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Welcome Home

Making a House a Home

In 2010 we saw a gap in the continuum of services. People were getting housed, but they couldn't afford the basics of a home when they moved in. People were sleeping on the floor. Eating off of paper plates. Sitting on the floor in empty houses. 

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We knew we had to do something. 

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So we started an early version of our Welcome Home Program, getting people mattresses and bedding who otherwise couldn't afford them when they moved in. Fast forward to 2023 and our Welcome Home Program has helped over 1,000 people stabilize after homelessness with beds, bedding, furniture, and essential supplies. 

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Our Welcome Home Packages provide dignity and additional stability to our newly housed neighbors. To read stories of our neighbors helped by this program, click the button below. 

What's Included In A Welcome Home Package?

Every household we serve gets the following in their basket. Each package costs us an average of $600 to source, package, and deliver for a single individual, and can cost $1,000 or more for large families. Read more about why we include baskets in our Welcome Home Package. 

  • A mattress (we stock twins, twin XLs, and queens)

  • Bedding: a sheet set, a pillow, a mattress protector, and a blanket

  • A Welcome Home Basket, which costs us an average of $85 per household (where else could someone get all this for that amount!?):

    • Broom

    • Sponge mop

    • Dustpan

    • Toilet plunger

    • Toilet brush

    • Toilet paper

    • Paper towels

    • Trash bags

    • All purpose cleaner

    • Dish soap

    • Sponge

    • Serving/stirring spoon

    • Spatula

    • Kitchen knife

    • Can opener

    • 2 bowls, 2 mugs, 2 drinking glasses per person over age 6

    • Children's dishware for kids under 6

    • 2 dish towels

    • 2 kitchen towels

    • Silverware (2 small spoons, 2 large spoons, 2 forks, and 2 knives per person over age 6)

    • Shampoo/conditioner

    • Toothbrush (one per person)

    • Tooth paste

    • Razors (one per person over age 13)

    • Deodorant (one per person over age 13)

    • Feminine hygiene products, if applicable

    • Body soap

    • Clothes hangers

    • 2 pairs of socks per person (we even have baby socks!)

    • 1 T-shirt per person

    • 1 pair of underwear per person

    • Laundry bag (for dirty clothes)

    • Laundry basket (for clean clothes)

    • Laundry soap

How It Works

  1. Case managers and other support navigators at our partner agencies work with people experiencing homelessness and help them to locate suitable housing. 

  2. Then the case managers request services from Wings. Sometimes a family will only need a Welcome Home Basket or an individual will only need a mattress. The case managers let us know what the clients need to make their house into a home. 

  3. A volunteer Dispatcher receives the electronic request from the case manager and after verifying that we have the request in stock, sends the request out to the volunteer pool.

  4. Volunteers claim the deliveries that work with their schedule and the Dispatcher puts the volunteers in touch with the case manager. 

  5. The Delivery Volunteer coordinates with the case manager to get the client their Welcome Home Package! 🎉🥰

FAQ

  • Who is eligible for Welcome Home Program services?

    • Wings accepts referrals from partner agencies. To become a partner agency, please email info@wingsadvocacy.org for more information. We cannot accept self-referrals at this time, only referrals through a case manager. ​

  • Where do you get funding for this program?​

    • We are able to provide our services because of the generosity of our community and our Welcome Home Program is almost entirely funded by donations from individuals and businesses that believe everyone deserves a home. ​See below for ways you can get involved. 

  • Do your services cost anything?​

    • We are able to offer our services free of charge for as long as there is supply (sometimes we run out during the year and have to say no to requests until we secure more funding). We ask that anyone who can pay for these services (either through agency funds or self pay) contribute towards the cost of the services to ensure we can serve those who cannot pay and have no access to funding. ​

    • Our Welcome Home Program costs us around $70,000 per year, which is roughly 1/3 of what it would cost a traditional agency to run the program (hiring, training, and managing staff to deliver services in an office space, etc). Every dollar invested in us does the work of three. 

  • I'm a case manager and I just put in a request to Wings. How long will it take for my client to get their Welcome Home Package?​

    • We are a volunteer powered organization, which means that we have to rely on our amazing volunteers to deliver our services. This means we have to work around their work schedules, general availability, and car/truck access. Our dispatchers are volunteers as well, so even though we try to process all requests in a timely manner, it may take a few days. Once we confirm your request, we will work with you to schedule the delivery, which will depend on our volunteer's availability. ​

    • TLDR: it depends, we'll contact you as soon as possible to arrange a schedule for our volunteers to deliver the Welcome Home Package. 

  • How can I support this program?​

    • There are so many ways!​

      • Make a donation​

      • Sign up to be a "Fill the Van" fundraiser for us. Have you seen friends do birthday fundraisers? You could do one for your birthday, an anniversary, or any time of the year. Click the link for more details on our current campaign. 

      • Sign up to volunteer This involves filling out an application, getting a background check, and if you are selected, an initial time commitment of 3-4 hours for orientation and training. From there you can let us know your availability and we will work around it. As a volunteer you will interact directly with our clients and their case managers and you will get to see the joy on their faces when you deliver their items.

      • Sign up to be a "Friend of Wings" - i.e., to help us move deliveries once in a while with your truck. This involves a screening process and a brief orientation. This is not a direct interaction role so much as a sidelines helper role. You'll be supporting staff and/or volunteers to get the deliveries to the people who need them. 

      • Tell your friends about our work! Like, comment, and share our social media content on Facebook, Instagram, and Linked In. 

      • If you work for a company that sells one or more of the products in our Welcome Home Package, ask them if they can make an in-kind donation to help support this program! It's a write-off for them and a chance to show their customers they are helping do good in the world. 

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