Dear Reader,

As late summer and fall is peak time for United Way activities with our corporate partners, we are expanding the service to include one story per week through Thanksgiving.  Enclosed is an article about how your investment in United Way is making a difference in the lives of individuals in our area. Thank you for your continued interest in United Way of Westmoreland County's news service.

We are proud to share with you this week an article about United Way's commitment to providing resources for the most critical needs in our area.

Bette Finds Comfort with United Way and Welcome Home

For some in our county, complex issues can cascade into a series of crises that make self-sufficiency and living independently a real milestone.  For Bette, life unraveled through a series of personal challenges that put her on the street.  After losing the support of her family through divorce, Bette bounced from three supportive living organizations, each never lasting more than a year. Bette says of that period, "Man, was I a mess."

Today, she is living in her own apartment, working at Goodwill and is saving money to buy furniture.  Finding her way out of the mess took the support of United Way and the Connect, Inc. program-Welcome Home Shelter, which tackles the issue of homelessness and families transitioning to their own residence successfully.  Welcome Home Shelter found that people, like Bette, regularly returned after the maximum two-month stay.  To drive down the rate of returning homeless, United Way helps fund this program which also provides in-the-field counseling for Welcome Home guests as they transition to independent living.

Thanks to United Way funding for the Welcome Home Shelter,
Lyndsay Stannard is able to help Bette be independent and self-sufficient.

For Bette, this meant she had an advocate and supporter, Lyndsay Stannard, of the Welcome Home Shelter.  She and Lyndsay toured apartments, checked leases and reviewed life skills such as organization and budgeting throughout the process.  Even though Bette has "good days and bad days," she has found her feet in Greensburg, thanks to this program.  Lyndsay says about Bette, " The amazing thing for her is that this is really the first time she has lived alone in her life."

For Welcome Home Shelter, this program has resulted in a 90% drop in returning guests to the shelter.  An investment by the United Way into innovative programs such as Connect, Inc.'s has translated into better service for Bette, better results for the Welcome Home Shelter program and lasting change for our community.

Thanks for investing in United Way of Westmoreland County.

Sincerely,

Skip Glenn

United Way of Westmoreland County