New executive director Keri Haskins moving Neighbor by Neighbor forward into the future

BY FRANCESCA SAGALA

Keri Haskins loves helping others.

Which is why when she caught wind that Neighbor by Neighbor needed a fulltime executive director after the former one, Linnea Berg, retired to keep the 501 c 3 organization moving forward into 2023 and beyond, she decided to jump onboard.

“I love their mission of helping people go from dependence to independence and that looks a little different for all people, so I just felt like my background and what I love to do really aligned well with Neighbor by Neighbor,” Haskins, who became the new executive director last month, said.

Haskins, who has a bachelor’s degree in communications from Miami University and a master’s degree in counseling from Andrews University, was a counselor at Bridgman Public Schools for almost 12 years. She’s an adjunct professor of counseling and psychology at Andrews University.

She became familiar with Neighbor by Neighbor when it started servicing up through the Bridgman area (the main service area is The Pokagon Fund area).

“One of my favorite parts of my job was helping others and helping them basically get hooked up with resources and that’s something Neighbor by Neighbor can provide as well as many different organizations too we can partner with and other people can partner with,” Haskins said.

Neighbor by Neighbor began when Linnea Berg, a retired nonprofit executive, met with Janet Cocciarelli, the former executive director of The Pokagon Fund, who shared local data that indicated that there was significant poverty in the area and a lack of resources to help them.

Berg was working as a part-time administrative assistant at the Episcopal Church of the Mediator in Harbert, whose priest, Rev. Paula Durren, was a trained master’s level therapist and worked in the field for over 20 years. Soon, the church became the first fiduciary manager of a new program targeting southwest Berrien County low-income residents.

On July 1, 2017, Neighbor by Neighbor was born (although it didn’t have that name yet).

Megan Bolinder, the first employee, was meeting people requesting help and giving them information on how to get it when she realized that what people needed was much more extensive than contact information.

In 2020, Kohring, who was providing direct client services, became the organization’s part-time executive director.

After Durren, who now serves as co-chair of the organization’s board of directors, retired as priest from Church of the Mediator, Harbert Community Church became the fiduciary for Pokagon grants.

Haskins credits The Pokagon Fund for giving so much funding to Neighbor by Neighbor through the years. Grants have also been received from United Way and they’re applying for one through the

Berrien Community Foundation.

“We’ve had people donate, people volunteer, year-round residents, second home owners…Everyone’s been so supportive in realizing there’s a need in this area,” she said.

Berg said that watching the organization grow “from humble beginnings to a thriving nonprofit in five years is one of the most satisfying things in my long career.”

“Neighbor by Neighbor continues to be an essential contributor to the quality of life in Harbor Country, keeping people housed with the lights on and food on the table...It doesn’t get much better than that, and I am proud to retire and hand over the reins to a competent and enthusiastic leader in Keri Haskins,” she said, adding that she’ll continue to help Neighbor by Neighbor “as a volunteer in whatever capacity I can.”

Throughout the pandemic, people got back on their feet due to extra economic support from the government; then, the “bottom dropped out.”

“Inflation is almost starting and grocery prices have gone up, gas has gone up, utilities have gone up and it put people into poverty who’ve never been in poverty before,” she said.

Figuring out how she can support the organization’s staff and board of directors will help Haskins meet this challenge –and other ones – going forward.

“How do we stay healthy and keep growing - that’s kind of our goal: To make sure we that have a handle on what we’re currently doing but then where do we move into the future,” she said.

The organization was able to secure a permanent office space at 16170 Red Arrow Highway Union Pier in 2021. Throughout the pandemic (during which the organization grew from serving 150 people to 752 in 12 months), Kohring was working out of her car.

Haskins said they’re already outgrowing the space. Recently, they’ve added a social worker case manager: Jessica Kidwell-Saboski, who’s looking to grow her office more.

The office contains a food pantry cabinet, as well as has diapers. There’re also senior commodities, as Neighbor by Neighbor helps with boxes of food delivery to seniors once a month, as well as helps with holiday giving.

“We have a lot of things coming in but don’t always have the space to store it - so we’re still kind of exploring how to do that,” Haskins said.

Haskins said she’s rising to the challenge, though.

“I’m excited about our future - I’m still figuring out and learning and collaborating with others in this organization as to where that’s going to go but I feel like we definitely have room for growth…There’s just always going to be a need to help people in this area and so we want to make sure we can help meet that and provide for them,” she said.

More information on Neighbor by Neighbor can be found at www. neighborbyneighbor.org.