Helping students with big challenges

Posted on March 30, 2020

One of the biggest challenges for students in our youth programs is that even though they spend their days in a positive, future-oriented setting, each night they must return to what Rob Wormley describes as a “hard core urban environment,” where gun violence, robbery, and drug dealing are the norm. But most of the students, to their credit, eventually find ways to transcend their surroundings.

Biggest challenges for students

When the students in TAP’s youth programs are acting out, Rob knows there’s more to it than meets the eye. “Even though it looks like anger or being bad,” Rob explains, “I know there’s a lot of hurt underneath all of that. If you can get to the hurt you can change a lot of the actions.”

Rob, who works as a mentor coordinator and recruiter with our youth programs, has such a keen sense of his students’ struggles because he remembers his own youth. Rob grew up in a single-parent home and spent his school days fighting and getting in trouble. He was expelled twice before finally graduating.

The students Rob works with face big challenges. Some are dealing with homelessness, addictions, and mental health struggles. Others are facing gang violence, broken homes, and poor educational track records that have left them with few options. “They make a lot of bad decisions because they’re not thinking right—they’re in a tough situation,” says Rob. “I came from that background and I see the pain every day and I feel it.”

We’re here to see them win

When the students get involved with TAP, though, things start to change. They have a family of fellow students to lean on and staff to turn to. They are bettering themselves every day, going through job-readiness certification and learning for the first time that the classroom can be a positive setting. Most of all, Rob makes sure they are heard. “I do a lot of listening, letting them know that I’m not the enemy, that I’m here to see them win,” he says.

Finding peace between gangs

Rob describes two young men he has mentored who come from rival gangs. His main message to them was that just because they came from different gang backgrounds, they didn’t have to be enemies. And, he has poured time into both of the young men’s lives. “We have had a lot of talks,” Rob says with a smile. As a result of his investments and his counsel, the young men have been able to not only coexist in the program, but have become friendly. 

We need you to make this happen

While Rob’s mentoring has been effective for these young men and for many others in our youth programs, he can’t do it alone. The students need mentors and tutors to step into their lives, to help them with their schoolwork and to be a caring, positive presence. We especially seek adult mentors who have come from the same background as the students and who can empathize with the challenges they are facing.

If you’re ready to make a difference in a young person’s life by serving as a mentor with TAP, please contact Kevin Liptrap, to learn more about mentoring and how you can get involved. 

In response to COVID-19, TAP’s youth programs have begun meeting in groups of fewer than ten.

COVID-19: TAP’s Response

Posted on March 20, 2020

TAP is sensitive to the fact that our clients are some of the most vulnerable members of our community, especially when it comes to receiving needed support and access to services. Both the community and our funding sources are aware of the value of what we do for those we serve, and continue to look to us to meet certain needs. 

The leadership team at TAP has developed a plan in response to the changing needs of our community in the midst of the spread of COVID-19.

We continue to provide services while making every effort to consider the health and safety of our staff and clients. In adherence to guidance from the CDC, Health Department, and government officials, we have implemented the following measures to reduce the risk of spreading or contracting the disease while providing services.

This protocol will remain in effect until further notice.

Head Start

Centers will close effective Monday, March 23, 2020. Parents received a 72-hour advance notification.

Health Screenings

All staff, clients, and visitors are being screened prior to entering any TAP facility. No one with health risks will be permitted access.

In-Home Services

Weatherization, Indoor Plumbing Rehab, and Major Rehab programs will pre-screen families prior to providing in-home services. Staff will not conduct work if a family member is ill.

Client Meetings

Staff will rotate coverage of an entrance desk at the main TAP building in downtown Roanoke (302 2^nd St., SW) to greet clients and provide program information. Clients will have access to a telephone to speak with program staff, but will not go to any other location in the building.

Classroom activity

Most of our youth and adult education programs are located in the Roanoke Higher Education Center, which is now closed to the public. These programs will now be held at alternate locations. Students should call 540.777.HOPE for additional information.

Staffing

In an effort to limit exposure at TAP, we have reduced the number of on-site staff. Some individuals will be able to work remotely and communicate via telephone or internet.

Tax Clinic

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made the difficult decision to close the TAP Free Tax Clinic. You can still prepare and file your own taxes online by using FREE FILE on www.IRS.gov.

We will continue to monitor the situation. If we are able to reopen the Tax Clinic, information will be available by calling our voicemail at 540-283-4804 after April 6, 2020.

The new federal filing deadline for tax year 2019 is July 15, 2020. The new state filing deadline is June 1, 2020. You can stay updated on IRS actions at www.IRS.gov.

TAP Books

This program will still accept and process book donations.

