LAURINNOVATIONS LOVES
TURNING HOMELESSNESS INTO A PATHWAY HOME
Laurinnovations Loves is the nonprofit side of my vision, created with one primary goal: to develop a real, long-term solution for homeless families with children.
I don't want to simply give families a temporary place to sleep.
I want to help create a pathway that allows families to stabilize their lives, develop the skills they need to become self-sufficient, and ultimately move into a single-family home with their children.
WHY I CREATED THIS INITIATIVE
I have experienced homelessness twice in my life. I know firsthand how difficult it is to navigate homelessness and how temporary many of the available solutions can feel.
A family should not have to choose between sleeping in a shelter, living in a vehicle, staying wherever they can, or constantly worrying about where they will sleep next.
Families need stability. Children need stability.
And parents deserve an opportunity to rebuild without constantly living in survival mode.
THE TRANSITIONAL HOUSING FORMULA™
My vision is to provide homeless families with children with rent-free transitional housing for up to two years.
During those two years, families would not simply receive housing. They would participate in a structured program designed to help prepare them for independent living and long-term stability.
Families would participate in monthly programming that includes financial literacy, emotional intelligence, agriculture and self-sufficiency education, and other resources designed to help them build the skills they need for the future.
Parents would also be required to participate in first-time homebuyer education to help prepare them for eventually becoming homeowners.
Monthly mandatory drug testing would also be part of the program for participating parents.
The goal is not to keep families in transitional housing indefinitely.
The goal is to help families become ready to transition into a single-family home with their children.
SERVICES AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT
The initiative is designed to provide families with more than just a roof over their heads.
CHD would be on site to provide services and support to participating families.
I also envision an indoor recreation and wellness center where children and families can have a safe place to play, participate in activities, and spend time together.
The goal is to create an environment where families can heal, learn, grow, and prepare for their next chapter.
THE SEARCH FOR A HOME
Turning this vision into reality has not been easy.
I have already taken steps toward acquiring Cabotville Industrial Park in Chicopee, Massachusetts, as a potential location for the initiative, but that opportunity ultimately did not work out.
I then began working toward acquiring another property in Springfield, Massachusetts, with the hope of developing the initiative there.
Although I did not receive the level of support I had hoped for from the City of Springfield, I am not giving up.
I am still looking for the right property and the right community where this vision can become reality.
BUILDING THE NON-PROFIT
I am currently working through the nonprofit formation process with the IRS so that Laurinnovations Loves can continue moving toward becoming the organization I envision.
There are many steps involved in turning an idea into an operating nonprofit, but I am continuing to take those steps one at a time.
I believe the right opportunity will eventually come together.
TAKING THE IDEA BEYOND ONE CITY
I don't believe this solution should only exist in one community.
I have shared the Transitional Housing Formula™ with major cities experiencing homelessness not only throughout the United States, but internationally as well.
My hope is that communities will look at the concept, determine what could work within their own local systems, and adapt it to meet the needs of their families.
Homelessness exists in communities around the world.
A solution should have the potential to travel with it.
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
I have also tried to bring the community together through events designed to create positive relationships between families and local first responders.
One of the ideas I pursued was a community basketball game involving police, fire, EMS, and the Hampden County Sheriff's Department.
Unfortunately, I did not receive the level of support I had hoped for to make that event happen.
But that hasn't changed my desire to bring communities together.
Sometimes an idea doesn't work the first time.
That doesn't mean the idea is over.
WHAT I BELIEVE
I believe families experiencing homelessness deserve more than temporary assistance.
I believe children deserve the opportunity to grow up in a safe and stable home.
I believe parents deserve an opportunity to rebuild their lives without being permanently defined by the circumstances that caused them to become homeless.
And I believe communities can do more than simply manage homelessness.
We can work toward ending the cycle.
THE VISION
My ultimate goal is to create a model that can be implemented, adapted, and replicated by communities across the country and eventually around the world.
I am still searching for the right location. I am still building the nonprofit.
I am still looking for supporters, partners, resources, and people who believe that there are better ways to approach homelessness.
And I am not giving up.
This initiative started with an idea.
Now I am working to turn that idea into a place families can call home.
GET INVOLVED
If you are a municipality, organization, or individual interested in supporting or learning more
about this initiative, we would love to connect. This is more than a housing project—it is a
pathway to independence, stability, and lasting change.
CONTACT:
Lauren LaBelle
Founder, Laurinnovations LOVES (nonprofit status pending with IRS)