New Visions Homeless Services (NVHS) was awarded the Core Bank Community Impact Award for the second quarter of 2024 with a gift of $5,000. They were selected from among several other applicants also very worthy of the award. The Committee’s focus is on where “real impact” can be seen and measured and NVHA brings hope, help, and opportunities to neighbors experiencing hunger and homelessness in the Council Bluffs and Omaha community.
The grant from Core Bank will help provide the equipment NVHS needs to enhance and strengthen their Employment and Education Program, which offers resources for job- and life-skills training and access to computers for employment searches and applications. In addition, this support would expand the capacity of the Council Bluffs campus to serve as a resource center to anyone experiencing homelessness who utilizes any of their programs. There is no other organization in our region that provides access to this level of resources and technology to individuals navigating homelessness.
“Community Impact is truly what we’re all about at New Visions, and we’re grateful for partners like CORE Bank who are willing to partner with us in creating impact and transforming our community,” said Brandy Waller, NVHS CEO. “With this award grant, we’ll be able to help more individuals experiencing homelessness to take the next step towards stability through helping to secure employment and education. This is particularly important for this demographic that has historically met with tremendous barriers when it comes to being employed and furthering their education. We couldn’t provide help, hope, and opportunities without amazing partners like CORE Bank!”
Founded in 1995, NVHS emerged from a passionate determination to alleviate hunger and homelessness by providing sack meals under the Council Bluffs U.S. Highway 6/Broadway Viaduct, spanning 9th to 14th Streets. The agency’s commitment and resolve to serve individuals at risk of and experiencing homelessness has driven extraordinary growth, now encompassing two campuses in Omaha and Council Bluffs. NVHS provides over 36,000 nights of emergency shelter to more than 800 individuals, serves over 180,000 meals, and offers 23,500 nights of housing to more than 150 individuals who would otherwise be unsheltered through their transitional and permanent supportive housing programs.
According to multiple sources, including Threshold CoC (formerly Metro Area Continuum of Care for the Homeless or MACCH) and local media, this community has seen more than a 15% increase in homelessness in the last four years. This is higher than the already skyrocketing national average in December 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported a record-setting 12% surge in homelessness nationwide. Joshua House, which saw a 5% increase in 2023, provides emergency shelter for adult males in Council Bluffs, with 64 fixed beds and the capacity to serve an additional 42 when operating at overflow. This shelter provides a safe place to sleep, hot meals, access to onsite laundry and showers, health and dental services, case management, counseling/therapy referrals, housing resources, income and employment, and transportation to off-site medical appointments.
Currently, 72 percent of staff at NVHS have lived experience of homelessness, are veterans, and/or belong to the BIPOC community. This includes Brandy Waller, appointed CEO in late 2022, whose compassionate approach to leadership is driven by her comprehensive understanding of the systemic underpinnings (rather than personal failures) that drive the national homelessness crisis. In 2024, NVHS established two Advisory Boards that meet monthly, one in Omaha and the other in Council Bluffs. Both consist of current and former clients to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience will have input at every level of the organization.
NVHS is committed to bringing hope and opportunity and has opportunities for others to partner with them to effect change in the lives of so many with these programs:
- Food Programs
- Homeless Services
- Veterans Programs
- Supportive Housing
- Prevention Programs
- Education/Employment
There are a variety of ways you can help NVHS from volunteering your time, in-kind donations or financial donations. They rely on hundreds of volunteers to keep things running smoothly from helping in the kitchen to sorting donations to working in their garden. Click here to sign up to serve a meal.
The Core Bank Community Impact Award is granted to an organization every quarter. Read more about past award winners. The Core Bank Community Impact Award reflects a deeper commitment to improving economic prosperity, especially for under-resourced individuals, families, and small businesses. Core Bank is dedicated to building healthier, more resilient, better connected, and inclusive communities throughout our footprint.
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