ARTICLE: We can expect a dramatic rise in Pierce County’s homeless population
From the Tacoma News Tribune:
We can expect a dramatic rise in Pierce County’s homeless population
Last updated: November 1st, 2011 12:18 AM (PDT)Imagine for a minute that a tornado hits Sumner and does extensive damage. Afterward, people will be displaced until repairs can be accomplished over a period of several years. The 2010 Census listed Sumner’s population as 9,541 persons.
Now consider that in Pierce County as a whole, an estimated 9,030 persons will lose their DSHS financial assistance by the end of this year. As a result, they will lose – or be at severe risk of losing – their housing. More than 5,000 of those persons will have exhausted their Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF) benefits. At least 3,300 will be children.
DSHS will terminate 3,930 adults from Disability Lifeline (DL) today. Some (maybe half) of those persons will be eligible for housing assistance vouchers worth an average of $200 a month for those already housed on DL and $450 a month for those unhoused.
The median rental price for a one-bedroom apartment in Pierce County currently is around $700 per month. Median rental for a two-bedroom apartment is around $900 per month. Neither price includes the cost of background checks and damage deposits. Given those rental costs, all former DL recipients will be at very significant risk of homelessness.
In addition, foreclosure filings are now averaging around 600 filings per month. We are not certain how many people will lose their housing because of foreclosure, but let’s just guess 1,000 per month or 12,000 per year. Many of those people will move to rental housing, thus driving up the rental rates, and driving down the already very limited supply of available and affordable rentals. Some will become homeless.
AccessPoint4Housing (AP4H) is the central place to call for housing assistance in Pierce County. AP4H reports that it received 3,403 unduplicated requests for housing assistance during July, August and September of this year. It was able to help attain or preserve housing for only 378 of those callers, because resources are so limited. Of the requests, 1,340 came from single parents with children (reflecting the end of their TANF benefits).
A group of people equivalent to the population of Sumner probably will be homeless in Pierce County by the end of this year. Maybe equivalent to the combined populations of Sumner and Orting.
We need to consider how each of us will help our neighbors, because there are not a lot of official options. Our homeless shelters are already full. Government will do what it can, as will the social services organizations. The religious communities will do what they can. But it will not be enough. Displaced people will “double up,” “couch surf” or share housing. People will live in their cars. But it will not be enough.
Despite our best efforts, many people will not find shelter. Even though we do not tend to think of it this way, they will become refugees. They will need both our help and understanding just to survive.
When things get so bad that just trying to survive is the only real choice available to displaced people, local governments will need to accept encampments and tent cities, also insisting that they maintain sanitation, safety and prohibitions on drug abuse.
Al Ratcliffe is a community psychologist who serves as the volunteer chairman of Pierce County’s HUD-mandated housing Continuum of Care Committee. The opinions expressed here are solely his own.
2010 Annual Report and 2011 Summer Newsletter is here!
The 2010 Annual Report and our Summer Newsletter is here – combined in one document to save costs on printing and mailings (hey – there’s a recession on here!). We are excited to feature our Community Garage partnership with Our Savior Lutheran Church, as well as great family stories and an update on how we are changing to meet the needs of the community most effectively. And of course, our financials are included.
We look forward to hearing any feedback you may have after reading the report! Find us on Facebook or make a comment below.
VIDEO: Evidence of a Change: Motivational Interviewing (MI) vs. Coaching
Helping Hand House’s Pat Williams describes the elements that make evidence-based Motivational Interviewing (MI) is effective in creating change, as compared to “coaching.” Motivational Interviewing is the model used by Helping Hand House case managers, and is extremely effective at helping individuals overcome challenges and achieve their goals. Learn more about HHH’s use of Motivational Interviewing
Homelessness: Schools give students consistency amid uncertainty
Helping Hand House featured in article from the Puyallup School District, a key partner in serving homeless families in east Pierce County.
Homelessness: Schools give students consistency amid uncertainty
The hardest part was giving away his cat.
“We had to leave our house,” Christopher recalls, and there was no place for Whiskers.
