Media Alert: May 23, 2023
Tomorrow – Siemer Institute Founders, Barbara and Al Siemer, to Meet with Local FHAS and United Way of the Midlands Program Participants
Who: Barbara and Al Siemer of the Siemer Institute and participants in the Progressive Families Program
Why: For the past decade, United Way of the Midlands (UWM) has had the honor of partnering with Barbara and Al and the Siemer Institute to improve outcomes for local families who are facing the imminent risk of homelessness in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro. Through UWM’s partnership with Family Housing Advisory Services (FHAS) to administer the Progressive Families Program, to date, approximately 430 local families have been served through this joint effort.
What: Children have always been at the center of Barbara and Al Siemer’s work. As a school teacher, Barbara grew keenly aware of the effect that a stable home had on her students. When families experienced homelessness or eviction, it led to what she called “school instability” and negatively affected student performance in school.
In Sarasota in 2003, Barbara and Al approached the United Way about developing and funding a program to address school mobility challenges experienced by her students and other children. The United Way embraced their idea, and in its first year alone – 97 families averted homelessness, keeping 147 children in school, and the following year numbers doubled.
Since its founding in 2011, the Siemer Institute has served 30,000 families and 60,000 children across the U.S. by improving family financial and housing stability, while creating opportunities for families to thrive and for students to achieve academic success. For more information about the Siemer Institute, go to: familystability.org/
When: Wednesday, May 24
12:30 – 1:20 p.m.
Where: The Connect at the Highlander Accelerator
2112 N. 30th Street
Omaha, NE
Interview Opportunities:
• Barbara Siemer, Co-Founder – The Siemer Institute
• Shawna Forsberg, President and CEO – United Way of the Midlands
• Matthew Wallen, Senior Vice President, Community Impact & Analytics – United Way of the Midlands