In the fall of 2023, Janesville Mobilizing 4 Change (JM4C) announced it had received an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant from the Rock County Board of Supervisors. This grant allowed Director Xandi Finn to implement Project H.O.P.E. (Homeless Outreach Prevention Efforts), which hosts monthly training sessions at Hedberg Public Library for those experiencing homelessness.
“The goal with the ARPA program is to build skills and knowledge within the unhoused community to help them find and maintain housing,” explains Xandi. “Being unhoused is a pretty massive risk factor for substance abuse. Reducing the number of unhoused individuals will reduce the rate of drug and alcohol addiction.”
As a division of the City of Janesville, JM4C operates under the oversight of the director of HPL. This partnership has strengthened the outreach and impact of the nonprofit, which is housed at the library. “Being here has been beneficial to the library patrons and JM4C,” Xandi says. “It’s a great partnership that we’re learning to lean into more--to not just be supportive of each other but collaborate on things.”