The 8-year-old packed up his clothes and toys, gave his cat to a nearby farm, and left the quiet Puyallup neighborhood where he played in the yard and walked to and from school.
“It was devastating for him,” recalls Wildwood Elementary counselor, Dorothy Wilgus. “He came to school crying and had a hard time concentrating.”
Two years and several moves later, including time spent in a hotel and in a travel trailer, Christopher lives with his sister, mother, and mother’s boyfriend in an apartment shelter program in Tacoma.
He spends an hour-and-a-half on the bus to and from school so that he can continue to be surrounded by familiar teachers and friends at Wildwood Elementary in Puyallup.
“He is a very resilient student, always with a positive attitude,” Wilgus said. “When he found out he could stay at Wildwood, he worked really hard in class and volunteered to help with school activities.”
Christopher is one of more than 200 homeless students this year in the Puyallup School District. Each student has his or her own story of struggle and, in many cases, success.
The number of homeless students continues to grow districtwide and is on pace to exceed last year’s total of 304 students by June, said Barb Pope, director of student services.
Puyallup School District’s rise in homelessness mirrors a trend across the state and the country as parents lose jobs in the difficult economy and get evicted from their homes.
The increase is also due, in part, to more diligent efforts by educators to identify homeless students and provide them services to be successful in school, Pope said.
The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction reported in December that 21,826 homeless students enrolled in Washington schools in the 2009-10 school year. That number is up five percent from the previous year and up 56.5 percent from 2005-06.
Not since the Great Depression have so many people in this country been without homes, reports the National Center on Family Homelessness. Homeless families make up more than a third of the homeless population nationally.
Where are homeless students?
“Homeless” is defined by federal law as someone who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.
Students live in cars, under bridges, in the woods, on the riverbank, in emergency shelters, in garages, and in motels or hotels.
They await permanent foster care placement, and they are doubled-up living with relatives or friends — all sharing one house because they can’t afford to live on their own.
They have been abandoned by their families and have been labeled “couch surfers” because they move regularly from house to house, often sleeping on friends’ sofas.
“The story from many parents is that the kids aren’t following house rules, so they kick them out or they leave on their own,” Pope said. “The hidden truth in many of these cases is the kids are being abused.”
She tells of one Rogers High School teen who recently lived in his friend’s bedroom closet.
“The boy who lived in the home would hide his friend in the closet and sneak him dinner so the parents wouldn’t find out,” Pope said. “This is what our kids are facing. Instead of concentrating on learning, students worry about their next meal or where they are going to sleep.”
Emerald Ridge High School counselor Richard Mitchell added, “The most heartbreaking thing for me was when a family moved to California and told their teenage son, ‘You’re not coming.’ This was a decent kid, but they were just ready to move on with their lives. As a kid, what do you do? How do you cope with that kind of abandonment? That’s heartbreaking.”
Services for homeless children and youth
When a child’s life is in upheaval, the federal McKinney-Vento Homelessness Act has provisions designed to ensure a consistent and stable education.
The law mandates that children of homeless individuals, as well as unaccompanied youth, have equal access to the same free public education, including a public preschool education, as provided to other children and youth.
Homeless students are eligible to receive transportation back to their “school of origin” — the school they attended when they became homeless — or enroll in the school closest to where they relocate.
Research shows that children can lose anywhere between four and six months of academic progress with a transfer to a new school, Pope said.
For Cynthia, who was evicted from her apartment on South Hill in September, having her three school-age children be able to remain at their same schools has been “a godsend.”
She was evicted from the apartment, she said, because the two youngest preschool-age children made too much noise. The family had no choice but to put their furnishings in storage, pack their suitcases with clothes and toiletries, and live in motels and with friends. Several months ago, the family settled in downtown Puyallup and is sharing an apartment with a former neighbor.
“The kids have bounced around quite a bit,” she said. “It was important to me that they stay at their same school. I wanted to make sure they had something stable in their life.”
Cynthia said she was embarrassed at first to contact Wilgus, the school counselor at Wildwood Elementary, to explain her plight.
“She made me feel so comfortable,” Cynthia said. “I am so glad I opened up to her, because I don’t know where we would be without the school’s help.”
