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The Kitchen Sink w/ Feed My People #43 Home for Good

March 6, 2026·32 min·2 clips

How did a family of seven in a one-bedroom apartment find stable housing and start thriving with peer mentorship?

This episode features Susie and guest co-host Michelle interviewing Astrid Gracehart, the executive director of Home for Good, an organization providing housing and support in Eau Claire. Astrid shares her background as a teacher and her work with AmeriCorps and Habitat for Humanity, which revealed how housing instability impacts education. Home for Good began six years ago by acquiring a dozen homes to immediately house families experiencing homelessness. The organization shifted to a "housing first with services" model, partnering with CC We Adapt's peer mentorship program to offer tenancy support. Home for Good uses a master leasing model, acting as the landlord to overcome rental barriers like low credit or lack of rental history for families. The program grew from its original dozen households to 28, with a goal of housing 60 households by the end of the year. Services include trauma-informed property management and a housing retention intervention called the P.L.A.N. meeting for lease issues. Peer mentors help families set SMART goals based on social determinants of health and connect them to community resources. A notable outcome is a 100% high school graduation rate for children who entered the program. Another key statistic is that 15 students transitioned from truancy to regular school attendance in the past year. The organization is launching a new program called The Bridge, offering graduated rent reductions paired with financial coaching from Marine Credit Union. Home for Good collaborates weekly with other housing providers like Family Promise Beacon House and Eau Claire Sober Living, preventing over 100 people, including 67 children, from falling through service gaps last year. Astrid recounts a story of a family of seven living in a severely overcrowded one-bedroom space who were housed within a week through a master lease. That family now regularly visits the YMCA, the mother recently obtained her driver's license, and they are on a path toward homeownership through a community land trust. Listeners can support Home for Good by offering skills in housing, contracting, or creative storytelling, donating specific items like vacuums, or providing financial contributions with clear outcome descriptions. The conversation highlights the direct link between stable housing and reduced food insecurity, with families often first stocking their refrigerators at Feed My People. The tone is conversational, educational, and hopeful, focusing on collaborative solutions and personal narratives. This episode is ideal for listeners interested in local community action, housing policy, education, and nonprofit work. Those seeking purely entertainment-focused content or national political commentary might find it less relevant.

As heard by us

A housing conversation that makes family stability feel concrete.

The Kitchen Sink keeps housing in practical terms, not abstract policy talk. Astrid Gracehart connects stability to the everyday details that follow it: neighborhood care, student attendance, and graduation outcomes.

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Why you'd press play

For a grounded housing conversation about family stability, neighborhood care, and community action.

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