By Liz King
AMESBURY — The number of homeless people forced to live in motel rooms, shelters and even in their cars is reaching levels so high that service agencies can't keep up.
For 25 years, Community Action Inc. has helped hundreds of local families with rent, mortgage and utility assistance. But the Amesbury center's homeless aid fund, which is made up of private donations from the community and corporations, has been emptied, said Elaine Miller, director of Community Services at the Haverhill-based CAI.
"Our Amesbury homeless aid fund has been depleted for the first time in about 10 years," Miller said. "It's difficult to keep up with demand, and we expect things will be the same in 2010 — we haven't seen change in the economy, and the forecast isn't looking bright."
Robyn Frost, executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, said family homelessness has doubled in the last year.
"Honestly, there's not a single region in the state that doesn't have people in need, and it doesn't seem to be dissipating," Frost said. "I've been doing this work for more than 20 years, and I've never seen a situation like this. It's a very bleak situation."
While housing costs skyrocket, unemployment across the region has doubled over the same period last year, forcing many moderate-income families to turn to CAI for help for the very first time, Miller said. The number of people benefiting from CAI has doubled in the last year. CAI provided $426,000 in aid to 469 low-income individuals in Amesbury, $236,000 to 261 Newburyport residents and $373,000 in help to 387 Salisbury residents — and the numbers don't include moderate-income clients.
"This year in particular, we've seen a lot of new faces — people who have never asked for help before in their lives," Miller said. "People displaced by lost jobs, a wage reduction in order to keep a job, divorce situations that create financial issues, and single mothers."
Miller said CAI's access to rental assistance funding through The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act has helped low-income people with paying rent or security deposits so they can maintain stable housing in a time of economic difficulty.
Such is the case for an Amesbury mother, who requested to remain anonymous, who turned to CAI after she, her husband and their 3-year-old daughter were evicted from her Amesbury apartment last year.
"I had lost my job and didn't have enough money to pay the rent, which was $905," she said. "We just weren't making enough."
The family moved into her husband's mother's house, living in a one-room attic with no bathroom, kitchen or heat for six months, before turning to CAI.
"It was crowded in the attic, and it would get really cold at night," she said. "I went into Community Action, told them my story and asked for help."
A week after she applied for housing assistance, CAI got her into a fundamental program through the state and provided the first and last month's rent for an apartment she had found in Amesbury. The family is still living in the apartment, while the mother attends college and works two full-time jobs to keep up with rent.
"We're doing great now," she said. "We wouldn't be where we are now without Community Action. They really helped me get back up on my feet."
In the past year, CAI provided more than $50,000 in emergency rent or utility assistance through the Merrimack Valley Regional Network to prevent homelessness, preventing 10 local families from becoming homeless, assisting a Salisbury family displaced by fire and relocating seven families living in unsafe, unhealthy environments.
In addition, CAI operates The Salvation Army's energy fund, which provides assistance for utility expenses.
"Through a $5,000 grant from the Firemen Foundation, we've been able to support 10 families in Amesbury and the Greater Amesbury area who were denied energy assistance, yet were low income and needed help paying utility bills during a tough time," Miller said.
Still, families across the region struggle, as CAI Amesbury's homeless aid fund is depleted, and shelters in Haverhill and Lawrence are at maximum capacity, forcing 28 families around the Merrimack Valley to live in motels, Miller said.
"It's a very sad situation during the holidays to have three to four people living in one motel room," Miller said. "And we don't have a resource to turn them to."
Right now, CAI's Amesbury Center has an urgent need for pantry food — baby formula, cereal, soups and vegetables — along with cash donations to rebuild its homeless aid fund. Tax-deductible contributions may be sent to Community Action Inc., 11 School St., Amesbury, MA 01913. The Amesbury Center is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and appointments may be scheduled by calling 978-388-2570.
