Program Summary

Isaiah 58 NH addresses homelessness and housing insecurity in Western Rockingham County by creating affordable housing units as well as providing monthly assistance. Isaiah 58 NH addresses the underlying causes that create financial instability and limit the self-sufficiency of our clients. We work side by side with our clients helping them deal with actual homelessness and housing insecurity. We help to address physical and mental health stressors related to their situation by providing clients with case management services as well as helping them to reach out to local mental health agencies.

Isaiah 58 NH’s goal is to eliminate housing insecurity in New Hampshire. All NH families and individuals should be afforded safe, secure, and affordable housing as a foundation for a productive life.

About Isaiah 58

Isaiah 58 NH is an officially recognized 501 c3 non profit incorporated in 2014 in New Hampshire. Our main office is located in Hampstead NH and a satellite office is located in Salem NH in our donation center.

Isaiah 58 NH is guided by a 12 member Board of Directors - all of which are uncompensated. Each member provides the organization with financial support as well as collectively hundreds of volunteer service and support. Their combined professional backgrounds and life experiences are critical to the success of moving Isaiah 58 NH’s mission forward.

Isaiah 58 NH staffing is composed of a full time ( 40 hours) executive director and 1 full time case manager as well as 1 part time staff admin/case manager at 30 hours. Isaiah 58 NH partners with local government agencies and other local community partners to help identify families/individuals who could benefit from our services and assistance. The partnerships formed and fostered is an integral part of our ability to assist multiple families and individuals.

Services

The clients we serve are part of the ever growing number of families and individuals that spend more than 50 % of their income on housing which makes them housing insecure. The need for our support and services along with our partnerships is a direct result of the shortage of available, affordable housing in the Western portion of Rockingham County.

Isaiah 58 NH not only focus’ on increasing affordable housing but also to provide supportive services while expanding our organizational capabilities. We use a disciplined process for acquiring and renovating properties for rental units to help us expand the housing inventory to our target population. We build a modest revenue stream of below market rental fees that help to fund on-going maintenance of the properties which help to free up funds so that we can utilize them to support our clients `with other services.

Isaiah has purchased and renovated 5 mobile homes in a resident owned community in Salem. This has provided stability to 5 individuals and 2 families since over the years. Isaiah has purchased 1 condominium apartment also in Salem NH.

In 2023 Isaiah 58 NH purchased a commercial property ,again in Salem ,which houses our donation center as well as our satellite office. The donation center provides clothing and furniture at no cost to anyone who may need these items. The center is also part of the NH Food Bank so we can provide shelf stable and refrigerated items for individuals and families. The building also houses 3 individuals on the second floor and an individual on the 3rd floor. This building also provides the ability for individuals living in their vehicle or outside in a tent to schedule a time to come in and use the hallway bathroom for showers. Isaiah 58 NH also leases 2 additional condominium apartments in a complex that is offered to individuals/families at below market rate. The rental rate we ask is individualized dependent on situation and income and is never more than 30 % of their income. Isaiah 58 NH supplements the rent s from clients paid on these units. These units are also all full.

In addition to providing affordable housing, Isaiah 58 NH also provides other supportive services which include, utility assistance, food and clothing assistance, case management, life skills, financial literacy, and any other supports needed to clients in Western Rockingham County.

History

Isaiah 58 NH was the vision of its founder, retired Lutheran Pastor, The Reverend David E. Yasenka of Hampstead NH. David’s ministry includes over 30 years in Salem NH which included extensive efforts to combat the largely hidden, but persistent problem of homelessness in New Hampshire. As a Pastor, David was socially active in the community , encouraging faith communities to help feed the hungry through pantries and to help shelter the homeless and housing insecure. As part of the churches outreach ( Isaiah 58 Ministry) David’s congregation helped to provide rent and utility assistance to those in need in the community, providing individual’s and families with shelter in apartments and mobile homes, and when necessary housed the homeless in the church.

When he was given a donation of a manufactured home, David’s journey began which would soon lead to the formation of Isaiah 58 NH. Upon his retirement in 2014, Pastor Yasenka turned his attention to the problem of affordable housing a full time basis and founded Isaiah 58 NH as a 501c3 non profit with the intent to provide safe and affordable housing to those in need.

