FAQs

Fact Sheet

• How do women find Arbor House? Women find Arbor House through social workers, other social service agencies, United Way Information Referral, and the International Heartbeat Directory.

• How is Arbor House funded? Ninety percent of our funds come from individuals and private foundations. Ten percent comes from grants, including the City of Gainesville and the Alachua County Community Agency Partnership Program.

• What percent of funding goes directly toward client services? Approximately 89% of funding goes directly toward client services.

• How many women and children can live at Arbor House? New Beginnings can house 4 pregnant women at any time. Mom’s Place has 8 units that can support up to 8 mothers and 10 children.

• Where does the college funding come from?Most women receive college funding from Pell Grants and other forms of government assistance.

• Who watches the children when mother are attending classes? Most daycare funding is provided through the Maren Foundation. Mothers pay 10% of daycare fees.

• How do the women get food and healthcare? Women purchase food with Food Stamps and receive healthcare through MedicAid.

• Where do the women find jobs while attending college? In 2006 Arbor House established cottage industries with the help of Sue Beauchamp. Women can spend up to 20 hours a week handcrafting products like greeting cards, baked goods, quilts, soaps, and candles. The products are sold at local churches and festivals, and we plan to make them available through our website soon.

Little-Known Facts:

• It costs $25,000 per year to sustain a woman on welfare and government subsidies. Each single mom that graduates from Arbor House’s program stops receiving assistance from the government and beings investing back into the community.

• Working at minimum wage, it will take a woman 89 hours of labor a week to maintain a two bedroom apartment @ 30% of her income.

• The Welfare Reform Act of 1996 has reduced caseloads but forced those leaving into the “working poor” category without access to health care and requiring them to work two or three different jobs weekly.

• There are approximately 1500 homeless people in the Gainesville area. 40% of homeless are families. Nationally, 39% of homeless are children .

Poverty Quiz

Click here to take the poverty quiz.