Preventing homelessness before it starts

GREEN BAY – Local nonprofit The Gateway Collective is trying to stop homelessness before it starts, reaching families just above the poverty line with affordable housing and in-house support that builds community.

“The major goal is to get ahead and not be a crisis response,” said The Gateway Collective Community Resource Advocate Eugene Smalls. “It’s a lot of preventative services… We uniquely design our calendar around being preventative.”

In their downtown City Center Lofts, The Gateway Collective offers apartments with rent capped at 30% of income for individuals and families earning between 50% and 100% of the area median income (AMI), as well as market-rate options for those earning above 100% AMI.

More importantly, they offer wraparound services to support residents financially and build a sense of community and belonging.

“One of my partners whom I absolutely adore is the Green Bay Diocese,” said Smalls. “I have their financial team come over here and teach us a variety of financial things and then also offer people one-on-one services, all free of charge.”

Smalls said that in-house services make residents more likely to seek help, while also assuring them they’re not alone.

“If all a resident has to do is walk down the hallway and talk to someone about the hard stuff, it makes it a lot easier,” he said. “And if they can build a community around that, where they know they’re not the only one, it becomes so much better. Now they have someone right there they can relate to, saying, ‘Hey, we both struggle financially— let’s be accountability partners.’”

This sense of community is further strengthened by shared meals and events to bring residents together.

“City Center Lofts has these large hallway corridors. One of my favorite things that we have done, and will continue to do, is line tables right down the middle of the hallway and have a meal together. We break bread as a community. Everybody’s invited,” said Smalls. “You don’t have to do anything but step outside your apartment…. I might do a message, or we might just sit, chill and eat. To see that come together is so beautiful: a group of people who were technically strangers, and now we’re all together.”

These types of gatherings aren’t typical in most apartment buildings, but Smalls said that’s the point.

“Traditionally, you apply for an apartment, move in and kind of disappear. You don’t really know your neighbors— you may see them in passing, things like that,” said Smalls. “I’m trying to foster a different type of lifestyle at City Center Lofts.”

The unity created through these events can benefit not only residents, but also the community as a whole.

“I believe that the issues we face—health care, child care, housing—can be solved within our community if we start removing barriers and opening up,” Smalls said. “A lot of the division that keeps us apart isn’t what we need. If we come together and foster that connection, I truly believe we can take care of them.”

For more information on The Gateway Collective, visit gatewaycollective.org.