Students who qualify for McKinney-Vento homeless services also receive free breakfast and lunch, school supplies, school clothing, and tutoring.
They may also participate in after-school sports and activities and attend school functions, such as dances, with reduced or waived fees.
“We provide the supplies, gym clothes and other materials that they need for school,” said Bev Showacy, coordinator of the district’s elementary counseling program. “It takes a burden off of the parents who are already concerned about how they will get by financially. When you are deciding between paying for electricity or school supplies, which are you going to choose?”
The law also makes it easier for homeless families to enroll their children in school. Families are not, for example, required to provide documentation such as proof of residency, transcripts from previous schools, and immunization records.
Even if a student finds permanent housing during the school year, they still receive McKinney-Vento services through June, Pope said.
While some families relocate a few miles away from their original home and school, others move to neighboring cities, sometimes even into another county.
This year, the district transports students to Puyallup from as far away as Eatonville, Kent, Tacoma, Federal Way, Graham, and Covington.
Elementary students are generally transported by school bus, while junior high and high school students are given metro bus passes. Once their metro bus arrives in Puyallup, students can connect to an existing school bus route or, if close enough, walk to school.
While the law mandates that the district transport students, it does not come close to adequately funding the program, Pope said. Last year, the Puyallup School District spent more than $150,000 to transport homeless students to and from school.
“We work hard to cut costs wherever we can,” Pope said. “Ultimately, we are here to help these students.”
Signs of homelessness
Pope has developed a flier for school counselors listing common warning signs of homelessness. The information is adapted from fliers created by the Illinois and Pennsylvania Departments of Education. Homeless students may exhibit the following signs:
- Poor health and nutrition: Unmet medical and dental needs, chronic hunger (may hoard food), and fatigue (may fall asleep in class).
- Transportation and attendance problems: Erratic attendance or tardiness, inability to contact parents, avoidance of class field trips.
- Poor hygiene: Wear the same clothes for several days, lack of shower facilities or washing machines to stay clean.
- Not ready for class: Lack of basic school supplies, incomplete or missing homework.
- Social and behavioral cues: Poor self-esteem, difficulty trusting people, protective of parents, “old” beyond their years.
“Being homeless can affect how children learn, can lead to depression, and can be misdiagnosed as learning disabilities,” Pope said.
When a family flees from a stable home environment to an emergency shelter, she said children may be faced for the first time with overcrowded, difficult, or uncomfortable circumstances.
After being evicted from her apartment last fall for not having enough money to pay rent, Peggy, the parent of two Sunrise Elementary students, lived with her children for a month in a one-room unit at a local hotel until she could find transitional housing.
“The room was extremely tiny,” she said. “We had three people in one bed. It was rough for them, because it was a very small place and they didn’t have the things they were used to because it was all in storage.”
With help from her school counselor and repeated calls to area shelters, Peggy was able to move out of the hotel last fall into a rent-free two-bedroom home. The home is part of the three-month emergency housing program through Helping Hand House.
During that time, she took financial and life-skills classes to help her prepare to get a job and return to school. When last interviewed, Peggy was applying for the program’s transitional housing program and hoped to move into a house or apartment where she could remain for the next two years.
“I’m looking forward to being settled so the kids can focus on school,” she said.
Schools and community respond
From warm clothing drives to collections of canned foods and toys, students and educators throughout the school district have responded with an outpouring of support.
Last fall, Kalles Junior High collected 1,043 blankets, coats, scarves, socks, and other warm clothing for St. Francis House in downtown Puyallup. The organization helps individuals and families in need by providing food, clothing, furniture, and adult education classes.
Numerous schools have also held canned food drives, prepared Thanksgiving baskets, and coordinated giving trees over the winter holiday season to collect toys and clothing for those less fortunate.
“A lot of times clothing is an issue,” said Woodland Elementary School counselor Claudia Knauss. “It’s pouring down rain, or there is ice and snow on the ground, and a student has no socks. Or, they outgrow their hand-me-downs and their toes are coming through the end of their shoes.”