Domestic Violence Services

Anyone in crisis due to a domestic violence or intimate partner incident should call our 24/7 hotline at 540.580.0775. All other general information calls related to domestic violence should call 540.283.4813.

If you have any questions, please reach out to us at 540.777.HOPE.

Practical Philanthropy – Monthly Giving

Posted on February 28, 2020

David and Nicole Aldridge support TAP with consistent monthly gifts. When asked about why monthly giving works for them, they shared that they practice the principle of giving ten percent, saving ten percent, and living on the rest. Their practical approach of including TAP in their budget each month has paid dividends for the community TAP serves, as their monthly investments have helped us reach thousands of people in the areas of housing, education, employment, and safe and healthy environments.

Paying it Forward

For the Aldridges, personal philanthropy is about investing in organizations that align with their values. The concept of paying it forward resonates deeply with them. “Part of it is recognizing that we are very fortunate to have been very privileged growing up,” explains David. “That privilege has provided us with many opportunities. A lot of people weren’t born with those opportunities [we were given]. There are a lot of structural things about our society where people are set up with disadvantages.” David sees their monthly giving budget as a way to help create opportunities for people who weren’t born with them, or who may have made bad decisions in the past. “TAP will help them work through that and turn the page to a new chapter in life. That’s what we look for [in a charity].”

A sense of urgency also motivates them. “There is a responsibility we have as human beings to do what we can to help each other and to look out for one another. Organizations like TAP and local groups that are trying to take care of people, I think those are more important than they’ve ever been,” says David.

Ordinary People Making an Impact

The Aldridges are a great example of what works when it comes to investing in our community. Sargent Shriver, who was the architect of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty, wrote of people who support TAP that “poverty can be overcome, if not entirely, at least very substantially, by ordinary people, using ordinary means, with extraordinary spirit.” The Aldridges have demonstrated how this is true—their monthly giving is a way of exercising a consistent effort that, over time, creates an extraordinary impact.

To join the Aldridges in the practice of monthly giving, please visit tapintohope.org and set up a monthly recurring gift through our online giving form. 

HELP Finds Dignity and Worth in the Journey from Homelessness

Posted on February 4, 2020

They say that moving is one of the most stressful events in life—but that’s not how Hannah Oakes sees it. From her perspective, it’s a celebratory occasion. On moving day, she’s been known to gather together a few helpers and a truck. She has a housewarming gift ready. Maybe there’s even a pizza involved.

Moving day is different for Hannah because she’s helping young men and women who are homeless to move off the streets into permanent housing. Hannah, who works in TAP‘s Homeless Employment and Learning Program (HELP), sees her job as not just about serving clients, but about finding ways to help them experience dignity and worth in the process.

The little touches, like the housewarming gifts packed by Legacy International, “are a way of not just saying ‘here’s your empty apartment,’ but being able to go a step further and make the experience dignified for you,” says Hannah.

Employment First

While moving a client into permanent housing is always a highlight, usually it’s a last step. Hannah works with youth ages 16–24 who are homeless, at risk of becoming homeless, or transitioning out of homelessness. Most of them don’t have support systems, for a variety of reasons: they may have been kicked out of their parents’ houses or aged out of foster care, or be in recovery from addiction at one of the shelters in the area. “We always have to look at it from an employment first perspective and then after we get employment established we look into housing,” Hannah explains.

She spends time each week working with young people on developing résumés and cover letters, and coaching them on the job search and application process. For an additional learning opportunity, Wells Fargo partners with HELP to provide mock interviews. Hannah also teaches weekly life skills classes at partner organizations around the valley. “We always relate the life skills back to jobs,” she says. “We talk about nutrition, how to spend less money on food, what lunches to pack for work, self-care, coping skills, appropriate appearance for work, and budgeting.” The program also helps youth with tangible support for employment, such as paying for work uniforms or interview attire.

HELP Success Stories

The focus on work is paying off. At any given time HELP is working with 70–80 individuals, and typically places more than 60% of these young people into employment. Hannah recalls two individuals who went through mock interviews with Wells Fargo and later landed real interviews with the company. Both of them had come to TAP from other partner organizations in the community that work with homeless individuals. Both needed résumé assistance, help with budgeting, and interview attire. “Both have been there for over a year; we were able to give [Wells Fargo] two really successful employees,” states Hannah proudly.

Respecting Everyone’s Unique Story

Not every success story looks the same. “Some people come into the program and they are really motivated and have all the pieces and just need a little push, or a very specific kind of help,” explains Hannah. “Other times a person is coming in and they’re unsheltered, don’t know where their next meal is coming from, they’re heavily using and they’ve never had a job. Then the program is about really seeing those people each day or each week to help them along with the baby steps of success.”

