A social-services coalition that serves low-income families in western Iowa and eastern Nebraska will double the size of its Council Bluffs physical plant. C-E-O Pete Tulipana says a year of fundraising has Heartland Family Service near the goal needed to bring five agencies together on one campus. It’s a collaboration of five nonprofits — Heartland, the Red Cross, the Boys and Girls Club, the Salvation Army, and a homeless shelter called the Micah House.

The goal is to raise 31-point-seven-million dollars, and this week they hit 28-point-two-Million. The one-of-a-kind campus will have headquarters buildings for each of the five agencies. By “living on the campus” and developing ways to integrate their services, they’ll let families that need help find them there easily.

They’ll cut costs by maximizing the space and sharing service delivery systems, Tulipana says. He uses for an example a client who’s a homeless single mother of kids. She’ll have access to mental-health and planning health, while staying either in the Micah House shelter or the traditional housing complex Heartland operates. Her kids can use the Boys and Girls Club while she works or goes to school to get better employment.

The Salvation Army and Red Cross are available there for any of her emergency needs, as well as working together to handle any emergencies in the region without duplicating any of their services. The Charles E. Lakin Human Services campus got a “lead gift” of ten-million dollars from a southwest Iowa native who’s a successful land developer and this week promised more than six additional acres to build it on.

Lakin’s a generous man, Tulipana says, who values the role of human service in the community. He says this project will make a mark on the region and even the country: “This is a very very unique concept.” He says the shared campus plan lets donors and the community get the most value for their support, and will reach many families with the best possible way to offer them a wide variety of help.

Related web sites:
Heartland Family Service