Meet One of the umbrella transition Program’s co-founders
addict wanting a fresh start or you were raised in poverty and haven’t yet found a way out, The Umbrella Transition Pro- gram is willing to accept you and work with you. Building community Aside from offering individual need based assistance, The Umbrella Transi- tion Program has a strong community aspect as well. In fact, Anupama sees herself not only as a member of the staff, but also as an active member of the house and community. Her role includes setting up the house for new members, facilitating transitions and doing twice daily check-ins with each member. Anupama says, “The check-ins go further than everything on a clinical level. It’s also like we are all members of the same community, so we treat each other as such. In the same way I might be asking them about their life, I would be sharing about mine as well.”
Anupama Bhattacharya
A nupama Bhattacharya is a co-founder of The Umbrella Transition Program. She met Rodney back in the summer of 2020 at a protest for the murder of George Floyd. At the time, she had been working for another organization that wanted to make a change, yet only provided the homeless with short-term assistance— such as putting them up in a hotel for the night or giving them a free meal— as opposed to something sustainable. Anupama was thrilled to connect with Rodney and the other organizers for the program because they all wanted the same thing: a long-term solution. That’s why they founded The Um- brella Transition Program, which has already helped many people in the Madison area transition out of hom- lessness. Individualization Unlike most organizations with a sim- ilar mission, The Umbrella Transition Program works one-on-one with each individual in order to jump-start a better, brighter future in which they are not simply taken care of, but rather are self-sufficient. Anupama believes that building habits and skills that are sustainable for each unique individual
is a key factor for success. Anupama says, “Being a space that is open to everybody is rare; there are very few spaces that will accept every single situation.” She prides herself and the program on the fact that it is not built to serve just one kind of person or situation. Instead, whether you find yourself homeless due to circumstances beyond your control (such as business shut- downs due to the pandemic), are an
Shown: Resident of umbrella transitin program PHOTO
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online