Hannah recalls a specific youth who came to the program in 2017. He was kicked out of his home at age 16 but managed to graduate from high school despite being homeless for more than two years. At the time that he came to HELP he was sleeping outside, had untreated mental health issues, and was initially hostile. “In the first few months I saw him every day; I took him to the hospital multiple times for suicidal ideations and psychotic breaks,” recalls Hannah. Over time Hannah was able to work with him and gain his trust. Today, he’s permanently housed in an apartment and receives Social Security income, which he supplements with side jobs. For almost two years he hasn’t missed any mental health appointments or bills. He can look back and acknowledge his steps to success and is happy with how far he has come.

Reaching Out

“We’re reaching out to the fringes of the homeless population and allowing them to feel dignity and worth and to access [the help] they don’t know how to gain otherwise” says Hannah. “The ultimate goal regardless of what specific service they receive is to get them at least one step closer to stability.”

Finding a Home

Posted on January 30, 2020

Did you know that the Federal Reserve, Forbes, the National Association of Realtors, Harvard, and many more experts say that home equity (the home’s current market value minus what’s owed on the mortgage) is one of the top contributors to American household wealth?

That’s because unlike other assets purchased with a loan, homes actually gain value as you pay them off. Right now you might be thinking, “This sounds great, and I’d like to purchase a house, but I have so many questions: How do I start? How much is a down payment? How do I find a lender? What do ‘escrow’ and ‘PMI’ mean?”

Or maybe you already have a home but you’re facing foreclosure and the possibility of losing it. You’re wondering what your options are—or even if you have any—to prevent the foreclosure.

The good news is that TAP’s Housing Counseling program can help anyone find answers to these questions.

When you hear “housing counseling,” you might not know what it means. Our HUD-certified counselor, Ashton Fallen, oversees the program and does everything from negotiating foreclosure preventions to demystifying the homebuying process and assisting you through the steps. She can even help with a down payment for your first home, if you meet certain qualifications.

Lena Griffin, a first-time homebuyer who worked with Fallen, says, “I was unaware of how to navigate the process from the role of the realtor, mortgage agent, and myself; the importance of a home inspection; the steps in the process and the order they occur in; the rights of the homebuyer; as well as the different types of mortgages, and the pros and cons of each.” Speaking for many homebuyers, Lena says there is so much information, it’s difficult to organize and understand it all.

Below is a sampling of the most common comments we hear about the homebuying process.

I don’t know where to start

The homebuying process can be daunting. “It’s important to be informed and know all your options,” says Ashton. Our Housing Counseling program is open to anyone, and the best place to start for a newbie is the first-time homebuyer workshops. At a typical workshop, you’ll be introduced to the basics of homebuying, including where to get started, how to find a realtor, how to find a lender, and what to look for when touring a house. These are held monthly at various locations around the Roanoke Valley. Click here to find a list of upcoming workshops and register.

The process is too complicated

If you’ve thought about buying a home, you know that going from looking at a house to closing on it is a path with many steps. Even people who have purchased a house before don’t fully understand the whole process. Ashton says, “Knowledge is power. There are many cases in which people didn’t know what they were signing up for.” TAP offers one-on-one counseling to work with a certified housing counselor each step of the way.

I don’t have the money

The top reason many people continue to rent despite wanting to own a home is that they don’t think they have the money yet. For those who qualify, TAP offers down payment assistance, or DPA, to help first-time homebuyers overcome the first financial hurdle of the homebuying process. If you can save half of the down payment, TAP’s DPA will match it up to $4,000.

I have a house, but I’m about to lose it

For those facing foreclosure, it sometimes seems inevitable. Unexpected circumstances may feel like a force pushing you out of your home. Ashton emphasizes, “You need to know your rights.” There are options even when it feels like hope is lost, and TAP’s Housing Counseling can provide foreclosure assistance. Ashton remembers a client, a single parent to three children, who was behind on bills and constantly stressed, struggling, and scared. When she came to TAP, the bank was on the verge of transferring her information to the foreclosure department. With Ashton’s help, the client submitted a loan modification application, which was accepted in the nick of time. She is now on a modified repayment plan and still in her home with her kids.

“I felt alone, stupid, and frustrated,” says Lena, “[but with TAP’s help] I had more confidence in purchasing my home. I only wish I had started with the counseling earlier.”

Buying a house doesn’t have to be intimidating, and you don’t have to go through it alone. TAP’s Housing Counseling is open to anyone in the Roanoke Valley and Alleghany Highlands. To get more information or make an appointment, contact Ashton Fallen at (540)283-4917 or ashton.fallen@nulltapintohope.org.

