About Hand Up Housing Non-Profit Organization

About Us

What we focus on:

Faith based 501C3 non-profit that
follows God's plan to help all people
in need.

Mission:
Provide no-cost financial assistance, shelter & housing to Riverbend Area (Madison County) residents on a temporary basis, leading to permanent stability.

Through our Seven-Year Plan, we are committed to ending street homelessness in Madison County by developing long-term housing solutions, supportive services, and sustainable community resources. Our Tethered Technician program provides trained small-group companions who walk alongside individuals, helping them build relational stability and connect with essential resources as they transition toward self-sufficiency.

Organizational Goal: Hand Up Housing will own assets and maintain resources needed to respond when individuals require shelter, housing, or case management services.

Our ultimate goal is for 100% of our clients to obtain self-supported housing through long-term case management and relational support. If our clients desire it and are willing to work for it, we will walk with them every step of the way to help them achieve lasting success.

ABOUT US

How will we do this?

First and Foremost, with God's blessing and through his will only is this possible.

With the use of monetary and in-kind donations we will own and operate buildings and structures for residential housing use. Asset types to include single-family and multi-family units. These can range from typical residential buildings to outside the box thinking such as office building and commercial building conversions. Each asset group/location will be specifically suited and designed to fit the client type
needs.

Duration of stay examples include: temporary shelter and housing (Emergency), short term up to 3 months, mid-term 3-9 months, and long term 1 year or more lease. Client type examples can include but not limited to: Men, Woman, couples, families with children, and clients of all local Riverbend Area nonprofits.

Meet the Team

At Hand Up Housing, our team is dedicated to creating lasting solutions for street homelessness in Madison County, IL. With a shared passion for service, we bring together a diverse skills and experience to support individuals on their journey toward stability. Get to know the people behind the mission and the work we do to build a stronger, more connected community.

Founder, President, & Executive Director

Jason Brunaugh

Jason has lived in the River Bend area his whole life and is the Managing Member of Brunaugh Construction & Design. During the summer of 2019, while inspecting HUD apartments throughout Madison County for needed repairs, he saw several children sleeping in stark bedrooms without beds, so he started a chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace in Alton, IL. This nationwide organization builds bunk beds for children 3-17 years old who need a bed. In the past five years, over 1000 beds have been built and delivered to thankful children throughout Madison and Jersey Counties. Jason’s twenty-six years in construction, experience leading businesses, and involvement with multiple successful non-profits provide the skills needed to help solve the street homeless problem in Madison County.

Director of Community Services

Danielle Robinette

Dani has a Doctorate in Sacred, Traditional, and Indigenous Medicine and uses it to bring a holistic approach to the issues of homelessness through community and individual wellness. Since 2007, when Dani started working with a homeless encampment under a bridge near the St Louis Arch, she has been fighting to

ease the suffering of those on the street. Dani has studied homelessness, mental health, wellness, and poverty since then and has worked with nonprofits and churches to help them understand the complexities of the issues and how

to respond. Dani calls Madison County home and has firsthand experience working with the residents of Madison County. Dani understands homelessness; as a child, she experienced domestic violence and stayed in Alton’s Oasis

Women’s Center with her mother and sibling while losing what she knew as home. Dani hopes that no one will ever experience that uncertainty and depth of loss again.

Director of Finance & Marketing

Madalyn Bugger

Maddie brings a diverse background to the table. With experience in corporate finance and investment banking, coupled with entrepreneurship through her business ventures as well as management experience, she possesses a keen understanding of financial systems and strategic planning. Her passion for philanthropy runs deep, stemming from childhood experiences volunteering at nursing homes and food pantries in Madison and Jersey Counties. Through her journey, she has developed a profound empathy for those affected by homelessness, driving her commitment to addressing this critical issue through innovative financial solutions and sustainable funding strategies. Maddie is excited to leverage her skills and experiences to make a meaningful impact in the mission to combat homelessness and uplift communities in need.

Outreach Coordinator

Donna Lomelino

Donna is a leading expert on street homelessness in Springfield, IL. Her work with Inner City Mission and Memorial Behavioral Health allows her to work closely with the street homeless as she helps them weave through the maze of government expectations. Donna’s Master of Legal Studies also provides an understanding of Street homelessness from a legal perspective, which is needed if the long-term goal of eliminating street homelessness is to be realized.

Our Partnership

Hand Up Housing is proud to partner with Inner City Mission of Springfield, IL, leveraging their years of experience in serving individuals experiencing homelessness. Together, we are diligently working on our Seven-Year Plan for Madison County, combining our expertise to develop effective, long-term solutions for street homelessness.

Helping the homeless find their way Home

Inner City Mission of Springfield, IL

Inner City Mission of Springfield, IL, has housed homeless individuals and families for forty years. Fourteen years into their work, it became clear to leadership that ICM did not have answers to the basic questions about homelessness, and some of the assumptions that helped start the ICM did not seem correct, so the leadership decided to focus on providing the physical needs of the residents while learning from the residents. The mission would become a classroom where we would ask the residents questions, take notes, and look for answers to three basic questions.

What causes homelessness?
Are there different kinds of homelessness?
What are the most productive responses to homelessness?

It was believed that if the shelter were seen as a classroom facilitating conversation, we would eventually find the answers. It took working with thousands of residents and having thousands of conversations over twenty-seven years to find the answers to homelessness in America. Now Inner City

Mission is using its God-given answers to help others create programs that create bridges from homelessness to long-term stability.

Inner City Mission

Why we started this organization?

My faith journey and the will of God, my Father, has moved me to use my years of experience in construction, housing, and non-profit leadership to provide to all people in need, the most needed basic requirement for life. Shelter and Housing.

We do not provide a “Handout” and we are not a free government program. We are a “Hand Up” in life that some people never get due to many causes and circumstances. These hands are directly from God, our Father, and come through his divine intervention..

We are here to aid all people that want Self-Supported Permanent Housing achieve that goal and build them up to live the blessing of the American Dream of home ownership.

Ending of “Generational Renters” in our area. N.H.

Who will we help?

"I want to share my blessings with everyone who wants to
work hard and achieve more in their life and for their family."

Jason M Brunaugh
Founder