NORWICH – Homelessness is faceless. You may not notice it driving up and down Broad Street. But, according to local housing officials, people are sharing couches, doubling and tripling up in each other’s apartments and living in cars, chicken coops and shacks.
Catholic Charities of Chenango County estimates as many as 600 local residents are either homeless or at risk of becoming so soon. The number (from a countywide population of 51,200) was derived in July from data collected from the Chenango County Department of Social Services, Opportunities for Chenango, the Norwich Housing Authority and Catholic Charities.
Catholic Charities reported the estimate, in conjunction with other county-specific details, in order to garner the agency $1.6 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds aimed at helping the homeless.
Chenango’s application was one of 25 out of a total of 66 that was selected to receive the money in what Catholic Charities Director Jane Coddington called “a highly competitive grant process.”
Catholic Charities plans to use the grant to afford four case managers’ salaries, travel expenses and related equipment and supplies needed. The funding will be used over a 22-month period.
However, the administrative allocation is only $40,583, or 2.5 percent of the total grant amount, said Coddington. About 72 percent of the funding will be going directly to landlords, utility suppliers, legal bills and temporary living accommodations, such as motels, and the rest for data collection on the homeless situation.
“This will help the economy because we are supporting local landlords and businesses. It helps all of us when 600 families are more stable,” she said.
The administration allocation will also be used to centralize a data collection system on the homeless, something that has not existed within any of the county’s multiple agencies that provide services to address aspects of the homeless problem.
Services to be provided include short and medium-term rental assistance, legal services, case management, locating available housing and financial counseling. The assistance is intended as a stabilization, not a permanent handout.
“We want to help them get a firm foundation to prevent them from a downward spiral,” Coddington said.
Catholic Charities will administer the grant in collaboration with the Norwich Housing Authority. “We are finally able to get these funds for homeless people that we know exist, but a lot of times can’t service with our programs,” said Judy Wingate-Wade, director of the Norwich Housing Authority.
The grant is part of $1.5 billion made available through ARRA for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Homelessness Prevention Fund, including a total of $141.2 million awarded to New York State communities.
The state’s larger municipalities received funding directly from the federal government, with the remaining $24.9 million being awarded competitively by the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.
In releasing the funds, New York Governor David Paterson said, “We must continue to do all we can to help the most vulnerable New Yorkers get through this economic downturn and ensure that those on the brink are not forced into homelessness. By helping these individuals and families secure and maintain safe, stable housing, we can help them begin on a path to economic security.”