It’s not uncommon, she said, for teachers or other school employees to appear at her counseling office door with a new pair of shoes or a winter coat in hand with a request they be given to a child in need.
“It’s a tough time to be in a tough situation,” she said. “Any of us could be in that situation.”
Other annual giving programs districtwide include the United Way Campaign; Puyallup
Giftmakers gift-giving event; and Communities In Schools of Puyallup (CISP) back-to-school supply drive and March Gladness student-led service projects.Faith-based organizations around the community have also helped with financial donations, gift cards, and bags of clothing or food.
This is the fifth straight year, for example, that Calvary Community Church has donated gift cards to CISP to give to school counselors for district families in need. The church donated 500 $25 grocery gift cards this year, as well as an invitation for each recipient to receive a holiday gift box valued at $39.
Ferrucci Junior High also raised nearly $8,000 during a fun run/walk last June for teens who are homeless or from low-income families.
In addition to the many drives and fundraisers, counselors have access to funding for students in need through the Washington Education Association, Title I federal funds, Invest Ed (formerly called the Saul Haas fund), and the school district’s Children’s Emergency Fund.
Kellie, a junior at Emerald Ridge High, said she is content with finding most of her clothes at the Salvation Army or wearing hand-me-downs from relatives.
What’s tough, she said, is living in a small bedroom in an apartment with two of her siblings and sharing one family computer among all five children, three of whom are in school.
The 16-year-old said she looks forward to graduating next year and continuing her education at Pierce College. Her goal, she said, is to pursue a career in health services “or something that will make people’s lives better.”
After she finishes her chores, does her homework, and takes a short shower (so that all five children have enough hot water each night), Kellie said she climbs in bed and thinks about what she is thankful for in her life. “I may not have everything, but I have my family,” she said. “My family is my home.”
All names of students and parents in this article have been changed to protect their privacy.
Read a related article on efforts to increase housing for homeless families.
If you are homeless, or know of someone who may be homeless, contact the school counselor. For information about emergency shelters in Pierce County, call a new centralized intake number at 211 or (253) 682-3401.
Original article at: http://www.puyallup.k12.wa.us/ourdistrict/news/newsdetail.cfm?NID=1011
Vote Early, Vote Often: HHH’s Community Garage & Pepsi’s Refresh Everything contest -
Helping Hand House has applied for $250,000 in funding from the Pepsi Refresh Everything project, a unique vote driven grant program. Grants are given on the basis of who gets the most votes by people across the country – people like you. You can vote everyday (please do!). You can vote through Facebook, let people know via Twitter – get the word out and make it happen. And that’s what our families need – for your help to make it happen.
Spread the word – post it to your Facebook wall, email the link – vote early and often.
Transportation is the key
Transportation is a significant key to success for our families, opening doors for stable jobs, childcare, and education. Studies conducted by the Alliance for Youth & Families show that average income increases by 41% with reliable private transportation. In addition, our families can easily save hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars by eliminating the need to use public transportation. This gives them the capacity to get and keep a living wage job in communities outside the immediate area in which they live, as well as utilize affordable childcare options and continue to advance their education. Many of our families are living in rural East Pierce County, where there is limited or non-existent public transportation; in effect, without a reliable car, they are stuck at home and on a swift path to again becoming homeless.
The Community Garage
To this end, Helping Hand House has initiated a partnership with Scott Chestain, owner of a local garage Car Clinic, to creatively resolve the transportation issue for the homeless families in Helping Hand House programs. This program, once fully established, has a great potential to be replicable elsewhere throughout the country for other organizations facing similar challenges.
Car Clinic is providing the usage of their shop as an in-kind contribution, as well as leveraging relationships within the community to support some of the most vulnerable families in our region. Families in Helping Hand House programs will have access to a dedicated Auto Repair Technician to perform auto inspections, repairs on vehicles, and routine maintenance.
We anticipate eventually having the ability to receive reliable donated vehicles for the families in our programs, allowing them to experience the full benefits of vehicle ownership.
The Community Garage will also provide an innovative training ground for apprenticeship of adults in our housing programs, helping them acquire job skills for a well-paying career in the auto repair industry.
