When I was a young mother with a 6 year old and an 8 year old, I suddenly found myself a single mother with no additional support for my children. I was a college educated, intelligent and resourceful person who owned a house in the very nice little town of West Boylston. I had a small business that I was just starting up and a stipend from the UCC church where I was a member and religious educator.

I took another part-time job when I could on the weekends in a friend's restaurant. Still, I knew deep down in my heart that I was only one sickness or injury away from the potential of not being able to pay my mortgage, and subsequently, I could be that mother with two kids that became homeless.

 

Can you even picture a person like me homeless? Probably not. But the reality is, most families are not homeless because they are slackers, uneducated, drug addicts, or irresponsible.

 

It was also about 16 years ago that my kids and I began volunteering for the Interfaith Hospitality Network Family Shelter Program. At that time, they had a day center at the YMCA and every evening, brought the homeless families to a "host" church or synagogue to be fed dinner and given a stay overnight. In the morning, the vans would pick the families up from the church, get kids to school, and parents either to work or to the day center. Each evening the families were driven back to the church in those vans.

 

At the church, volunteers would cook dinner, help kids with homework, play with babies, and be an ear for the struggling parents. But, every night, I saw these poor children struggling to go to sleep in a new and unfamiliar building. Eventually, after a week in the church, they would start to get used to their family "bedroom" ( usually a classroom in the church), only to be uprooted again, to move to their new host church for another week. It broke my heart, but I knew that this was better than the alternative: sleeping in the car, couch- hopping, or worse, trying to live on the streets.

 

Back then, it was hard for families to get into state run shelters, today it is even more difficult. Even though the state of Massachusetts is a "Right to Shelter" state, there are still many reasons why a family is not eligible for a safe state shelter. One reason is income requirements, if you have a decent job income, that can sometimes disqualify families. If you are a battered person who walked away with your children from your situation, but can't prove it, you are not automatically entitled to shelter. If you can't prove you are a resident- like you don't have a permanent address or utility bill, you may not be eligible. And the list goes on. So then what happens?

 

Families are referred to IHN which is a private non state-funded shelter. In central Massachusetts there are 18 spaces for homeless families in private shelters; IHN in Worcester provides 6 of those spaces. As you can imagine, the wait list to get into this shelter is long...and getting longer. Add to that the fact that the availability of affordable housing is diminishing. Rents are going up, and wages are not matching that increase. So, the turnover rate of getting families out of the shelter into housing is slowing, thus the wait list grows longer. In central Massachusetts, the wait to get into rent controlled housing could be upward to 2+ years. Market rate apartments in Worcester have average rents of $1000.00 for a 2 bedroom.

 

In 2011, I was overjoyed, when IHN was able to pull together funds to purchase a static shelter residence for their program . The house, located on 91 June Street affords 6 families their own rooms, their own kitchen, a consistent and familiar place for little ones to lay their heads, and a place to call home while they try to save for another try at their own place. It is expensive to maintain this old house. Lots of volunteers helped rehab it, but still it is a struggle. With only 3 people on staff, IHN relies heavily on volunteers to help run the shelter. Now they are in the middle of a capital campaign to try to eliminate the mortgage payment, so that funds received can be put into building maintenance, staffing, casework, and advocacy for the families and the growing housing problem.

 

I support this shelter, because I once looked into my own children's eyes and felt the fear of what it could be like to not have a place to call home. I am proud to be working for a church who has partnered with this organization to volunteer host at the June Street house 2 weeks out of the year and fulfill an annual pledge of $2000. Now, as the program aims to move into the next phase of advocacy for homeless families, I ask you to consider how you can support.

 

Volunteer! Join the task force, volunteer at the house, be a part of "Happy Arts" project, be an advocate or fundraiser.

 

Help Financially - Mail a check to 

IHN c/o Capital Campaign

 91 June Street Worcester, MA 01602