Foundation

Boise Rescue Mission Ministries (BRMM) serves homeless men, women, children, seniors, and veterans in Idaho. BRMM’s mission is to reach out to the community by teaching the Word of God and providing food, shelter, clothing, and opportunities for men, women, and children to recover from homelessness. BRMM meets the basic needs of homeless individuals and offers effective, successful programs that inspire hope and equip individuals with the knowledge and practical skills to help them break the cycle of homelessness. BRMM believes that access to supportive services is key to social and economic mobility as well as overall health and safety for homeless individuals. Supportive services include addiction recovery; access to quality medical, dental, and mental health care; education; vocational services; financial literacy training; access to legal services; and programming tailored to children and youth.

Implemented in 2000, BRMM’s City Light Home for Women and Children is located in Ada County and serves single women and women with children. City Light Home for Women and Children (City Light) provides emergency services such as meals, shelter, and clothing as well as education, work-search assistance, mental health counseling, supportive services for veterans, addiction recovery through the New Life Program, and children’s programs.

There is a significant need in Ada County for City Light’s services. The number of women and women with children who seek help from City Light has increased by 50% in 2024 compared to 2023. BRMM expects this number to continue increasing in 2025 due to funding from the City of Boise for a city-funded hotel that houses homeless individuals ending by September 2025. Funding from the REALTORS® Community Foundation would help BRMM as we expand our services to accommodate more women and children in Ada County who are in need of shelter and supportive services.

boiserm.org

We Feed People.

We are asking for $5,200 to have dedicated funds for our homeless. This would allow us to spend about $100 each week to meet their specific needs.

If possible, we would also like to ask for money to upgrade some of our shelving and tables. We salvaged the shelves from a local business in 2008 and the tables show they have worked hard for over a decade. We ask for an additional $1,500 for this expense.

We are asking for funds for our homeless and housing insecure people, Most of them are in a circumstance where they have no voice. We serve teens, still in high school, who are kicked out of their home by their parents, forced to couch-surf or sleep in cars. We help people who were injured on the job and when the injury allowed them to go back to work found out their job was eliminated and now face eviction by their landlord. We see elderly people who live in a tent and cannot drive. We focus on teens as there is another backpack program for children who are in elementary school. Our school district has moved to a 4-day week, so we are providing our students 3-days of food.

If we receive this grant we will be able to purchase more food, as well as personal care items which are seldom donated. If we do not receive the grant, we will continue to give the students food from our regular donations, which sometimes falls far short of what we’d like to give them.

In 2023, you approved our request to purchase food for homeless teens and low income families. Items specifically suited to their unique needs and circumstances.

As we were getting ready to spend the money, we faced two serious equipment failures — the air conditioning unit in our pantry building went out, followed by one of our double-side commercial freezers. Because of these two unexpected expenses, we were unable to expand our homeless teen and family program.

Emmett Valley Friendship Coalition Facebook Page

Jesse Tree leads the Treasure Valley in preventing eviction and homelessness by supporting our neighbors at risk of housing loss, empowering them to stay in their homes.

Jesse Tree’s main program is the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program. The ERA program provides one-time emergency financial assistance and case management to families being evicted due to a temporary inability to pay rent. Case management includes financial literacy education, supportive services, and connections to needed resources and employment. Case managers work with clients to set goals and create personalized housing stability plans to establish a strategy for self-sufficiency after avoiding eviction. The ultimate goal of the ERA program is to help households avoid an eviction judgment on their record, which can be a lifelong barrier to securing future housing and employment. An additional goal is to ensure that clients gain the skills and knowledge needed to remain stable in the long term.

Demand for Jesse Tree’s resources has continued to increase due to the rising cost of rent, which has increased by 40% in recent years. Requests for one-time emergency rental assistance increased by 555% over the last four years. In 2023, average eviction cases nearly doubled when federal funds for emergency rental assistance timed out. Approximately 90% of evictions are due to a temporary inability to pay rent, and households are simply in need of a small amount of funding to stay housed. So far in 2024, Jesse Tree has fielded over 21,000 calls and texts and over 3,000 applications for assistance from Treasure Valley tenants. Jesse Tree anticipates ongoing increases in the need for our services as the Treasure Valley community continues to experience unprecedented population growth. Housing development cannot keep up with the rising population, causing rent costs to rise. It is estimated that the Boise area alone is short thousands of units that working families can afford.

Jesse Tree is requesting $10,000 in funds from the Boise REALTORS® Community Foundation for our ERA program, through which we provide one-time emergency rental assistance to low-income families at risk of eviction and homelessness. Our organization’s goal in the upcoming year is to prevent eviction for over 1,000 families, and a $10,000 grant would allow us to support five of those families.

jessetreeidaho.org

The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in his name without discrimination.

The Salvation Army is requesting help to purchase workbooks for our “Getting Ahead” group for the 2025 year. The workbooks are a critical part of our group and go directly to client as they attend the group and to keep upon graduation.

Our “Getting Ahead” program, launched in 2016, is a specialized housing counseling initiative that addresses the deep-rooted issues behind housing instability, helping individuals secure and maintain stable housing by breaking the cycle of poverty. Unlike typical financial literacy or life skills classes, “Getting Ahead” is structured around Dr. Ruby Payne’s research, which highlights that poverty is the lack of critical resources—not just money, but also the educational, emotional, and social tools essential for stable housing.

This 12-week, 40-hour program provides a unique counseling experience in a welcoming, conversational setting where participants are treated as experts in their own lives. The focus is on building housing stability by helping participants understand how poverty-driven behaviors—often focused on solving immediate crises like overdue rent or avoiding eviction—make it difficult to plan for long-term housing security. Through guided discussions, participants map out their own experiences with housing instability and identify gaps in the resources needed to achieve stable housing.

“Getting Ahead” helps participants shift their perspective from crisis-based problem-solving to sustainable planning, giving them tools to prioritize and stabilize their housing situations. Through self-assessments, personal resource inventories, and targeted counseling, they gain insights into how the lack of specific resources contributes to housing instability. This approach empowers participants to build a “future story” that includes realistic steps toward securing affordable, long-term housing. By addressing the mindset and structural factors that perpetuate housing insecurity, “Getting Ahead” equips individuals with the resilience and strategies needed to overcome the cycle of poverty and achieve lasting housing stability.

The Pathway of Hope program in Boise, Idaho, has transformed the life of Ms. Jones and her two children. After two years of homelessness following her boyfriend’s arrest, Katie connected with The Salvation Army. With help from this program, she had transitioned from a homeless shelter to her own apartment. The Case Manager was instrumental in guiding Ms. Jones on her journey, assisting her in setting goals, finding resources, and addressing various issues.

In addition to weekly meetings she attended the course “Getting Ahead in a Just Gettin’ By World,” which focuses on housing stability through breaking the cycle of poverty and building a better life. She is now in her own apartment and set to train in medical billing and coding, testifies to the life-changing impact of the Pathway of Hope program.

boise.salvationarmy.org