An End-of-Year Message from Executive Director Ellen Carlson

I love roller coasters, even at my age! I love the anticipation of the climb, the rush of the drop, the way your stomach flips on a sharp turn. But I’m able to enjoy them because I know the engineers have designed every heart-racing twist for maximum safety. 2025 felt like being strapped into a roller coaster ride that we didn’t choose to get on, nor that felt safe. Federal policy and funding changes sent us climbing, dropping, and whipping around corners we couldn’t have imagined. We had to lean into every turn and figure out in real-time how to keep everyone as safe as possible–and remain seated in the cart.

What made it possible to stay on the track through all the twists and turns? We held on to each other. Our community strapped in alongside us on the bumpy ride–ascending to maximum highs by partnering to create stability in our community. Throughout the ups and downs and uncertainty, WayForward Resources has stayed grounded in our mission and values, while being nimble and responsive to what was happening around us. And together we made a difference.

One of the most significant challenges of the year occurred a couple of months ago, when SNAP benefits lapsed due to the federal government shutdown. Visits to our food pantry increased rapidly during that time as thousands of local SNAP recipients, who depend on those benefits to buy groceries at the store, worried about how they would feed themselves and their families. I was overwhelmed with sadness by what was happening to people in our community–and at the same time, I was also overwhelmed with gratitude and joy by how the community responded immediately–mobilizing and jumping in with increased food and financial donations. Working late, I would see cars drive in to drop off boxes and bags and carfuls of food without pause. By comparison, we had nearly three times as much food donated during the six weeks after our information went out as we did last year during this same time period. People experiencing this scare had access to ample food because you donated your resources of food, money, and time. We came together in this critical moment because we all envision a community where no one has to worry about if they will go hungry.

And while SNAP benefits have since been restored, much uncertainty and concern remains. Expected federal cuts to SNAP in 2026 will put 90,000 Wisconsinites at risk of losing their benefits. This will increase the number of people relying on food pantries. WayForward’s food pantry and the pantry system in our community are already stretched trying to keep pace with the record-level demand. Thankfully, to date, we have not had to turn anyone away from the food pantry, but it remains challenging to keep our shelves stocked with food. In the year ahead, we will be working even more closely with five other large food pantries in Dane County to explore new ways to order food together in bulk and pool our resources to bring in more food. And we will be relying even more on community food donations and food drives to ensure we can continue to feed our neighbors.

Our housing programs are also experiencing record demand. This past October, we received the most emergency fund requests we have ever had in a single month. One factor is that housing prices in Dane County are climbing much faster than wages. While new housing is continuously being built, it has proved challenging to keep up with Dane County’s growing population of all incomes. (Did you know that some projections have the Dane County area population at more than 1 million people by 2050?) Solving our housing problems truly requires a community-wide effort. This year, we hosted a number of informative presentations in order to share what we are seeing in our programs and hearing from the people we serve with decision-makers and community members. We hope this increased knowledge and understanding will lead to new approaches and effective solutions.

The roller coaster of federal policy changes impacted our housing programs as well. We were awarded a significant federal grant in 2024 to support our Connections program, which helps families in doubled-up situations (living with others because they don’t have anywhere else to stay) move into stable housing. While we had expected the funding to arrive over the summer to pick up where previous funding was sunsetting, it has still not arrived. There continues to be complications and confusion with much of the federal funding for community housing programs. This has caused disruption not only to our program, but to housing programs throughout the community. While we are still hoping for our grant to arrive, we are also exploring alternative ways to support families in this program in 2026.

When people ask me, “How are things?,” it can be difficult to answer! It’s hard right now for so many people in our community. We talk with people every day who are facing huge barriers and who are feeling scared as they have seen a wide range of stability-supporting community resources disrupted. But also, we have been inspired and energized by the strength of our community’s support that has helped us navigate these bumps and curves so that we can continue to provide food and housing resources for our neighbors.

We are still strapped into this bumpy ride. But we’re keeping our eyes wide open, preparing for the year ahead that we anticipate will be full of more unexpected twists and curves. We ask for your continued partnership in our work together to ensure everyone in our community has the nutritious food and stable housing needed to thrive. There are a number of ways you can still join us in making a difference this year. Make a tax-deductible financial donation online, by check, from your IRA, appreciated stock, or donor-advised fund. Donations of your time through volunteering or donations of food also make an immediate, impactful difference. You can purchase items directly from our online wish list for delivery, or use our top 10 list to buy items locally to drop off.

Thank you for choosing to create stability in our community–here, now, and for the future.

Sincerely,

Ellen Carlson, Executive Director

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When so much feels uncertain and unsettled, choose to be a source of stability in our community.

