My View
Remember February 2009?
The economy was in crisis. All forms of media reported stories about families who never thought they would face financial catastrophe and were losing their homes. On Cape Ann, local providers of assistance to struggling families and individuals came together to face this crisis as a team. This initiative brought together nonprofit agencies, faith communities and funders to create the Cape Ann Resource Exchange (CARE) network.
The CARE network is proud to invite interested property owners and others to join us for an Outreach Breakfast on Thursday, Dec. 10, from 7:45 to 9 a.m. This breakfast will allow property owners and agency representatives to discuss how we can work together to prevent homelessness on Cape Ann. A forum of agency representatives from Action Inc., Catholic Charities, North Shore Health Project, North Shore Housing Action Group and Wellspring House will talk about ways they help tenants and work with property owners. Please contact Maggie at 978-283-7874, x103 or mmeffen@actioninc.org for more information about the breakfast or to RSVP.
At CARE, we hope that reaching out to landlords will allow us to form new partnerships that will provide more opportunities to help families and individuals avoid homelessness. We know that our state has over 3,000 homeless families living in hotels. For every Cape Ann family that becomes homeless, this means leaving our community. It means kids will have a harder time learning and adults will have a harder time working. We also know it creates a property owner who has a harder time paying his or her bills and worries about people he or she cares about.
Since its inception, the CARE network has talked about the need to reach beyond the core group of nonprofits that provide many valuable services to the residents of Cape Ann. We recognize that only a community-wide response will help many families "build their own house." One group that was quickly identified as a partner and resource was the property owners who rent apartments across Cape Ann. We know that landlords are often the first people to know that a family or individual is facing a financial crisis as the normally punctual rent check comes in late or is paid in installments.
It is often said that, out of crisis emerges opportunity. The members of the CARE network who work with families and individuals of limited income every day are well aware that the financial crisis is not over for many residents of Cape Ann. For many individuals and families it began well before 2009. We also see that working together is the best way out of crisis. Our collaborative efforts have had huge benefits for us as a helping community and for the people we assist.
After resolving the crisis, we hope to work together to provide a path out of poverty. The metaphor we have used to describe our work is "building the house." We believe that helping people in financial crisis is only the foundation of the house we are trying to build. We also need to work together to provide job search and training, access to legal advice and representation, transitional housing, family support, food and nutrition, access to childcare, mental health counseling and services, transportation and education.
The CARE network meets monthly on the first Tuesday of the month from 10:30 a.m. until noon at 28 Emerson Ave. in Gloucester. We invite anyone who shares our goals and mission to join us in our efforts to make sure all children, families and individuals have the tools they need to "build a house" for themselves.
Cindy O'Donnell is the family service coordinator at Wellspring Cape Ann Families, the family support and education center of Wellspring. She is a founder of the CARE network and a member of its steering committee. You can reach her at 978-281-7856, ext. 2 or codonnell@wellspringhouse.org.
