Give Till it Hurts!!

For the 3rd consecutive year, we are coordinating the holiday gift drive for the Pathways Family Shelter. Our original shopping list included 22 children, and all of them have been sponsored. Thank you to all sponsors and donors! This week I found out that 10 of the 14 families are leaving the shelter before Christmas, so we could potentially have 10 new families to shop for! It's going to be a crazy holiday season!

For anyone who would like to learn more about the shelter, their children's advocate sent me the information below. If you are a sponsor/donor for this year's gift drive, come on over to our house for brunch on December 15th (any time after 10:30 a.m.) and wrap, eat, drink, and be merry!

Thanks again!!

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From the Pathways Children's Advocate:

"PATHWAYS FAMILY SHELTER

MISSION STATEMENT
“Human dignity requires that every family has a place of its own to call home. Our purpose is to help families develop and use their abilities to resolve their homelessness and any related problems. We provide homeless families with a safe, temporary place to live and assistance in acquiring safe affordable permanent housing.”

Pathways Family Shelter opened its doors on April 30, 1986. Pathways is a program of the South Middlesex Opportunity Council and is funded by the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA). Pathways can accommodate up to 14 families. When a family (mother or father and child/ren, mother and father and child/ren, or single pregnant mother) becomes homeless, they are referred to DTA, who screens the family and places them in a shelter. It does not matter whether the parent in the family is working, receiving Social Security or receiving cash benefits from DTA, everyone must go through this process in order to be referred for shelter.

There are many reasons for a family being homeless and needing to enter shelter. Some families have lived with a roommate or a parent’s boyfriend/girlfriend, were not on the lease and for one reason or another were asked to leave the apartment. Some have experienced a layoff at work or were given reduced hours and found themselves unable to continue to pay their rent. Domestic violence, poor health and lack of support are also factors that have led many families to become homeless. Often, as problems begin to build before a family is actually homeless, the parent does not know where to turn or how to access the help they need. Frustration builds, the problems begin to intensify and they find themselves in crisis.

At Pathways, each family is assigned an advocate, who goes over the policies and expectations of the shelter with them and then begins to explore their situation (i.e., their credit history, their budget, and their medical/psychological issues). Referrals are given for GED classes, ESL classes, daycare, counseling and anything else that the family may need and be willing to try. Housing search is the most important thing that each family does. For most families, public or privately subsidized housing is the only realistic option at this time in their life. They apply to every open housing authority across Massachusetts and are put on a waiting list. This list varies between 18 months to 18 years. Sometimes there is a funding option available where for a period of a year a family would receive help with paying their rent (for example, they may pay $700.00 of a $1000.00 rent). A few families attempt market rate which means finding the cheapest apartment they can. Unfortunately, at this time, Section 8 is frozen, so this option which typically helped families leave shelter within a few months, is unavailable.

Families stay at Pathways typically between several months to 14 months. While in shelter, each family is required to save a minimum of 50% of their monthly income. Daycare slots are available for those parents involved in a school program or who are working. The work situation is a tricky one for our families. For example, a family of two cannot gross more than $1010.00 in a month in order to remain eligible for emergency assistance. This usually means that a mother or father who wants to work needs to take a minimum wage job or work part-time hours. If a family goes over the amount required to qualify them for emergency assistance, the DTA will give the family a termination from shelter date. The one exception to this is each shelter must have one non-emergency assistance room. The family that occupies this room can work and make as much money as they can. These are the families who are in the best position to be able to afford a market rate apartment.

If a family uses their time at Pathways wisely to work on improving their education, repairing credit issues, getting needed medical help, etc.; they improve their chances to succeed when they finally get an apartment. If they want, we remain available for support, referrals, etc. after they leave. When a family is able to leave Pathways to move into their new home, they use their savings for their first, last and security deposit. Whatever remains, they use for furniture and needed household items. Unfortunately, we do not have the space at Pathways to store furniture donations, but sometimes we are fortunate to be able to match a donor with a family who is leaving. We work to help families turn on their utilities in their new apartments, register their children in school if they move out of town, and provide ongoing support as needed."

If you have household items or clothes to donate, email Kim Hicks (kimberly.hicks@verizon.net) to see if they currently have a family who could use your items. They have very limited storage (one bedroom for each family), but if families are moving into permanent housing they can often make use of donated items. The shelter is always in need of toiletries, baby items, cleaning supplies, bedding, towels, and kitchen items. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!