Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Kish-Bailey.
Hi Andrea, I’m so excited to have you on the platform. Before we ask about your work life, how can you bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
A summary of the organization’s history Since 2005, Small Sums has been instrumental in providing thousands of individuals with the essential work gear, tools, training, and transportation necessary for initiating new employment opportunities.
Our core values, which guide our initiatives, can be summarized as follows:
- Accessibility: We are committed to ensuring that shared resources are easily accessible to anyone in need, fostering inclusivity, and removing barriers.
- Opportunity: Small Sums firmly believes in affording everyone an initial chance and continuous opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- Equity: Our unwavering dedication is to level the playing field, promote fairness, and dismantle institutional barriers that hinder equal access to resources and opportunities.
Summary of the Organization’s Mission and Goals
When facing poverty and homelessness, securing commonly required gear, tools, and transportation to get to work can be an insurmountable barrier to starting employment. Small Sums’ mission is to remove these barriers by providing required work items, a way to get to work, and additional services to help clients retain employment and achieve long-term economic and housing stability. Gainful employment is critical to stable living, and we help our clients on this path! When clients reach us, they have already found a verifiable job, a testament to their resilience and determination under daunting circumstances.
Small Sums’ work is:
- Simple: We believe employment is a key factor in helping individuals experiencing homelessness become housed.
- Practical: We know it doesn’t take much to remove obstacles that can prevent a worker experiencing homelessness from taking a job. Something as useful as work clothes, shoes, and a bus pass is often all that is needed.
- Powerful: We provide workers experiencing homelessness with what they need to begin working. Access to financial independence and security is a powerful catalyst for change.
Brief description of current programs and who we serve:
Since opening its doors in 2005, Small Sums has outfitted thousands of individuals experiencing homelessness with the work gear, tools, training, and transportation they need to start a new job. We are innovative in our simplicity. We help folks get licenses, training, transportation, and other necessary items to get to their first and next paycheck. Our ripple effect extends beyond our day-to-day work to grow the Minnesota workforce and strengthen the economy.
Our programming includes:
- Dressed & Ready: We outfit clients with required work shoes, boots, and clothes that are well-fitting and high-quality.
- Tools for the Job: We provide tools for construction workers, welders, barbers, chefs, and other trades.
- On the Bus: We provide reliable transportation via 31-day unlimited bus passes or gas cards for the first few months of employment.
- Keep the Job: We cover the cost of union dues, professional licensing, renewal fees, certifications, professional training, and more.
- Keep Your Place: In 2021, we expanded our programming to include eligibility for those at risk of homelessness. With the Covid eviction moratorium lifted and housing costs continually rising, we do all we can to help clients accept and keep stable jobs.
- Young & Hopeful: The impact of early experiences can last a lifetime. According to the 2018 Wilder Study, 88% of individuals experiencing homelessness first became homeless at or before the age of 24; Small Sums partners with organizations that end youth homelessness to outfit young workers with the required gear to participate in job training, work experience, and job placement programs.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The opportunities, challenges, issues, or needs currently facing your organization According to HUD’s 2023 PIT Count, 650,000 individuals experience homelessness on any night in the United States, reflecting a 12% increase from 2022. Homelessness among families with children has risen by 16%. Moreover, individuals who identify as Black, African American, or African, along with Indigenous people (including Native Americans and Pacific Islanders), continue to be disproportionately represented in the homeless population. In Minnesota, nearly 8,400 people were without a home, representing a 6% rise over last year. HUD data indicates that the spike in overall homelessness is primarily due to a significant increase in individuals experiencing homelessness for the first time. Between federal fiscal years 2021 and 2022, there was a 25% rise in the number of individuals newly facing homelessness, while the number of people transitioning from homelessness to permanent housing increased by 8%. This surge in first-time homelessness is likely influenced by various factors, including recent changes in the rental housing market and the conclusion of pandemic-related protections and programs aimed at preventing evictions and housing loss. Our request addresses the unique needs of those unhoused to enter or re-enter the workforce as part of a solution for homelessness. The National Low-Income Housing Coalition’s 2023 Out of Reach report unveils that the national one-bedroom Housing Wage, the hourly wage a person working full-time needs to afford a one-bedroom apartment, is $23.67. This amount is more than three times the federal minimum wage, placing it out of reach for many workers. With housing costs soaring to such heights, a considerable number of our lowest-income and most marginalized neighbors are teetering on the brink of homelessness, just one emergency away.
Searching for employment while experiencing housing insecurity is extremely difficult. The typical stressors related to seeking work are compounded by a lack of immediate access to a computer, no mailing address, sporadic phone service, difficulty presenting themselves in interviews after sleeping on a mat or bed in a shelter, and the added burden presented by the need to carry much of their possessions and essential documents in a backpack or a suitcase. When workers reach us, they have already found a verifiable job, a testament to their resilience and determination under daunting circumstances.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
2024 Demographic Statistics about Small Sums Clients (1,178 served): Small Sums serves youth and adults (and, indirectly, their families) experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Clients live in shelters, on the streets, in cars, or temporarily doubled up in precarious situations while trying to find a way to secure a place of their own. Others are behind on rent and the verge of eviction.