Life can take unexpected turns, as Natalie discovered over a decade ago when her marriage came to an end and she suddenly found herself juggling the challenges of single working motherhood. With young children to care for and a budget that often barely stretched to cover groceries, the pressure was stressful. That’s when Natalie learned about the Food Pantry at WayForward Resources.

Having access to the pantry gave Natalie peace of mind knowing her kids had the nutritious food needed to learn and grow. It allowed her to fill in the gaps with her budget so she could allocate her limited resources towards rent and other essentials.

However, as housing costs rose over the years, the rent increases for Natalie’s apartment had outpaced her income. When her lease renewal time arrived this year, she made the tough decision not to renew. Unfortunately, her search for a new place within her budget came up short, leaving her and her teenage daughter, Emma, without a home. They moved into an extended stay hotel, which was even more financially draining than their previous rent.

Through her connection with the WayForward Food Pantry, Natalie learned about the Housing Stability program and reached out for help. She met with a case manager who referred her to a brand-new affordable housing development, and two months later, she received the good news that she was approved to move into her new home. WayForward assisted with the entry costs at her new place, where the monthly rent is lower, making her financial situation far more manageable. Additionally, remaining in the same neighborhood means her daughter can stay at her school, maintaining friendships and continuity in her education. Natalie feels a renewed sense of hope for a brighter, more stable future for her and her family. 

 “Once again, thank you for everything that you have done for me and my family,” shared Natalie with her case manager Laurie Horton. Laurie responded, “It’s your neighbors who made this possible.” 

With your support, we’re making a difference in people’s lives, like Natalie and Emma’s.

Give Today to Create Stability. Here. Now. And for the Future.

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*A representative name and photo have been used, and identifying details changed, to protect client confidentiality.

Create stability for people in our community. Your support prevents evictions and provides food access.

After years in an abusive relationship. Madeline* made the decision to leave her partner and get a fresh start for herself and her children. However, as a stay-at-home mom, she had no income, and her partner controlled the household finances. On her own, she couldn’t afford the apartment her family was living in.

Fortunately, Madeline reached out to WayForward Resources and connected with a case manager. She discussed her need to find work, childcare, and an affordable place to live for her family. She also wanted to stay in her current neighborhood to allow her kids to remain focused and engaged in school and connected to their friends.

Together, she and her case manager worked on a planned move with these goals in mind. WayForward provided financial assistance that Madeline applied toward the remaining months’ rent at the too­-expensive apartment and offered our food pantry as a resource option, which could allow her to save funds to pay the security deposit at a new place. Madeline and her family’s new apartment is much more affordable and still within her children’s school district.

Domestic violence is a leading cause of housing instability and homelessness for women. Survivors are often forced to leave their homes to escape abuse, only to then face barriers in obtaining and maintaining safe housing, including limited access to financial resources and discrimination by housing providers. Women who experience violence are also disproportionately more likely to experience food insecurity than the general population. Food security plays a vital role in a person’s well-being, affecting school, employment, and health outcomes.

With record demand for our food and housing services, your support is needed now more than ever.

Our food pantry is experiencing four times as many visits as we had only four years ago, and distributing the equivalent of over 112,000 meals a month. Last year over we invested 161% more funds across all of our housing programs from five years ago. [updated 11/24/2025]

Your support helps families like Madeline’s feel safe and stabilized in their new beginnings.

Join us in building a strong community where everyone has enough food to eat and a warm place to sleep. Donate today to make a difference. Thank you!

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*A representative name and photo have been used to protect client confidentiality.

Sandra* has a disability that causes her a lot of pain. She relies on her electric wheelchair to get around and maintain independence. When Sandra’s enhanced FoodShare benefits ended, she couldn’t afford to buy both healthy food and pay her electric bill. Sandra faced a difficult choice: purchase food or keep her power on—the power she needed not just for basic living but also for her mobility. 

Sandra contacted WayForward Resources for help preventing her power being disconnected. WayForward was able to send some funds toward her electric bill and provided her with food deliveries from our pantry twice a month. “It’s been a huge help,” Sandra tells us.

Her story reflects the stark challenges faced by Americans with disabilities in meeting their basic needs. According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service (2023), food insecurity affects 33% of U.S. households with an adult who is out of the labor force due to disability, compared to just 10% of households without adults with a disability. This means households with an adult with a disability are over three times more likely to struggle with consistent access to adequate food.

The connection between disability and food insecurity is further documented by Feeding America’s 2022 research. Among the 79 million older adults over 60 in the United States, those with disabilities experience food insecurity at more than twice the rate of older adults without disabilities. These statistics highlight how disabilities can create compounding challenges, often forcing people to choose between essential needs like food, medicine, and utilities.

Your donations to WayForward help neighbors like Sandra maintain their independence and access to nutritious food. When you give, you provide critical support that provides housing stability and food security, and helps our community members meet their basic needs. 

