“Regina came to One Eighty in November of 2024 knowing she had some significant health issues she had not addressed due to her substance abuse and homelessness.” That significant health issue turned out to be cancer.
These are the stories that plague our neighbors in the Quad Cities, and the stories that drive United Way’s Rise United 2030 goal: to ensure that 95% of Quad Citians have access to routine healthcare. Fighting for accessible healthcare and financial security for everyone is a vital step toward preventing untreated conditions like Regina’s and helping countless others who can’t afford physical and mental health care. Mental health, homelessness, and addiction often intertwine in a vicious cycle. When someone tries to break free of one, the others can pull them right back in. Breaking free takes courage, support, and time, and can be a long and challenging journey. It’s a journey that many of our neighbors are walking or a challenge they are fighting right now.
Thanks to One Eighty, Regina was able to access cancer treatment and is in remission. She rang the bell when she finished chemo. She no longer lives in crisis and has a second chance at life. This time, a full life that includes her own apartment, a good job with Argrow’s Café (another United Way partner), a vehicle, and renewed relationships with her kids. Partnerships with local nonprofits like One Eighty help break the cycle of homelessness and addiction, enabling more opportunities to sustain sobriety and stability.
Jenny Halupnik, One Eighty’s Director of Engagement, explained how United Way’s partnership strengthens that mission:
“United Way provides funding that addresses mental health, which is really very tied together with substance use disorder [SUD]. SUD is a mental health diagnosis, but in addition to that, 80% of people we serve have an additional mental health diagnosis. United Way’s funding helps us provide the support services, the housing, the community that they need to figure out how to manage that condition and build from there.”
Residential Recovery Program
During One Eighty’s Residential Recovery Program, recovering addicts are provided with stable housing, basic needs, and the support to live a sober lifestyle. Over the course of a year, they learn the essentials of financial education, nutrition, and recovery to prepare them to re-enter their lives and the community. In this “stepping stone” approach to progress, creating a healthy community for residents to integrate into is key. When residents feel seen, supported, and valued is where progress truly starts. Participants rebuild independence gradually: first earning back small responsibilities, like access to their phone, then progressing to employment and community engagement, without being thrown into the deep end.
But as Jenny shared, the hardest part often comes after graduation.
“By the time they graduate after a year, they’ve had a year of sobriety, they have a job in the community, and they’re ready to take those next steps. But the tricky part is once they’ve graduated, a lot of times they still have trouble finding housing outside of our network because sometimes they have a spotty work history. They don’t have money saved to put down a deposit or pay the first month’s rent. They have a felony or an eviction on their record. They’re at risk of being thrown right back into the cycle of homelessness and struggle that they just spent a year working to get out of.”
This is where One Eighty’s stability housing program changes the story. By offering safe and affordable transitional housing, graduates can continue rebuilding their life without sacrificing the progress they have fought for. One Eighty charges a modest rent, allowing residents to juggle real-world responsibilities like working, managing bills, and participating in community activities, while working towards longer-term goals. A lower rent payment lets residents save for clearing court fines or saving up to buy a home or car. They can stay as long as they need, months or even years, while One Eighty and the community continue to walk beside them, providing support and recovery groups. This opportunity acts as an extended safety net, so residents can prepare to integrate back into the community from a place of strength and stability, rather than fear and desperation.
This ongoing support makes relapse less likely and success stories more plentiful. As Halupnik explained:
“Nobody would be able to live in these stability housing units, make the progress they’re making, hold down their job, and take care of their children if they hadn’t come through the residential recovery program that United Way is helping us put together. You’re helping us build the foundation so that when people move into these stability houses, they know they’ve got the skills, the network, and the resources to continue to do well. United Way is helping create that foundation.”
Your Impact, Measured
The results speak for themselves. From 2024 alone, 99% of surveyed graduates have stable housing, and 94% have jobs. Forty-six kids reconnected with a sober parent, and 117 people started a new job.
Want to visualize how your help can support the health and financial security of our neighbors? How can your help support someone like Regina?
- $4 can provide a meal, and $2.30 provides a pound of food
- $100 covers one counseling session for someone rebuilding their life
- $5,000 can put a roof over someone’s head for 8 months
- $10,000 funds GED preparation for 20 adults, opening doors to new opportunities
Looking for a more hands-on and personal way to be part of the impact?
Consider being a mentor. Right now, One Eighty is especially in need of male mentors. Every person in the One Eighty program is paired with someone who walks beside them, offering encouragement, friendship, and accountability while they rebuild their life. You don’t need any special skills or life experience, just an hour a week and the heart to listen. The impact lasts long after graduation.
Learn more about how you can support One Eighty.
When one neighbor finds stability, the fight doesn’t end. It begins with them. When one person breaks free from addiction or homelessness, it creates a chain reaction that strengthens families, fuels our workforce, and uplifts our entire community. United Way and partners like One Eighty help our neighbors move beyond survival, into lasting stability, creating a web of support that lifts everyone higher. Every person deserves to live well, earn well, and be well, regardless of the challenges or circumstances they may face. And that world transitions from theory to reality when we extend a hand to help our neighbors. When we extend a hand to pull someone up, that inspires another to reach out and help another. Together, we rise above the hunger, the homelessness, the addiction. Together we stand tall. United.