The initial goal of Isaiah 58 NH was to bring one affordable housing unit onto the market annually. The Board quickly realized Isaiah 58 NH could be much more effective buy using our assets to serve multiple families/individuals with rental assistance and supportive services in addition to securing housing units.

The Reverend Yasenka directed Isaiah 58’s mission full time pro bono for 9 years. In this time he has effectively sought and received the support of community leaders and elected officials, businesses, charitable organizations, foundations, as well as federal, state, county and town governments. In addition to this David was able to secure generous financial support from donors. We continue to receive this foundation of support as well as increasing support from other avenues which has allowed us to meet, and at times exceed, our goals during our 11 years of operation.

In 2023, David Yasenka stepped away as the leader of Isaiah 58 NH when a new executive director was hired to continue to grow the organization and move it forward to assist as many people as possible.

Objectives

Goal 1: Create a minimum of one new safe, sustainable and affordable housing unit each year.

• Secure funding for at least one housing unit per year as our first priority.

• As the number of housing units we operate grows, use the income from subsidized rental payments to maintain those units and ultimately make them self-sustaining. The objective is to allocate new funding to the acquisition of additional units and case management services.

• Maintain active and ongoing efforts to identify potential new housing units that align with our current financial capacity and meet all applicable regulatory requirements.

Goal 2: Continue housing supportive assistance helping families/individuals remain in their existing homes.

• Utilize Isaiah 58 NH staff and volunteer as caseworkers/coaches.

• Partner with other agencies to provide monetary and/or support services required by these families.

Goal 3: Develop the infrastructure, organization, and capabilities required to address the needs of our target clients.

• Maintain a primary focus on the acquisition and operation of safe, sustainable and affordable housing units in order to add to the state’s available inventory of affordable housing.

• Acquire unrestricted funding to support administrative, management, and personnel costs.

• Maintain an active Board of Directors that includes individuals with management skills, community leadership roles, and specialized knowledge that is specific to our mission.

• Expand our volunteer network and seek specific skills that best align with our mission and operational model.

• Present the leanest organization possible to the public and potential donors who want to see our resources going directly to the delivery of housing and support services to our clients.

Goal 4: Raise awareness of the affordable housing crisis in NH and Isaiah’s model for creating safe, sustainable and affordable housing units along with assisting clients with needed support. Increase our network of volunteers who enable us to maximize the use of our resources for direct client support, while limiting administrative costs.

• Leverage the power of “word of mouth” in promoting our success, in delivering service and in raising funds.

• Build our name identification by differentiating Isaiah 58 NH as an organization with solutions that address both the problem of affordable housing, homelessness and the underlying root causes.

• Use our established local identity to attract volunteers who will value having a key role in the growth of our community effort.

• Emphasize our strong support from respected state and local leaders to reinforce our credibility within the service community and with funders.

Goal 5: Fully integrate Isaiah 58 NH into the Continuum of Care for the state of NH and achieve access to public funding aligned with our mission. Isaiah 58 NH recognizes that in order to implement our long-term vision, we must be able to secure some level of public funding that supports our mission.

• Build and maintain relationships with all federal, state, and local entities that supply funding or services to the homeless and housing insecure.

• Attend regular state, regional, and local meetings with governmental agencies that provide public funding for the homeless or housing insecure.

• Seek, as appropriate, to align our operating model, data collection, and information reporting capabilities to the requirements of public funding entities.

• Earn a “seat at the table” with other organizations and have a voice as part of the NH Continuum of Care.

Goal 6: Grow our financial resources by expanding Isaiah 58 NH’s access to private and foundation funding, through collaboration with complementary organizations or agencies and the use of effective grant writing.

• Increase our name identification by actively seeking opportunities to explain our mission to potential funders or opinion-influencers in the donor community.

• Build relationships with the major private funders and foundations in NH.

• Develop a professional level of grant writing skills within our organization.

• Actively seek to collaborate with other organizations serving similar clients, and where there is an opportunity for both parties to benefit from that collaboration as we seek grant funding.