Help Us Change The Narrative During Idaho Gives

Change the Narrative

Join us in combatting stereotypes about our neighbors experiencing housing insecurity.

A word from Community Engagement Manager, Katie McInally

This year Jesse Tree is operating on a budget that is about half of what we were able to use last year. While this is scary, one of our values at Jesse Tree is to be solutions oriented. Losing this much of our budget has us thinking about about what we can do for our neighbors that doesn’t involve spending. We’ve already shared with you one of our strategies, the Tenant Resource Center.

The fact is that the last three years have changed all of us. Jesse Tree is not the same organization that it was three years ago. For context, let’s take a look at Jesse Tree’s budget since we gained 501(c)(3) status in 2002. Keep in mind that we have always the vast majority of our budget directly serving our community, keeping our operations costs to a minimum.

As you can see we have experienced sudden and extreme growth. This rapid expansion has changed us from a small nonprofit with a big vision to one of the largest housing nonprofits in Idaho.

In 2019 we appeared in 9 local press stories, and in 2022 we appeared in 64. This dramatic increase in publicity over such a short period of time has been a humbling experience. We see it as an opportunity, privilege, and responsibility use our voice to amplify the voices and experiences of those we serve.

My job as Community Engagement Manager involves speaking to the community in a wide variety of places. I am always surprised to see shock in people’s eyes when I tell them rent has increased by 40% in the last 3 years, that Boise is now the most unaffordable city in the country, and that the fastest growing demographic of individuals experiencing homelessness in Ada County is children. I often forget that since I eat, sleep, and breath these statistics, my perspective is different than that of the wider community that I address.

We’re not asking you to eat, sleep, and breath these facts like my co-workers and I do. We take on that burden because it is our calling and passion. But there is only so much our voices can do on their own. What we need from you is simple. When you hear someone in your community saying something that perpetuates harmful stereotypes (whether they mean to or not), share what you have learned. The more we keep this dialogue open, the more power we have to reverse harmful stereotypes. These stereotypes are actively contributing to the difficulty our neighbors are experiencing to stay housed.

And of course, because tomorrow marks the opening of Idaho Gives, please give if you can. Any amount that works for your budget is perfect for us.

It is so important for us to help our neighbors understand one another’s experiences. It will help us to recognize when there are fundamental injustices happening and work together to change it. So join us at Jesse Tree this Idaho Gives and change the narrative.

With gratitude,

Katie McInally

Click on the video below to see a preview of our Idaho Gives Campaign where we will give some examples of ways we are helping to change the narrative.