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TAP Volunteers Help Future Homebuyers

Posted on January 30, 2020

“We’re planting the seed of homeownership.”

That’s how Carla Evans sees her volunteer work as an instructor with TAP’s Homebuyer Education Class. Carla, a realtor with Wainwright & Co. REALTORS, volunteers alongside Rob Jessee of the Jessee Realty Group brokered by RealStar Realtors. Both Carla and Rob volunteer their expertise in this class because they have a passion for educating future homeowners.

What to expect in a housing counseling class

In a typical class, most of the 10–20 attendees are just beginning the homebuying process. As Rob puts it, “They have no idea what’s involved except what friends and relatives have told them about buying a house.” In addition, the future homebuyers may have been influenced by misinformation online. “We definitely have a need for homebuyer education,” says Carla. “People come to these classes looking for answers to their questions and direction on how to get started. A lot of folks have made bad credit decisions so the class is a good place to start putting a plan and a strategy together.”

The six-hour class covers topics such as personal finance and the lending and closing processes. Carla and Rob typically teach portions of the class that cover the role of the realtor in a real estate transaction, the closing process, and the home inspection. The class also includes instruction from a local lender and TAP’s HUD-certified housing counselor.  

By the time the class is over, attendees walk away with basic knowledge of the homebuying process, where to begin, and who to reach out to if they have any questions.

A passion for helping others

None of the professionals volunteering their services in the class are permitted to approach any of the attendees or follow up with them on a professional basis. So, the class truly is a labor of love for those who volunteer to teach it. “I have yet to sell a house from any of these classes but I love doing them,” says Rob. “So many agents are just in it for the money, and it’s easy to take advantage of people who aren’t knowledgeable. Just knowing that 10 people walked out of this class with knowledge about buying a house is worth it.”

Carla agrees, noting, “There’s a real opportunity to help people, to break the cycle. I see a lot of people who no one in their family has ever owned a home. [In the classes] when you’ve got volunteers in the room who do this every day, we can give hope and a true visual to what’s possible. We can give a real life story of a single mom or a single dad who is now a homeowner. It makes it real to hear about others who may be in their situation, who may have overcome a real credit challenge.”

Whether homeownership has been a lifelong dream or is a new ambition, the Homebuyer Education Class can put attendees on the right path. “I think it’s a place for people to know where to start,” says Rob. “It’s worth the time. Even if they are two years out from buying a house, this is the best place to start.”

An Advocate Brings Funding to TAP Programs

Posted on December 18, 2019

A Conversation with Billy Weitzenfeld

Billy Weitzenfeld is the executive director of the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals (AECP), a role he’s served in for 20 years. This nonprofit group promotes and advocates for energy conservation, and serves as a support and resource group for Virginia’s Weatherization Assistance Program. TAP is a founding member of the AECP board, on which we continue to play a leadership role. Recently, Weitzenfeld spoke with us to look back on his relationship with TAP and the work he has done on the state level to benefit the kind of energy conservation programs TAP offers.

A Natural Partnership

Through the years, Weitzenfeld has worked extensively with utility companies in Virginia to develop what he describes as a “natural partnership” between utilities and weatherization. When Weitzenfeld began, the utilities in Virginia were doing nothing in terms of promoting or funding energy efficiency programs in the state. “We just kept working with them,” recalls Weitzenfeld. Eventually, he with the help of others was able to broker a partnership with Appalachian Power Company (APCO) for a program in southwest Virginia that TAP participated in, weatherizing 175 homes. (This program was funded through the utilities foundation so ratepayers were not impacted.)

Weitzenfeld understood that the execution of that very first partnership would gain AECP and TAP credibility, helping accelerate progress in the uphill battle to gain funding for energy conservation.

“We did a really good job. And that set the stage for not only APCO, which now has a long-term program that provides supplemental funds to help weatherize homes, but now Dominion Energy also has programs to work with weatherization.”

Rallying Resources to Fuel TAP’s Mission

Private utilities aren’t the only area where Weitzenfeld has worked to bring resources to TAP. One of AECP’s first significant accomplishments on the state level was bringing LIHEAP funds to Virginia and to TAP. LIHEAP stands for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program; the program helps low-income households pay for heating and cooling and also funds weatherization improvements. This funding helps TAP weatherize hundreds of homes each year across eleven localities.

When asked about whether TAP’s Weatherization program is a good investment, Weitzenfeld said he couldn’t think of a better one.