Client Gender Breakdown
Male 66%
Female 33%
Nonbinary <1%
Transgender <1%
Clients Age Breakdown
18-25 13%
26-55 75%
56-64 10%
65+ 2%
Clients with dependent children
69% No Dependents
31% Dependents
Racial breakdown
59% Black/African American
17% White/Caucasian
9% as Multi-Racial
5% as Latinx
3% as Native American/Indigenous
3% as African
2% as Asian
2% other/unknown
Where they stay
25% lived in an emergency shelter
24% stayed with family or friends (doubling up)
24% were in transitional or supportive housing
17% were at risk of eviction,
6% stayed in a hotel, car, or on the street
4% other
Where they work
20% General labor
18% Foodservice
15% Warehouse/Manufacturing
9% Healthcare
7% Retail/Customer Service
5% Construction
2% security and more
How much they earn
4% of clients report earning between $10-$13
24% between $14-$16/hour
38% between $17-$20/hour
17% between $21-$25 an hour
4% over $25/hour (the housing wage for Hennepin and Ramsey counties).
*The average initial wage for clients utilizing our program was $17.09/hour. The average salary after six months was $18.21/hour, an increase of $1.12/hour.
Workers served had meager wealth and were experiencing or at risk of homelessness. We encounter three distinct categories of workers, each representing unique challenges and opportunities for empowerment through our services:
- The Young and Hopeful: These workers comprise youth and young adults who may have left their homes due to violence, neglect, or “aging out of foster care.” Some may have never experienced stability growing up. Now, they are eager to apply for employment and embark on their journey toward stable living. Small Sums stands ready to assist them in this crucial phase of their lives.
- Survivors: This category includes individuals escaping domestic violence, those with a history of assault and trafficking, refugees fleeing war-torn countries, and immigrants. Despite their diverse stories, these workers share a common thread of resilience and readiness to succeed after enduring unimaginable trauma. Small Sums is committed to supporting their journey toward stability and success.
- What Now: Workers falling into the “What Now” category are individuals starting anew, whether recently released from prison, completing rehab, or rebounding from unexpected life circumstances. Armed with a clean slate, these workers are enthusiastic about forging a new path and seizing the opportunity to redefine themselves. Small Sums takes pride in serving clients at this pivotal point in their lives, recognizing their resilience and determination for a fresh start.
- Keep Your Place: Recognizing the evolving landscape of housing insecurity, Small Sums has proactively expanded our programming to include those at risk of losing their homes. After the COVID eviction moratorium, housing insecurity has become a pressing concern, with a steady increase in evictions in 2023, as reported by HOME Line, a legal aid organization for renters. Small Sums acknowledges the heightened vulnerability of tenants and is dedicated to addressing this critical issue in our community.
Small Sums’ relationships with other organizations working with similar missions:
Small Sums provides the support workers need to say yes to the job and the resources to move them toward long-term stability. But we can not do it alone. We rely on community partnerships to ensure each new worker has the resources to retain gainful employment and secure safe, affordable housing. Small Sums responds to requests directly from clients and through referrals from partnering organizations. In 2023, 55% of clients learned about Small Sums through an agency partner, 23% from a previous client, 18% by word of mouth, and the rest from other marketing efforts.
Partnerships help ensure clients have the foundational support to move them toward long-term economic and housing stability. Small Sums partners with over 100 shelters, transitional housing, and social services agencies in the Twin Cities metro, including:
- Agate Housing
- Catholic Charities
- Department of Corrections
- Evergreen Recovery
- Mile In My Shoes
- Open Cupboard
- Repowered
- Twin Cities Rise!
- Union Gospel Mission
- Ujamaa Place
- Volunteers of America
- WildFlyer Coffee
Everyone benefits from collaboration between organizations. When working together, we collectively respond to client needs and provide the essentials to help them achieve long-term housing and financial stability.
Number of board members, full-time paid staff, part-time paid staff, and volunteers.
- Board of Directors: 8
Staff:
- 4 Full-time: Executive Director, Assistant Director of Outreach, Assistant Director of Programs, and an Operations Coordinator.
- 1 Part-time: Program Assistant
- 2 Interns: Cristo Rey High School work study interns
- Volunteers: 100 Volunteers are project-specific and fluctuate with the organization’s needs (letter stuffing, event management, and organization, in-kind items drive, fundraising, etc.)
What matters most to you?
Small Sums’ primary objective is to help those experiencing housing instability by removing obstacles to job acceptance. Gainful employment with economic stability is crucial in assisting people to transition out of homeless situations and into stable housing. Our clients want to work, and our program supports their resiliency and efforts. Throughout our history, we have been able to provide services to every eligible client who requests assistance. We do this by growing partnerships with organizations that provide job training and other workforce development opportunities. We continue to develop our network by attending job fairs and regularly visiting emergency shelters and transitional or reentry housing programs.
Our goal for 2024 is to serve 1,500 clients (a 33% increase over 2022). Program costs include the following:
- $75,000 for 31-day unlimited bus passes (including up to three per client)
- $60,000 for Work Gear (pants, shirts, etc.)
- $40,000 for steel-toed boots/non-slip shoes
- $25,000 for tools (construction, barber, chef, etc.)
- $10,000 in licensing and certification fees
Contact Info:
- Website: www.smallsums.org
- Instagram: smallsums
- Facebook: smallsums
- Linkedin: smallsums
- Youtube: smallsums
