Number of homeless families increasing
At 42 years old, with a storage shed full of furniture, a car, and some money in her pocket, Andrea Garrett found herself homeless.
Garrett, who lost her job in May, got lucky this January, and with a little publicity and help from the community, she and her family of three now have a temporary home. (Read more about the Garrett family.)
Homeless advocates say more and more families are in Garrett’s shoes, and even in a community known for its generosity, there’s not enough help to go around.
For years Teresa McLaughlin, the director of Pikes Peak Homeless Outreach focused her efforts on the homeless camps of Colorado Springs, where single men and women tried to eke out an existence by living in tents. Now, joining this group of homeless people are those like Garrett, who have suddenly lost their jobs, who can’t pay their utilities bills and who have lost their homes.
“White collar people are now starting to get into that situation,” McLaughlin said. “You see a few upper middle as well as lower class … It’s everybody, it doesn’t matter who you are.”
The newly homeless family wind up on the streets unfamiliar with programs that can help them get a roof over their heads. The winter months are the busiest for organizations like McLaughlin’s, when the cold drives families to shelters in lieu of car-camping.
For a family used to their own home, shelter life makes for a difficult adjustment, McLaughlin said. Her organization works with The Aztec Motel to provide transitional housing to those who don’t make it into the shelter.
The winter holiday season in December is the best and worst time for non-profit service organizations and their beneficiaries, said Michelle Milner, the director of United Way’s 211 support hotline.
Donation drives and toy giveaways give families without means a way to give holiday gifts and cook holiday feasts. What they don’t give are jobs, homes, and way to pay utilities bills--the top three needs of families who call 211, Milner said.
The hotline is a “one-stop-shopping” system run by United Way that connects needy individuals or families to agencies who can help them.
“There are a lot of agencies, and lots of people are giving. Unfortunately there’s only a few agencies who assist with rent,” Milner said.
Organizations that help the homeless rely on the burst of Christmas-season donations. McLaughlin calls them “December do-gooders” — people who call all month offering donations.
“But after Christmas and New Years, you very rarely hear from anybody,” McLaughlin said.
Christmas comes but once a year, but need is a year-round reality that gets worse in the winter.
“The big thing is, there’s still families sleeping in cars, hiding out, wherever they can,” McLaughlin said.
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