Four years ago, in July 2019, our Giving Voice article “The realities of family homelessness” by Annie Rose, described what it might be like for a family to survive in their car in the summer heat, with no room at the local shelter, and the harsh daily hurdles the family would have to overcome to survive.
Fast forward to July 2023 and the world is in a different place. We have come out of the other side of a pandemic, elected new leaders, and have undertaken efforts locally and statewide that hopefully will improve the lives of people experiencing homelessness in Midcoast Maine. But it is once again July in Maine. And although we are not experiencing the extreme high temperatures of the west, the summer heat has returned. As many of us turn our attention to the beaches and barbecues, for families experiencing homelessness, the constant stress and ripple effects brought about by their condition of being unsheltered and/or without stable housing remain unchanged.
As Annie described it, “Local unsheltered families live in their vehicles at large retail store parking lots, or tent in nearby camp sites with the threat of remaining homeless as cold weather hits. Occasionally, families may find temporary respite in a motel through area churches, but often funds run out and they are forced to return to homelessness.” Unfortunately, that description rings true today.
Kami Bard, Tedford’s family case manager, provided examples of the current living conditions of some families seeking access to our six-apartment family shelter. One family, with three children, is living in a shed. Another is currently residing in their vehicle. Some are living in area campsites and desperate to find shelter before the campsites close. In addition to the exhausting process of just trying to get by in these circumstances, Kami underscores the ongoing fear unsheltered families have of being reported to DHHS Child Protective Services (CPS), being found negligent for providing inadequate shelter for their children and ultimately having their children removed or losing custody. They will often try to find a relative or friend to temporarily house their children.
Almost all of the families Tedford serves qualify for SNAP (federal food assistance) benefits. As part of the federal COVID response, these benefits were increased. In March, benefits were rolled back to pre-pandemic levels. All our families have received a monthly cut of $95 per month. For some families the cuts have been higher (benefits are calculated based on family size and income). Kami reports that all families at the shelter typically run out of their benefits by the end of the month and rely on the Midcoast Hunger Prevention Program (MCHPP) food pantry to supplement their meals. For families relying on this critical part of the safety net, and already facing the daunting challenges of securing housing, the timing of these cuts coincided with a significant increase in food prices. This additional stressor served only to exacerbate an already stressful situation.
Many other conditions experienced by the families we serve compound the trauma of being homeless. Many families have been exposed to or are fleeing abuse. Some have been homeless for long periods which has resulted in destabilizing their rental histories and making it harder, in this tight rental market, to find housing. Our core approach to helping a family resolve their homelessness and secure housing has focused on case management. Kami spends lots of time with a family identifying what has gotten in the way of finding housing, obtaining necessary identification, completing many housing applications,
navigating waiting lists, and helping to resolve many issues that, left unaddressed, will slow down the journey to housing. For most of our families, there are few short cuts to becoming housed. Recent statewide data for the last fiscal year shows a slight dip in the overall number of people experiencing homelessness, but an increase in the length of time people remain homeless. Tedford has been engaged on a number of fronts to reduce homelessness experienced by families in the Midcoast. We have been involved in a statewide effort to improve the effectiveness of the statewide homeless response system. Currently being piloted in a number of regions, or service hubs, the Coordinated Entry System (CES) matches people experiencing homelessness with resources and providers to get them housed. As one of the key providers of homeless services and shelters in Hub 3 (the Midcoast hub) Tedford Housing serves as one of the access points for CES.
Maine is learning from the experience of other states, and the effort also focuses on gathering data to identify gaps in the system and target resources. Although CES does not create more housing, it will generate information useful in advocating for more housing. Tedford is also working to expand its capacity to help more families emerge from homelessness. Our new facility in Cooks Corner will increase the number of family households we serve from six to ten. We will also continue efforts to intervene with families as soon as we can through our homeless prevention work, so that in many cases, a housing crisis does not result in a family falling into homelessness.
Giff Jamison is director of programs for Tedford Housing in Brunswick.
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