Will Shelter Supply Meet Demand This Winter?

Published November 13, 2008 @ 05:31AM PT

Shelter directors and food pantry coordinators from New Jersey to LA are worried. Just as they are seeing a spike in earlier-than-usual requests, the tanking economy has donors scaling back on charitable donations.

It's the perfect storm... more people are in need of services than ever before just as the well is drying up.

Glenda Kirkland, the founder of Isaiah House, a family homeless shelter in East Orange, New Jersey, is concerned. Her organization is already turning away ten families a day in need of assistance... and it's not even cold yet. She told New Jersey Magazine:

"The malaise in Wall Street is very much evident at our level," said Kirkland. People are staying in shelters longer because they cannot find jobs, meaning others wait longer to get in. And while she says there will undoubtedly be a need for more accommodation, she doesn't think that's the answer. More subsidies to keep people in their homes -- extended unemployment benefits, a few extra hundred dollars a month -- can make the difference.

Shelters are expecting to see even higher numbers early next year because people who have lost their jobs will run through unemployment benefits and savings to avoid homelessness, said Elizabeth Hall, president of Homeless Solutions, Inc. in Morristown. Those that have been evicted will stay with family and friends as long as possible, Hall said. Eventually, they wear out their welcome.

Watch more from Isaiah House:

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Comments (3)

I work in human services and we are already hearing of family assistance programs that are out of money and very low on food. This is in North Carolina, not even one of the hardest hit states. I think this bailout needs to be though through with the results of the people as the focus.

Posted by Kate Burton on 11/13/2008 @ 01:59PM PT
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if there anything i can do let me known we have a small org that would love to help in newark nj

Posted by betty hooker on 12/04/2008 @ 05:27AM PT
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"Payday loans" are usurious predation.

Are you spamming here?

Posted by SlumJack Homeless on 06/09/2009 @ 12:04PM PT
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Author

Shannon has worked in homeless shelters and service organizations in San Francisco, the Triangle region of North Carolina, and currently in the greater Boston area. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.