Vine Maple Place, with centers in Kent and Maple Valley that help families who are homeless, received a $200,000 grant from KeyBank.
The grant will provide funding for Family Hope Centers in Maple Valley and Kent to promote housing stability and family support for single-parent families who are homeless or days away from becoming unhoused, according to a Feb. 14 media release from Cleveland, Ohio-based KeyBank. The funding will also be used to add capacity, extending the reach by nearly 50%.
The mission of Vine Maple Place, a Christian organization, is to break the generational cycle of homelessness and its effects among single-parent families by offering safety, providing stability and equipping them for self-sufficiency, according to the media release.
Its client-centric and evidence-based Stable Families Program weaves together housing stability and rent assistance, workforce development, children and youth programming, financial literacy training and behavioral health services for families in South King County. The program has yielded an impressive success rate, with 91% of families remaining stably housed one year after exiting the program.
KeyBank has two locations in Kent, two in Maple Valley, one in Covington and many across the state.
“Here at KeyBank our aim is to help our communities thrive, and it’s a privilege to lend a hand to some of our most vulnerable neighbors as they navigate their next steps,” said Matt Hill, KeyBank’s market president for Seattle Cascades. “We know that stable housing is the foundation upon which successful lives are built and are impressed by the work that Vine Maple Place is doing with this proven program to help set these families on the path to a brighter future with an integrated model that addresses emotional, physical, and financial needs.”
Michelle Frets, executive director for Maple Vine Place, said the funds will make a difference.
“We are grateful to KeyBank for this extraordinarily generous grant that will transform the lives of hundreds of families who are facing homelessness today,” Frets said. “This grant empowers Vine Maple Place to extend crucial support to more single parents and their children facing homelessness or eviction, facilitating their journey off the streets toward healing, safety, and stability.
“Here at Vine Maple Place, we are committed to preventing and ending homelessness, and through this grant, KeyBank’s commitment to community well-being directly translates to tangible action that will change the lives of thousands of homeless parents and kids, contributing to ending homelessness.”
Vine Maple Place was established in 2000 as a 501c3 nonprofit working with single parents and their children to break the generational cycle of homelessness. Over the past 12 years, its signature Stable Families program has grown, serving from 68 parents and children to nearly 4,500 individuals annually.
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