Meet Jessi Hans of Coalition for Compassion and Justice

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessi Hans.

Jessi, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Coalition for Compassion and Justice began in 2000 as a collective of faith-based organizations coming together to meet the needs of their congregates. It quickly became a 501c3 with a mission of serving those living in poverty. Over the years, CCJ has created many services for individuals and families. In 2016, more intense client needs started to emerge, including emergency shelter. That summer, we hosted a community of individuals living in tents on our property each night until the shelter was purchased and opened in November. Serving 45 individuals every night of the year, it became our main place of connection with our most vulnerable clients. It wasn’t long before we realized that homes were the real need and that it was the most impactful and dignified solution. We became Compassionate Landlords within a local trailer partk after receiving donated RVs and buying mobile homes. The mission was to serve those that would not otherwise be housed due to evictions, convictions, or financial insecurity. We became housing focus and it provided the foundation for a mission shift in 2019.

We realized our focused intention was “ending and preventing homelessness.” We, in turn, based each program moving forward on this intention and resurface with five programs including; Home Repair, Stagger Straight Shelter, Advocacy, Employee Readiness, and Second Chance Housing. Streamlining all aspects of our work toward housing, we are determined to create a full spectrum of housing that can afford our clients to grow incrementally. Ranging from $250 to $550 a month currently, we have provide RVs, mobiles, cottages (very tiny homes), and our newest endeavor, The Lodge. Our Lodges are a collaboration with Dorn Homes to build homes with shared spaces and six bedrooms that have private exits and porches. The concept took off and many of Dorn’s trade partners had immediate interest, offering to build in-kind. Essentially, Dorn and their partners will deliver two Lodges to CCJ mid-year at no cost. They will house a total of 12 individuals.

As we continue on with creative concepts, we plan on executing a campground for 15-20 individuals. The concept is a beautiful campground with all the amenities of a KOA and a low weekly rent for those transitioning out of homelessness. We plan on building enough housing to end homelessness locally and make our emergency shelter services obsolete. We hope this is a model that can be replicated with success in similar communities. Along the way we continue to challenge the traditions of nonprofits that are no longer working for the sector and take pride in raising the standards of the workplace to be fully competitive with working business models.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We have certainly had some bumps in the road. Public perception of our work can be accompanied by the stigma of homelessness and the fear response that comes with it. At CCJ we consider each step a part of the process and we have fallen in love with the process. Our motto is, you only fail if you quit. If you keep learning and adjusting, it’s just the journey. The journey can be beautiful and daunting. We have overcome challenges of learning, collaboration, and being relational and conversational with adversaries. In that process, we have gained so much support! We are funded locally by donors, foundations, grants, and faith-based organizations that love our work. We are overcome with gratitude for the community we serve.

Please tell us about Coalition for Compassion and Justice.
We meet “here and now” needs of the most vulnerable in our community. We believe our work is innovative in nature and our outreach efforts are client-centered.

Contact Info:

• Website: YavapaiCCJ.org
• Phone: 9284458382
• Email: jessi.hans@yavapaiccj.org
• Instagram: YavapaiCCJ
• Facebook: Facebook.com/YavapaiCCJ
• Twitter: @YavapaiCCJ

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