“Because TAP is a nonprofit, every dollar goes into helping people. With the services that are provided, it’s important for people to understand that the level of expertise is just through the roof. The testing protocol we use guarantees energy savings and guarantees the home is going to be healthier and safer. That’s very important. We are going to save people money and allow them to have more disposable income in their household. But we’re also a health and safety program. We come into homes and through the work we do we make the home healthier, we impact indoor air quality, we impact carbon monoxide, moisture, mold, and lead paint. When you have a community that has more affordable, safer, and healthier homes, you have a stronger community on a lot of levels.”

Join Our Team

Posted on November 18, 2019

This is the last in a series of posts about the battle against poverty, your role in the battle, and some of your allies in the fight. To read the series from the beginning click here.

 

If you’ve been following along with this series, you’ve met your teammates in the battle against poverty, Sirois, Taetz, and Isobel. Each of these individuals faced down one of poverty’s minions—isolation, imperceptibility and tumult. And each of these individuals drew on their own personal strength, in partnership with agents at TAP, to be victorious in their own fight.

As these three heroes have demonstrated through their stories, poverty always underestimates us and our capacity for reinvention, the power of our communities, and our willingness to help strangers.

Most of all, it underestimates that stubborn, resilient spark deep in all of us that powers our most formidable weapons: raw potential and free will. Together, these weapons give us the power to resist definition and diminishment, and to determine for ourselves who we want to be.

Now the time has come for you to join Sirois, Taetz, and Isobel in the battle. If you’re reading this, you are part of TAP’s community that has helped them, and thousands of others like them, to win their own personal battles against poverty. Just as poverty underestimated Sirois, Taetz and Isobel, it also underestimates you, your generous spirit, and your willingness to help others in need around you.

Start today. Make a donation to TAP and know that you are helping others to win the fight.

Meet Taetz

Posted on November 18, 2019

This is the fourth in a series of posts about the battle against poverty, your role in the battle, and some of your allies in the fight. See first post. See next post.

 

NAME: Taetz, M.

Alias: “Hibachi Slim”

D.O.B: 05/94

LOCATION: Roanoke, VA

PSYCH EVAL: Experienced family trauma in youth. Wary of the past, but optimistic and engaging. Hates to sit still.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Tall, brown eyes, black hair that he keeps in a ponytail.

ABILITIES: Sense of adventure combined with great ability to improvise; makes a perfect carbonara sauce; loving father to two sons.

 

DETAILS OF CASE

Taetz was born in Roanoke, Virginia. After a brief stint in XXXXXXXX, he moved back to Roanoke at age 14. The father of two sons, XXXXXXXXXXX and XXXXXXXXX, Taetz is highly motivated to overcome the desertion of his father, who left when he was young. His mother, who according to firsthand reports was a “raging alcoholic who put her problems on everyone else,” added to his childhood instability.

Taetz grew up having to navigate the thin line between boyish mischief and delinquency without the benefit of supportive parents. He earned his nickname, Hibachi Slim, after playing basketball with his friends one afternoon when they decided to XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, at which point Taetz XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. The matter was resolved with little harm done. That same quick thinking, sense of humor, and ability to improvise have found good use in his current environment in the YouthBuild program. Agent E, TAP’s YouthBuild commander, refers to Taetz as a “free bird.”

Taetz has worked hard to turn the corner on his past. In recent debriefings, he stated that without his feeling of responsibility to be an example for his kids and without coming to TAP, “I would be dead. It was to the point where too much was going wrong.” Now he is eager to make an impact in his community, and he hates sitting still when he could be doing something helpful. Recent training missions include installing handrails and building a shed for community members who required his expert assistance.

Because he knows what’s at stake, he is fearless when it comes to making big life moves. He knows his kids are watching him and learning from him each day: “If I don’t get it, my kids might not get it.” As Agent E also noted, being a “free bird” does not come without the downside of being occasionally blown off course. However, at TAP Taetz has practiced keeping his stability, as well as harnessed the other skills and interests he always had. He is currently planning to enroll in culinary school upon graduation from TAP.

Taetz has the perfect skillset and attitude to be a great father, valued community member, and a critical part of your team.

 

ENEMY: Tumult

Tumult is all around us. It comes up fast and obliterates our sense of the horizon like a hurricane wind. It keeps its subjects off-balance once it has them in its vortex and uses chaos and demoralization to prevent the subjects from effectively deploying their resources. It fosters exhaustion, desperation, and poor decision-making to keep its stranglehold on the subject.

 

NOW

Taetz’s current/upcoming missions include finishing his GED and attending culinary school, with a roadmap to opening his own restaurant. 

 

Taetz is on the road to success, thanks to the help he received through TAP. Your role in the battle against poverty is to contribute help to people like Taetz, however you can. A great place to start is by making a donation to TAP below.