NORWICH – In urban areas, evidence of homelessness can be found on street corners and in alleyways, bus stations and shelters. That’s not the case in rural areas like Chenango County, but that doesn’t mean the problem doesn’t exist.
“Homelessness doesn’t look the same here,” explained Gary Quarella, director of Community Outreach Programs for Catholic Charities of Chenango County. Quarella is spearheading the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program (HPRP). The initiative, which was rolled out this week, is being funded with $1.6 million in federal stimulus money allocated through the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.
While many area residents may be unaware of the prevalence of homelessness in Chenango County, Quarella is well aware of its implications. Prior to assuming his current duties at Catholic Charities, he worked with Opportunities for Chenango, where he was actively involved with the Chenango Housing Council, a group of area agencies which has been focusing on housing-related issues for the last 15 years.
“I know what homelessness looks like,” said Quarella, explaining that Chenango’s homeless population includes families and individuals who tent at local campgrounds during the summer, live in campers and RVs and those who are “couch hopping” among friends and family.
He has also seen young families doubling and tripling up, he explained, which occurs when one family loses their housing and moves in with another young family. It’s not uncommon, he said, for 3 to 4 adults and 6 or 7 kids to be living in one 2-bedroom trailer.
“We can serve that kind of family,” Quarella said, by helping them with temporary housing and providing some of the resources they need to get back on their feet.
Through HPRP, they will also be able to help families who are “on the edge,” meaning they are in fear of losing their housing because they are a couple of months behind on their rent and/or utilities.
There are restrictions placed on the way they can use the money they have been allocated.
“We can’t help a homeowner make their mortgage with these funds,” he noted. “But I can help keep the lights on.” This, he explained, would help them divert the funds they might otherwise have spent on utilities toward making their mortgage payment. They can also direct them to other area agencies and programs where they can get additional assistance.
“If we can’t help a family with dollars, we can certainly help them with referrals,” he reported.
Between assisting those who are currently homeless in getting back into housing and preventing those at risk from becoming homeless, Quarella anticipates as many as 500 local families will be helped by HPRP in the next 22 months before funding for the program runs out.
“We’re trying to serve as many people as we can,” he said.
Homelessness is not a new problem in Chenango, but one that local agencies have struggled to address because they were unable to access appropriate funding sources
“The traditional federal definition (of homelessness) has not worked well for rural communities,” Quarella explained. That definition was expanded for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, thus allowing the housing council, with Catholic Charities acting as the lead agency, to apply for the funds it was just awarded.
One of the stipulations of the grant is that Quarella and HPRP Program Coordinator Molly Valashinas will need to carefully track the families and individuals they serve over the next 22 months. Quarella said he believes that data will help them demonstrate the need in the community and therefore assist them in securing future funding for homelessness prevention and mitigation programs.
The OTDA has already indicated there “may be an opportunity to extend the program for an additional year” if the need is there, he reported.
And he does not doubt the need does in fact exist in Chenango County. Less than a week after HPRP’s launch, they are already booked solid through the end of the year, Quarella said. They have reserved space for any emergency situations which may arise, however.
“We’re working really closely with [the Department of Social Services] Emergency Services,” he noted.
They won’t begin to promote the program in earnest until mid-January. Once that happens, “we’re expecting the floodgates (to open),” Quarella said.
For more information about the services provided by the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program, or to access these services, contact Roots and Wings at 336-7897.