Join us in our work together to create stability for community members like Sandra.

*A representative photo and name have been used to maintain client confidentiality

A year-end message from WayForward Executive Director Ellen Carlson

It’s been another year of unprecedented growth at WayForward. For an organization that focuses on providing the basic building blocks of stability–food and housing, growth is both positive and negative.

On one hand, we have made an impact on more people’s lives than ever before. Thanks to the support of the community, we have been able to serve over 13,000 people last year–more than twice as many as the year before. That means twice as many people have been able to avoid eviction and stay in their homes and have received the nutritious food they need.

On the other hand, our organizational growth has been driven by the tremendous rise in demand for our services. That’s why unprecedented growth is also cause for concern. We are seeing three times as many visits to our food pantry as we did just two years ago, and our case managers are booking emergency housing appointments out weeks in advance.

Numbers like these mean many visitors are coming to our food pantry for the first time. In fact, 50% of people who came to the food pantry last year were first-time visitors. Children and families with children are overrepresented. Around 75% percent of people who received food were in households with children. And nearly 100% of families served by our Connections program, a housing program that works with those in doubled-up housing situations, have children.

Key factors in this increased demand for our services include the rise in food prices, the population growth in Dane County and in Middleton and west Madison specifically, and perhaps most significantly, the increase in housing prices in our area. While we have a very low unemployment rate in Dane County, many of these jobs don’t pay enough to cover the rising cost of living here. Community members who were just barely making ends meet before are now unable to absorb a $150/month rent increase. With no increase in pay and nowhere cheaper to rent, they are turning to WayForward to bridge the gap.

These are big problems–problems that are greater than anything WayForward can address alone. And with the affordable housing gap widening and housing prices continuing to rise, we expect the number of people unable to cover the basic expenses of food and housing to continue to grow. We are committed to continuing to adapt, innovate and expand and to do all we can to make sure people have the food and stable housing they need to lay a solid foundation.

We also know that problems that are larger than us require solutions that are larger than us. We have already seen the community responding with growing support. Thank you. As we have shared with you what we are seeing, we are continuously met with offers to join the effort to build a strong community where everyone has the basic building blocks of stability. Because of your support, we have raised more dollars and brought in more community donated food this year than any previous year in our history. This is what has made it possible for us to serve more people than ever before.

In the months and years ahead, we will continue to need your support. As we expect to see demand continuing to increase, the only way we can meet it is with increased support. There are a number of ways you can still make a tax-deductible financial donation this year. Donations of your time or donations of food can also make an immediate difference. You can purchase items directly from our wish list or use our top 10 list to purchase items locally.

Donations like these help us address the immediate needs of the people coming in our doors every day. But we know that we must do more and dig deeper to address the larger issues that are leading to this increased need for food and housing support in our community. We invite you to learn more about these issues and add your voice to the conversations to develop larger, community-wide solutions. We will be hosting some opportunities in this coming year and sharing some opportunities hosted by others.

Our mission statement says we bring the community together to create food and housing security. We know the only way to create stability is through a community-wide effort. Thank you for joining with us this past year. We look forward to continuing to work together in 2025.

Sincerely,

Ellen Carlson, Executive Director

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Food and housing are the basic building blocks of stability. When we work together, we can build a strong community where everyone has food to eat and a warm place to sleep.

*Jenna had always ensured that she and her son had the basics covered – a safe place to sleep, enough food and funds to cover medical appointments, clothes and other essentials. Then last year, her apartment rent rose beyond what she could afford. The stability she had worked so hard to maintain disappeared and the little family suddenly found themselves homeless. “I was afraid, devastated, and demoralized,” Jenna said. She temporarily moved back in with her parents, but the situation was not sustainable. Unsure how to move forward, she felt like she didn’t have any options.

That’s when Jenna learned about WayForward. She began visiting the food pantry, relieving the stress of knowing where their next meal would from. She found free clothes for her son at the Clothing Center. Meanwhile, Jenna enrolled in one of WayForward’s housing programs which provided rental assistance as well as case management to keep her and her son in stable housing and avoid a return to homelessness. “With my case manager’s help, I was able to secure a two-bedroom apartment this year in a safe and beautiful part of town!” Jenna is also preparing for the future, “I have taken classes to help me budget wisely and learn to manage my money so when I have to pay rent alone next year, I will be able to do so with confidence,” she  said. Jenna is no longer afraid for the future. Instead, she sees a path forward filled with possibilities. *name and identifying details changed

The basic building blocks matter. Everyone needs healthy food and stable housing to thrive. Children do better in school and have better mental and physical health outcomes when they have reliable access to food. Families who stay in their homes and avoid eviction have stronger employment opportunities, lower level of toxic stress and fewer hospital visits.

