Well before the term "permanent supportive housing" was coined, our founders, Bill and Elaine Kremens, recognized the needs of people without housing were great. They provided the vision, energy, and resources to start a project that has endured over three decades and transformed the lives of many.
In the late 1980's, following a sermon by Rabbi Avis Miller on homelessness in Washington DC, Elaine Kremens decided it was time to act. She organized a group of congregants at Adas Israel Congregation to staff the shelter at Luther Place Memorial Church every Thursday night for over five years.
In an effort to bring the social action agenda and the issue of homelessness more directly to the attention of the entire congregation and the entire community, Elaine organized a special program about homelessness in 1987 and invited Reverend Steinbruck to be the major speaker. He challenged the congregants to create a permanent home for some homeless people.
Elaine and Bill made sure it happened. They formed a task force to research what it would take to create this home, how to pay for it, and in 1987, the Board of Managers of Adas Israel approved the foundation of the Anne Frank House unanimously.
Elaine ensured residents would receive case management services from Lutheran Social Services and she worked to find a house mother to be a residential supervisor for the group of women. Bill, meanwhile sold his baseball card collection to pay rent on the group home. He was instrumental in raising funds through large donations and other campaigns with the Adas Israel PTA Channukah Project, the Adas Israel nursery school. and a special fund for the Anne Frank House that is still used today to pay for housing costs of our residents.
Over the years, they continued to support and nurture the organization. Bill made sure funds were available for building maintenance and other organizational needs. Elaine remained the longest serving Board member, active to the very year she passed away.
From The Wisdom of Ben Sira,
“Let us not seek to understand what is too difficult for us, nor search for what is hidden, nor be preoccupied with what is beyond, for we have been shown more than we can comprehend.
As a drop of water in the sea, as a grain of sand on the shore are our few days in eternity. The good things in life last for a short time, but a good reputation endures forever.”
