Guests gathered at Hancher Auditorium Thursday evening to celebrate Shelter House’s 40th anniversary at its fundraising gala. The organization also offers rapid rehousing, homelessness prevention, permanent supportive housing, and on-site support services.
For 40 years, Shelter House has worked to support the homeless population in Johnson County. The organization is a comprehensive homeless services provider in Iowa City, focused on not just managing homelessness but working to end it through housing-focused programs and support services.
Christine Hayes, director of development at Shelter House, shared the history behind the organization along with the multitude of services provided.
The initial shelter began in 1983 as a single-family home on Gilbert Street with 29 sleeping spaces. Over time, the organization expanded to include housing-focused programming and other services such as the Fairweather Lodges and the Rapid Rehousing program.
Shelter House also offers emergency shelter, which is operated 24/7 and has reduced barriers to entry, focusing on behavior rather than intoxication or other personal issues.
“We aren’t trying to manage homelessness — we’re trying to end homelessness,” Hayes said.
Things also haven’t been easy over the past four decades, Hayes said, but the staff has stayed resilient.
“We had a fire in 2021 that destroyed one of our Fairweather Lodge houses, and the community just really stepped up to help the folks who were displaced or their home,” Hayes said. “We have seen a lot in the last four and a half years, and it’s pretty remarkable, including the resilience of our staff.”
Shelter House has also experienced other challenges regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and state-level laws that removed municipalities’ ability to protect voucher holders.
Nonetheless, Shelter House has maintained its dedication to assisting those in need — the fundraising gala hosted in honor of its 40th anniversary was a testament to that.
The gala began with a welcome from the former head coach of the University of Iowa women’s basketball team, Lisa Bluder.
“I was honored to be asked to emcee tonight’s event, and I’m thrilled to be part of such a special evening,” Bluder said.
The Iowa women’s basketball team and Bluder have long supported Shelter House’s work. The team has volunteered with the organization regularly, including driving children to Carver-Hawkeye Arena to watch practice, participate in drills alongside the players, and share lunch with the team.
“It was a joy for everyone to support not just this organization as a whole, but it was also a tremendous learning experience for our players to understand homelessness on a human level,” Bluder said.
As the only homeless shelter in Johnson County, Bluder addressed the need for Shelter House as it provides critical programs and resources.
The gala continued with music, food and drinks, an auction, a game of heads and tails, and a program acknowledging the past and future of Shelter House.
Executive Director of Shelter House Crissy Canganelli, who has been a part of the organization for over 26 years, emphasized the importance of Shelter House.
“Through the years, we’ve grown in our purpose and mission and have worked tirelessly to grow our capacity to respond,” Canganelli said.
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In addition, Canganelli expressed gratitude towards Shelter House’s leadership team and other long-term partnerships with skilled clinicians, professionals, key stakeholders, trusted partners, and volunteers.
Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague also spoke about the city’s partnership with Shelter House at the event.
“One of the most valuable resources that we have is our partners in this work because we can share knowledge, information, and together with Shelter House and our partners countywide, we plan to do just that,” Teague said.
Teague said the City of Iowa City looks forward to partnering with Shelter House and conducting cross-system realignment of some of the community stakeholders to close gaps and find efficiencies. Those partnerships include the Iowa City Police Department, the Iowa City Fire Department, the Iowa City Housing Authority, and several other departments and programs.
In the future, Canganelli shared that Shelter House will create a data architecture system to empower data sharing across systems to improve health services and housing outcomes for the community’s most vulnerable residents.
At the end of the night, all of the proceeds from the gala went towards Shelter House’s $200,000 goal of retiring the commercial debt for the apartments on 501 South Gate Ave.
“This work is our passion, our privilege, our joy and our anguish,” Canganelli said. “We are grateful for each and every one of you here tonight for your trust in our stewardship, our partnership, and our vision for a community where everyone has a place to call home.”