Deliverables:
* Fund a service and mechanic that provides homeless and low income families a safe reliable resource for work on their vehicles.
* Provide an apprenticeship program for those families wanting to learn the mechanic/automotive technician profession.
* Provides a safety inspection service for family’s vehicles to ensure they are safe for road operation. All of our families have children.
Helping Hand House has applied for a $250,000 grant from Pepsi’s Refresh Everything contest to fund the program – but we need your help!
Grants are given on the basis of who gets the most votes by people across the country – people like you. You can vote everyday. You can vote through Facebook, let people know via Twitter – get the word out and make it happen. And that’s what our families need – for your help to make it happen.
Spread the word – post it to your Facebook wall, email the link – vote early and often.
VIDEO: What makes HHH so unique
Martha Myers explains a bit of what makes Helping Hand House so unique in the way we serve homeless families.
2009 Annual Report available!
Take a look at the Helping Hand House 2009 Annual Report, with design done pro-bono by Chris Bivins of Spilled Ink Studios. Thanks to all the individuals, churches, groups of all kinds, companies, foundations, and government entities that made it possible to end homelessness for over 250 Pierce County families in 2009. We’d also particularly like to recognize the volunteers who contributed over 1,800 hours of service to the mission, creating quilts, baking cakes, mowing lawns, and so much more.
Enjoy!
Click here to download the report (PDF)
Friends make all the difference
When we were growing up, we had friends that cared about the same things that we did and happened to live near enough for it to matter. Sometimes they were smarter and more athletic, sometimes they weren’t – but if they didn’t play nice, they couldn’t come over anymore. Some of those friends were lifelong relationships, and others were those that we stopped talking to after they moved out of the neighborhood and felt awkward seeing in the grocery store. New friends, old friends – it just mattered that we had friends…and it was our friends that made adventures possible and dreams come alive.
Helping Hand House turned 26 this year – 26 years of growing up in east Pierce County. Life is a lot bigger and more complicated than it was in the early days. But we have amazing friends, so many of whom have been with us through thick and thin over the last decades of economic ups and downs in Pierce County.
Some of our friends
We have friends like the Puyallup Valley Quilters (PVQ) – one of several quilting groups who provide a beautiful handmade quilt to every member of every family who comes into one of our housing programs. Whether a person is 4 or 54, there’s nothing like a warm quilt made with care and a little message attached to the corner: “Made with love just for you by the Puyallup Valley Quilters.” It’s one of the touches that help our families understand how much we honor them and want to see them succeed – and it wouldn’t be possible without friends like the Puyallup Valley Quilters. “I think Helping Hand House does wonderful work in our community,” says Patty deCamp, a longtime friend of HHH and PVQ member. “Our members enjoy gathering to make these quilts that they know will be on each family member’s bed when they first move in after being homeless. Those of us who have attended the breakfasts and open houses have been very touched by the stories of homelessness to hope and want to continue to help in additional ways.”
Then there’s the South Hill Rotary, who purchased a duplex over 13 years ago to house homeless families with children. Their investment so many years ago has provided a home to nearly 115 families who would otherwise be living in a car or tent, their children cold at night and hungry on the way to school. They’ve heard the stories and seen the difference that they have made – so much so that they are in the midst of purchasing a second duplex, providing the means and opportunity to help even more families.
Then there are the countless groups of friends from businesses, churches, and community groups who do yard projects, provide extravagantly for families over the holidays, bake birthday cakes, paint homes, wrap gifts, host food and supply drives (and so much more…). It is the Key Bank‘s and Milgard’s of the world – employees giving selflessly with fantastic attitudes in project after project. Milgard even ‘adopted’ all the kids who have birthdays in July.
Insert your name here – for the times you stepped up when the need was great and you had a hand to give. It is people like you that make hope and safety possible when every option looks bleak and it is raining again.
None of what we do could be done without our friends – the volunteers and partners that give themselves away day after day or a weekend a year. It’s a labor of love to serve families in crisis, and a joy to do it together with you.
From all your friends at Helping Hand House, thank you.
