Five Questions With: Eileen M. Hayes

Eileen M. Hayes, president and CEO of Amos House for the past 13 years, has been a social worker for 30 years. She received her Master’s degree from the New York University School of Social Work in 1984. Under Hayes’ leadership, Amos House has grown to include 13 buildings, 143 residential beds, culinary arts and carpentry training programs, a literacy program, and a social enterprise business, More Than a Meal Catering. Amos House also operates the largest soup kitchen in Rhode Island. Here, Hayes discusses the latest developments at the nonprofit.

PBN: You have been leading Amos House for 13 years. What has emerged in this time as the biggest priority for the nonprofit?
HAYES:
During the 13 years that I have had the privilege of leading Amos House, our biggest priority has always been to create opportunity to move men, women, and families from homelessness to being housed; from unemployed to employed; and for many, from addicted to clean and sober. We do this by not only providing the basics of food, shelter, and clothing, but also offering training, education, and employment. I’m proud of the fact that more than half of our staff are men and women who were formerly homeless and/or graduates of our culinary and carpentry training programs.

PBN: Last spring, Amos House received $356,000 from the HUD Continuum of Care Homelessness Assistance competition. What are the funds being used for?
HAYES:
Amos House owns 14 buildings, nine of which provide permanent supportive housing for men, women, and families who were previously homeless. We receive $356,000 in funding for four of these buildings under the HUD Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Program. These funds provide both operating and supportive service dollars to provide general upkeep of the houses as well as staff to provide case management services to ensure that the residents remain housed.

PBN: The agency also recently kicked off the public phase of a $6 million capital campaign to build a new, three-level community center. How’s the campaign going and how much further do you need to go to reach your goal?
HAYES:
In the spring of 2014, Amos House kicked off the public phase of our campaign to raise $6 million for a 28,000-square-foot community center that will house a new dining room and kitchen with increased capacity as well as classrooms for all of our training and employment programs, including a carpentry shop and a community room.
We are excited to announce that we have successfully raised the money needed to start construction and we are now working on securing the last $1 million dollars to furnish the new building and create a reserve.

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PBN: How goes the battle with recidivism? Do you have many repeat clients and what are you doing to combat that?
HAYES
: Amos House works with hundreds of men and women each year who are formerly incarcerated. The recidivism rate for our Transitional Shelter Program is around 10 to 15 percent, much lower than the city, state, or national rates, which range from 40 to 70 percent.
We believe that our strong sense of community and our focus on employment and recovery provides the necessary formula to keep men and women from returning to prison.
We provide training in culinary and carpentry, and it allows people to gain skills to get employed. The rates of recidivism drop when people are employed. We also provide intensive work around recovery so if they stay clean and sober, they’re less likely to return to prison.

PBN: Tell us about ways in which you are partnering with the city of Providence. What more can be done?
HAYES:
Amos House has had a long history of working with the city of Providence. In addition to receiving funding for some of our programs, we have had opportunities to inform city officials through advocacy efforts such as the reorganization of the First Source Program and a Reentry Task Force under former Mayor David N. Cicilline. We operate one of four Financial Opportunity Centers that were initially launched through funds from the city of Providence. Our center has assisted hundreds of Rhode Islanders in improving net worth and moving toward financial stability.
Finally, our carpentry program is looking forward to working with the city on rehabbing abandoned properties throughout Providence. Amos House sees itself as a strong partner with the city of Providence in addressing some of our city’s biggest social challenges such as poverty, unemployment and crime.

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