Latest news with #Women'sHelpCenter
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Housing, health projects receive Community Foundation for the Alleghenies grants
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Projects to renovate Johnstown homes and bolster transitional housing in two counties were among 74 initiatives across the region to be awarded spring grants from the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies. The season's total included $279,874 in grants to support projects across Cambria, Somerset and Bedford counties, CFA officials said. 'We always look forward to our small grant rounds during the spring and fall because it gives us the chance to hear directly from the local nonprofits that are serving our communities daily,' said CFA Executive Director Angie Berzonski. 'Their requests help us identify their priorities and the changing needs of our region.' Among them, the Women's Help Center, of Johnstown, received $6,000 for its 'The Way Home Transitional Housing Expansion' project. Those funds will enable the center to furnish and equip a newly secured duplex that will feature eight beds for people experiencing homelessness, organizers said. 'Our community has been facing a growing need for affordable housing, along with an increase in housing insecurity for many individuals and families,' said Roxann Tyger, executive director of the Women's Help Center. 'We have been working to develop alternatives that will enable individuals facing homelessness to have affordable short-term housing with a variety of supportive services to help them regain stability as they work towards finding their permanent home.' Similarly, Next Step Center Inc., of Somerset, received $4,300 to support its Transitions Program. The evening shelter care program provides daily life skills and case management to aid people experiencing homelessness to achieve self-sufficiency and safe affordable housing. 'The funding we received for the Transitions Program has been instrumental in providing critical support and resources to individuals experiencing homelessness, helping them move toward stability, independence and long-term housing,' said Lisa Wengerd, executive director of the Next Step Center. 'This investment has strengthened our ability to offer case management, life skills training and access to essential services.' Hosanna Industries, which has been upgrading homes across the area for the past several years, received $7,500. The group's ongoing Johnstown Resurrection Project provides charitable home repairs for low-income homeowners in the Johnstown region, using volunteer labor when able, to 'uplift' and create more vibrant communities. Rebecca Hetzer, director of mission resources at Hosanna Industries, said the organization was 'excited' for the grant. 'This funding will be used to bring hope, help and healing to multiple households in the Johnstown region,' she said. 'We are excited for the opportunity to use these funds to do so and continue to resurrect Johnstown and make it a better city in which to live.' Hosanna Industries' work was among 31 Cambria County projects to receive funding, with amounts ranging from $750 to enable Summerhill Township Volunteer Fire Company to upgrade equipment, to $7,500 each for Crichton McCormick Park in Portage and the Cambria County Backpack Project's food insecurity mission. Education, arts and local health and human services groups also received support, including Southern Alleghenies EMS Regional Council Inc., which received just less than $7,000 for a mobile EMS training simulator project. Community and economic development, culture and environmental projects also received aid. Some of Somerset County's largest grants included $7,500 for Confluence Creative Arts Center's EcoArt Camp, and $6,500 for the Somerset County Mobile Food Bank. The Community Foundation for the Alleghenies has been issuing grant awards each spring for years in the region. The public, nonprofit foundation manages and works to build up funds, including county-specific endowments, to support community efforts in Bedford, Cambria, Indiana and Somerset counties.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New peer-to-peer program planned through Community Help Center
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A few weeks from now, the Community Help Center will begin providing services to homeless people who are dealing with behavioral health issues through a new peer-to-peer program that Director Roxann Tyger believes is a one-of-a-kind initiative in Pennsylvania. The adult-peer-led shelter will be staffed by specialists who have recovered from behavioral health challenges in their own lives. All of them will be state-certified. Cambria House, formerly the Martha and Mary House on Bedford Street in Dale, has 13 emergency-shelter beds for men. Six beds will be available specifically for women in the program at the Women's Help Center on Napoleon Street. 'The peers, the staff themselves are people who have recovered from mental illness or behavioral health,' said Tyger, director of the Women's Help Center, of which the Community Help Center is a division. 'They go through a really intensive state certification training. They have to take an exam. The nice thing with that is they're people who have been there. They've experience a lot of the same things. They've lived it. They're just going to really walk hand-in-hand with people in the shelters and just help them.' Tyger and other dignitaries officially launched the peer program Thursday afternoon with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Cambria House. 'Today's moment marks not just the opening of a building, but the launch of a compassionate, community driven resource for those experiencing homelessness,' Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky said. Multiple agencies were involved in developing the program, including Behavioral Health of Cambria County and Magellan Behavioral Health of Pennsylvania's Cambria County Service Operations. 'With encouragement and help from the staff and their daily needs met, people can truly start to rebuild their lives and get back on a path to success,' said Tracy Shultz, director of Cambria County Service Operations, Magellan Behavioral Health of Pennsylvania. 'This can significantly improve their well- being and increase their chances of finding stable housing.' Tracy Selak, BHoCC's administrator, spoke about the need for the shelter and program, saying, 'People say all the time Cambria County doesn't have a homeless program. That is not true. … That homeless problem is Cambria County residents. There is a percentage of it that is folks from outside of Cambria County.' Dave Sutor is a reporter for The Tribune- Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @Dave_Sutor.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Johnstown HS students prepare handmade bowls for annual fundraiser
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WTAJ) — Dozens of high school students and local artists are making bowls to prepare for the 14th annual 'Empty Bowls Dinner' on April 24. The event is a fundraiser to benefit local organizations that combat hunger and homelessness in the community. It'll support the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Altoona-Johnstown, the Cambria County Backpack Project and the Women's Help Center. Each empty bowl serves as a reminder of the people who go without food every day. 'This dinner supports local organizations combating hunger and homelessness in our community. So all the money stays directly in our community and it services many of our students and their families. So that's really important to us, being one of the poorest districts in the entire state of Pennsylvania,' Cindy Maloy, the school's Art Teacher and Key Club Co-Advisor, said. This year's dinner is scheduled from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Bottle Works Ethnic Arts Center in Johnstown. The cost is $15 for adults and $10 for students and children. Additional bowls can also be purchased for $10 each. Last year, they raised $6,000 for the three organizations. They also celebrated a milestone of $50,000 raised in the last 13 years. 'It's amazing and it's heartwarming and it shows that our community can support us. And it also shows the awesome things that our students do at Johnstown High School,' Maloy said. Congressman Glenn Thompson accepts prestigious award and talks about issues farmers are facing From the pottery wheel to the finished product, each bowl takes anywhere from eight to 10 days to create. The members of the Key Club said it's worth it. 'I really love like when little kids come up and they're like, mom, this is the bowl I want. And I can be like, that's my bowl. I mean it fills me with so much joy and like, a sense of accomplishment, and what I'm doing is like making a difference and making people happy,' Blaise Veney, Secretary of the Key Club said. However, Key Club members aren't the only ones contributing to the fundraiser. Advisors, staff at the high school, and ceramic artists who participated in the first annual Soup'r Bowl also made bowls. Hundreds of bowls are already completed, and ready to be filled with soup. 'I love getting my hands dirty in the clay and just getting to shape them all. It's just a really cool organization, and I'm extremely happy to be a part of it. I love that we're helping so many different communities,' Delanie Kiser, a Senior Key Club member, said. She's already made 60 bowls. This is her third year participating in the event. The Key Club expects to have around 500 bowls ready for the dinner. In the meantime, you can follow their progress on the club's Instagram page. All of the proceeds will be evenly distributed between the Cambria County Backpack Project, St. Vincent de Paul, and the Women's Help Center. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
