East Liberty Development received an honorable mention at Friday’s (January 25th) Seventeenth Maxwell Awards of Excellence luncheon sponsored by the Fannie Mae Foundation and the Partnership to End Long Term Homelessness. East Liberty Development was also awarded a $10,000 grant from the Fannie Mae Foundation to continue its work in the field of supportive housing for homeless families.

“We are pleased and honored to have the Sojourner House MOMS project acknowledged as one of the best community-supported housing programs for homeless families in the country,” said Maelene Myers, executive director of East Liberty Development, Inc. “Sojourner MOMS offers a home and neighborhood connections to mothers recovering from addiction, as well as their children. These facilities are so important in combating homelessness in Pittsburgh’s East End and we plan to expand this project.”

“The Fannie Mae Foundation commends East Liberty Development for their outstanding efforts to prevent and end homelessness. We are pleased to award East Liberty Development a grant to continue its efforts to provide supportive housing to homeless families,” said Peter Beard, executive director of the Fannie Mae Foundation.

“East Liberty Development has greatly improved the lives of homeless families through its ability to provide appropriate supportive services and permanent housing for its tenants. They are a wonderful example of an organization committed to ending homelessness in their communities,” said Bob Hohler, executive director of the Melville Charitable Trust and executive committee chairman of the Partnership to End Long Term Homelessness.

Winners were selected by an independent advisory committee for having produced the best examples of supportive housing in four categories: Housing for Homeless Veterans; Housing for Chronically Homeless Individuals; Housing for Homeless Youth; and Housing for Homeless Families. Maxwell Award winners’ case studies are posted on the Partnership to End Long Term Homelessness website at www.endlongtermhomlessness.org.