Homeless
continued from page 8
The downturn in the economy is
also causing more families to be
come homeless. Ban explained that
it is not just the loss of a job, but of
ten a combination of factors that
lead families to shelters. For some
families, the loss of a wage-earner
coupled with a lack of medical in
surance and high medical bills is
enough to put them on the streets.
As families begin to struggle, they
turn to the county’s food system for
help, Ban said.
“But eventually they are less and
less able to continue to pay housing
costs,” she said.
Some families call Family Shelter
House, a ShelterCare program, to
help them get back on their feet. At
the shelter’s location on Highway 99,
homeless families can receive rent
free apartments and support services
for up to two months. Ban said the
extra time often allows families to
save money for the first month’s rent
on an apartment.
Parents who choose to stay for
two months are taught how to budg
et money, pay their bills and find
jobs. Of the families who receive
counseling, Ban said 78 percent
leave the shelter to move into per
manent housing.
ShelterCare is part of a tight com
munity of service providers called
the “Human Services Network” that
meets monthly. By coordinating
their efforts and streamlining poli
cies, the community groups are able
to provide families with long-term
support, Ban said.
“They get them on a road where
they will not go back to being home
less again,” she said.
Ban said that in the 1999 to 2000
fiscal year, 543 families asked to be
placed on ShelterCare’s waiting list
for free housing. In the following
year, 612 families called. She said
she expects the number of dis
placed families to rise.
“We have seen a rise just in the
first four months of the fiscal year,”
she said.
At the Family Shelter House, an
increased demand for housing
means a longer waiting list for
homeless families. Homeless fami
lies must wait at least three weeks
before they can stay, said operations
manager Yolanda Lockamy.
Dana Turell, the communications
director of Food for Lane County,
said that the community has been
giving generously to their nonprofit
organization this fall. Food for Lane
County is an umbrella organization
that provides nonperishable food to
ShelterCare and about 100 other lo
cal groups. Turell said its monetary
donations have doubled compared
to this same time last year.
But Food for Lane County faces a
continual problem: The growing de
mand for food has increased more
than donations that Food for Lane
County is receiving, Turell said. She
said she expects this winter to be par
ticularly tough because of job layoffs
and rising utility costs.
Food for Lane County’s shelves il
lustrate this distress. While the or
ganization aims to keep a six-week
supply of food in stock, only two
weeks’ worth of provisions remain
this season.
“We have already had to tighten
our belts,’’she said.
A small shelf stock at Food for
Lane County means less food for the
area organizations that distribute it.
The 22 emergency food box agen
cies that rely on Food for Lane
County have chosen to enforce
stricter rules about distribution of
Efforts by students
University dirting halls ameliorate
hunger by donating daily leftovers to
Food for Lane County. Additionally, at
Saturday’s Civil War game, if was
announced that in a recent can ned
food competition, students in the
University’s residence halls donated
enough extra meal points to purchase
7,520 pounds of beans, rice and pasta
for Food for Lane County.
Suggestions for
students
Staff and students can leave plastic
bags containing canned food next to
their mail boxes on Dec. 8, in this
“Cans for Carriers who Care” program,
postal workers wilt donate their
collections to Food for Lane County.
Monetary donations, warm clothing and
blankets as well as packaged non
perishable food can also be delivered to
6ffsy of the following Lane
iocationsduring the holidays:
ShelterCare Administrative Offices,
1790 W. 11th Ave., Suite 290,686
1262.
Garden Place, 3692 Hickory Ave., f
784-7800.
Hawthorn Program, 2988 Oak St., f
343-4070. ' *
River Bend Supportive Community, f
740 Van Buren $t„ 302-9195. 1
'Safe Haven, 1545 S. Brooklyn Ave., i
741-7726.
Uhlhom Program, 689 W. 13th Ave.,
345-4244. |j
Brethren Housing, 1062 Main St, I
Springfield, 726-8125.
Sources' Katie Bryant, assistant director of
residarce ie, US. Postal Service and Maureen
Morrison, counselor advocate
the food, and they limit families to
one food box per month, she said.
The empty shelves affect Family
Shelter House as well. The families
still receive a weekly box of rations,
but Ban said the meals are smaller
and less nutritious.
These nonprofit organizations are
counting on more donations this
winter to help support homeless
and needy people, Turell said.
“We might not have enough food
to feed everybody,” she said.
Emerald features reporter Anne Le Chevallier
can be reached at
annelechevallier@dailyemerald.com.
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