Financial assistance is available to Warren County residents who sometimes are caught off guard by major life changes. “I had just found out I was pregnant with our baby. ... When he lost his job, …
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Surge of homelessness in Warren County
Posted
By Adam Rollins, Record Staff Writer
Financial assistance is available to Warren County residents who sometimes are caught off guard by major life changes.“I had just found out I was pregnant with our baby. ... When he lost his job, it just threw us into a tizzy.”That’s how Kelly, of Warren County, begins the story of how her family nearly lost everything. She asked to only be identified by her first name.Kelly’s husband had a management-level position and she does in-home day care. They had a comfortable life, with two young children living at home with them and another on the way.“We figured he would find something quickly,” Kelly said. “He’s college educated, he’s been a manager and a supervisor, he’s a smart guy — (but) it just dragged on and on and on.“We had savings, which lasted pretty much through my entire pregnancy. But when we got to the nine-month mark, it started to get really tight.”The family struggled as Kelly’s husband searched for work, leading Kelly back into the workforce.“After we had our daughter, I went back to work. I had a C-section with her and literally went back to work a week after I had her. We needed the money.”Kelly and her husband took on side projects wherever they could to make money while he searched for permanent work. They slashed their expenses.“We cut out the cable, the Wi-Fi, all the extras. The vacations. Everything. It got to the point where ... we sold both of the cars and bought an older car that we didn’t have any car payments on. We were doing everything we could, selling extra stuff in our house just to pay rent.“We didn’t want to uproot our family, because we felt like this was just a temporary thing.”But they couldn’t make it last. Their budget was stretched to its max taking care of their family, and baby supplies are expensive. They struggled to keep up with the $1,000 rent on their home.Kelly explained that she and her husband both were brought up to think that people who receive assistance are the ones who don’t work, who take advantage of others and get handouts. They didn’t want to be part of that stigma.“We were both working full time, we were being good parents. We weren’t what I would have thought was the stereotypical, you know ... we were good people, and this just happened to us.”But her children were hungry, and Kelly didn’t know what else to do. So she swallowed her pride and started reaching out for help. She found AGAPE, a nonprofit organization supporting those living in poverty in Warren County.AGAPE provided several months of financial aid to keep Kelly and her family in their home until her husband got a labor job.They still don’t have anywhere close to their previous income, but they at least are self-sufficient again.“Every month we do a little bit better. ... We just really needed that extra help, just to get us over that hump.”Rising homelessnessKelly and her family aren’t alone in their struggle. In fact, they’re part of a surge of Warren County residents at risk of becoming homeless. Not all are as fortunate to receive assistance before they do.AGAPE Executive Director Michelle Bernth said within the last two years the number of homeless persons coming to AGAPE has skyrocketed.“If you go back about 18 months, we were seeing once a month someone who came to us who was experiencing true homelessness, meaning they were out on the street or sleeping in their car,” Bernth said. “At this point, we are seeing multiple people per week.”Many of those are families with children, she said. Many work for minimum wage with little job security, and are one bad day away from unemployment and total poverty.About half of these AGAPE clients are residents of Warrenton, Bernth said. Another 40 percent live in Wright City, and 10 percent from the surrounding area. Very few of AGAPE’s clients come from outside the Warren County area, Bernth said.Homelessness has become such a drastic issue that AGAPE has redirected $408,000 in state grant funding toward a new program, SAFE — Shelter Assistance for Families in Emergencies.“That sounds like a lot of money until you start spending it on housing. Then it goes really quickly,” Bernth said.The program has three components: providing emergency housing, usually a week in a hotel room; rapidly locating available housing; and providing rent assistance for six months. AGAPE pays 100 percent of the rent for three months, then 50 percent for three months.During that time, AGAPE and partner agencies try to help those clients become financially stable.“All of our families want to get back on their feet. All of them want to be self-sufficient,” Bernth said.A permanent solution to the problem will have to come from many sides of the community, she said. There needs to be economic development to improve the number and quality of jobs, and the residents of Warren County need the skills training and education to make them an attractive workforce. A lack of available family housing also needs to be improved.Community aidAGAPE works with a number of community organizations to aid people at risk of homelessness. That includes Northeast Community Action Corporation (NECAC), which provides long-term housing assistance, among a variety of other programs.NECAC distributes income-based housing assistance funding from the federal government in the form of vouchers, said Debra Martin, a housing assistance counselor. About 600 families currently receive housing assistance through NECAC, Martin said.However, the federal department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees the housing assistance funding, has told local agencies not to accept any new applications for long-term assistance for the foreseeable future, Martin said. That means no one can even get on a waiting list.For those who need immediate help, service coordinator Desiree’ Antoniou said NECAC coordinates emergency assistance with AGAPE based on which organization has funding at any given time.“Unfortunately, we don’t know when we’re going to get our funding,” because the federal government sometimes doesn’t provide its regular monthly funds, Antoniou said.Everyone NECAC assists lives or works in its service area.Because the issue of homelessness involves a number of children, another source of community assistance is local schools.Warren County R-III School District has identified 172 students who do not have adequate housing, Assistant Superintendent Jill Schowe said. The school district has a program to work with those students and families to address their needs, Schowe said. That includes assistance with transportation, food, school supplies or even clothing.“Anything that helps them be at school every day,” Schowe said. “We try to make things normal and calming at school.”The district also sometimes hosts fundraisers for organizations like AGAPE, and students regularly benefit from school supply drives hosted by those organizations, she said.
Homelessness in the community often is a hidden problem. Many people don't "look" homeless - they are average community members trying their best to get by. Record photo/ Adam Rollins.