Community support makes successes like Jenna and her son’s possible. Give today to create stability and build a strong community.

The first day of school seems far away, but you can help kids start the year ready to learn right now by supporting our programs that provide them with the tools they need to succeed.

Hundreds of families with students from 4K to college rely on WayForward for school supplies, as well as food to help kids learn and grow and housing assistance to prevent eviction.

• 75% of the households that use our pantry have children.
• Children who live in households without enough food face barriers to reaching their potential.
• Food insecurity is linked with lower skills in math and reading.

Your gift of $100, $250, $500, $1,000 or any other amount can help us buy school supplies, provide nutritious food to fuel students and ensure children can remain in their homes and don’t have to change schools.

 

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When Rafa*, 21, and his younger sister Gabriela, 19, came to WayForward, they were staying in an overcrowded apartment with a relative.

The siblings have lived in the United States for a couple of years while their parents remained in Mexico due to immigration issues. In the meantime, the environment they were living in became increasingly hostile and complicated. It did not feel like home.

A community member referred Rafa and Gabriela to WayForward’s Connections Program, which assists people in doubled-up living situations with finding and moving into homes of their own. With support from WayForward’s Connections bilingual case manager, the two young adults learned everything about the process of finding housing, including what to look for and potential costs. Within the first month, WayForward found an apartment that was perfect for them, both in price and location. They moved in over the summer and, after a long and complicated journey, they are motivated about the future and working hard on their next steps to be stable.

For Rafa and Gabriela, having a case manager who speaks their language and understands their culture meant the world as they navigated this major step to adulthood. They trust that their future is off to a great start and they don’t feel alone anymore. In the words of the community member who has kept in touch with the brother and sister over the last year: “You guys are changing lives.”

The pair were recently joined by a younger sibling who joined their household to finish high school. They recently shared their experience with their case manager.

How did the Connections program help you move into your own apartment?

The housing navigation along with the financial support that our family has received from the Connections/Wayforward program has helped us to move on from our vulnerable situation. Being a new renter and also a head of household at this young age it is hard to navigate the systems and also afford housing on our own in this market.

How has your life changed since you started working with WayForward?

There has been a positive change in our lives. Thanks to the support of WayForward and our caring case manager, they have made a huge impact on the well-being of me and my siblings. The most important being that we now have a place to call home. I am now even saving to get a car as my next goal.

What would you tell a friend or neighbor if they asked you to describe what it was like working with WayForward?

The hard work of the staff at WayForward makes a real difference. This is an experience where I have learned and felt supported. I would recommend for anyone in need to reach out since their work and support is exceptional.

*names and identifying details changed

Joel Baker, Doubled Up Housing Case Manager, recently joined WayForward’s team after relocating to Wisconsin from Kentucky. He assists doubled up families who enroll in our Connections Program by providing housing search assistance, advocacy services, case planning, and referrals. He has worked in a number of roles serving families in his career, including Head Start (serving low income families with children from birth to 5 years old), therapeutic foster care, and as a teacher working with at-risk youth. He has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and criminal justice from Western Michigan University, post baccalaureate Elementary Teaching Certification from Oakland University and a masters in education from Western Kentucky University. Joel has raised twin boys who are now young adults and in his free time enjoys e-biking and traveling, including van camping.

When Carlito first heard about WayForward, he and his wife, Erin, were out of options for how they would continue to pay rent and have enough food to eat.

A temporary job Carlito was working had come to an end. Meanwhile a more permanent one he had targeted for his next step was so far not offering him full-time hours, so he worked when he could. One day, Carlito almost ran out of gas to get to work before he could afford to fill up the tank again. In the middle of this stressful run of events that followed the loss of regular income, two women he knew told him WayForward might be able to help. Carlito was skeptical. “That doesn’t exist,” he told them.

Still, the couple reached out and connected with WayForward, where a case manager worked with them to provide one-time eviction prevention funds to cover their rent and allow them to stay in their home. They also began visiting the food pantry to help fill the gaps in their budget and have appreciated choosing from a variety of proteins that they ration carefully — from chicken to chorizo to bacon. “Those are staples for our dinners for six days,” he says.

Carlito says the experience has changed his life. He’s never felt more welcomed than he does at WayForward by staff and volunteers. Rather than judgment, he feels support. “You’re sustaining us and you could care less about our race, religion, or political affiliation,” he says. “Working with WayForward was purely a lifeline. It gave me hope in humanity.”

WayForward’s Housing Stability Program is focused on eviction prevention and is full of success stories like Carlito’s. We provided financial assistance to more than 600 households last year to program participants who received one-time funds to cover rent, utility bills or unexpected auto repairs.

When you support WayForward, you join us in making it possible for more people in our community to stay in their homes and get the nutritious food they need. Your donation today can help make an immediate difference and will be used where it’s most needed.