DOORWAYS Receives National Award for Affordable Housing

DOORWAYS Supportive Housing Facility (DSHF), a St. Louis-based non-profit organization, has received a third-place award for Supportive Housing in the 13th annual MetLife Foundation Awards for Excellence in Affordable Housing. DSHF received the award and a $20,000 grant at the 2008 Enterprise Community Conference in Baltimore.
 
The Supportive Housing category award recognizes DSHF for their long-standing compassionate and effective response to HIV/AIDS in the Missouri and Kansas region. DSHF is the only interfaith organization in the St. Louis region devoted to the provision of safe, affordable housing that provides supportive services to people living with the disease. The property is a fully accessible three-story building with 36 private rooms with baths, 24-hour supervision and a nursing station, a dining room, a commercial kitchen, recreational areas and administrative offices. All of the residents are formerly homeless singles living with HIV/AIDS and earn less than 30 percent of the area median income.
 
"The DOORWAYS Supportive Housing Facility was developed in response to a critical need for housing-based solutions to the HIV/AIDS epidemic," said Patricia Magnuson, senior director for supportive housing for Enterprise. "For supportive services to take effect in troubled populations, a comfortable, safe place is necessary for people to call home. Through their ‘low-demand' and ‘harm reduction' models of service, DSHF has had remarkable success in helping the majority of their residents regain their health and transition to independent living."
 
DOORWAYS' substantial rehab of the former Bernard Care Center (originally the Methodist Home for Orphans), has brought healthy living design principles to this historic building. An extensive negative air-pressure ventilation system was installed to move exhaust from residential and certain treatment rooms out through the roof to decrease the impact of airborne infections. Other environmentally responsive principles were adopted on the grounds with an expansive green space, a formal garden and landscaping that improves water conservation and reduces maintenance costs.  The property has easy access to public transportation and is in easy walking distance to commercial, retail and healthcare services.
 
DOORWAYS has worked for over 20 years on developing housing solutions for some of the most vulnerable individuals and families in its community, a comprehensive continuum of housing options designed to meet the varied needs of people living with HIV/AIDS and their families. This includes more than $1.7 million annually in scattered-site rent, mortgage, and utility assistance, 99 subsidized units in the city of St. Louis, and a 36-unit SRO property. Since its founding in 1988, DOORWAYS has served more than 5,600 households and currently assists approximately 570 adults and more than 300 children each month.
 
"Affordable, well-maintained housing is a vital component of livable communities," said MetLife Foundation president and CEO Sibyl Jacobson.  "We are pleased to join Enterprise in recognizing DOORWAYS, which is meeting the needs of low-income individuals and families and strengthening its community."
 
In total, six MetLife Foundation Awards ranging from $20,000 to $40,000 were presented.  Enterprise and MetLife Foundation launched the program in 1996 to recognize and share the important work being done by community-based organizations across the country to provide affordable housing for the nation's most vulnerable people.
 
MetLife and MetLife Foundation have supported Enterprise's neighborhood revitalization activities with grants and loans of almost $39 million. For more information about the Foundation, visit www.metlife.org.
 

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