder, the need for a hot meal and a safe place to sleep increases. It is important that St. Anne's is able to provide these services to all individuals who are in need. These services can only be made available with the generous support of community members like you.

Please help St. Anne's Center continue to provide a valuable service to your community. Whether you are considering making a compassionate holiday gift, or looking for a charitable organization to give to as part of your yearend tax planning, please consider giving to St. Anne's Center.

With sincere gratitude,

Jennifer Canter
Executive Director
St. Anne's Center