A Foothills Realtor has made providing housing for homeless young mothers part of her mission.
Claire Jean Prager works for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, 2890 E. Skyline Drive. In addition to selling homes, she works with the Hearth Foundation to collect money and donations for programs that provide shelter and support for young women with children.
She recently received the Richmond W. Johnson Award from the Hearth Foundation, a nonprofit organization of real estate agents, for her advocacy on behalf of homeless women with children.
"We give the award every year to an individual who has given above and beyond to the Hearth Foundation, and Claire definitely falls into that category," said Lyra Done, a former president of the Hearth Foundation and owner of her own real estate company.
Prager said she was "flabbergasted" when the foundation's board presented her with the award. While she was grateful to receive the honor, she said many other volunteers in the Hearth Foundation work just as hard as she does.
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She said she's tried to stay active in her community, even before moving to Tucson in 1991.
"From the time I was a very little girl, my family thought you should give back to the community," Prager said.
The Hearth Foundation provides the "bricks and mortar" for young, homeless, single parents, she said.
The foundation provides the real estate for a shelter and transitional housing units in Midtown for homeless parents. It's also in charge of maintenance and repairs at the buildings.
Foundation members raise money and collect donations of furniture, clothing and diapers for the young mothers.
When it comes to actual case work, they let the professionals handle that, Prager said.
She said the two programs the Hearth Foundation supports — Our Family Services Common Unity Program and New Beginnings for Women and Children — try to give parents life skills to get back on their feet after being homeless for a while.
Prager said the Hearth Foundation also works hard to preserve the privacy of the residents, because they are at vulnerable times in their lives. "Some of the biggest issues that remain are self-esteem issues," Prager said.
Michele Laguna, the senior case manager at the Common Unity Program, said the contribution of the Hearth Foundation to their program has been invaluable.
In addition to providing the property for the women's housing, the foundation gives the women and children gifts during the holidays and provides them with some basic necessities — such as clothing and diapers — throughout the year. Case workers help the women find full-time jobs, and remaining employed is part of the requirement to stay at the transitional housing units.
Residents have often struggled to meet the housing requirements in the past, Laguna said.
"The residents that come through, many of them haven't been able to rent an apartment," she said.
Eventually the women and their children move on to find traditional housing and possibly a home of their own.
When they do move on, they have the option of taking the furniture they lived with at the transitional housing with them, Prager said.
This means the Hearth Foundation is continuously looking for items to furnish the housing units. Prager said finding furniture does not usually prove difficult. As a Realtor, she frequently interacts with people who are moving all their possessions and looking to get rid of furniture.
Foundation members also want to build a playground for the families and a quadruplex — a building with four separate residences — to increase the capacity of Common Unity's transitional housing program.
"This is such a chasm in our community that needs to be taken care of; we are looking for growth to accommodate more mothers," Done said.
Foothills
● To contribute to the Hearth Foundation, visit the Web site www.thehearthfoundation.org.
