Retired residents seek to create housing for the homeless

By Katie Curley Katzman
Staff writer

November 17, 2009 03:58 am

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NEWBURYPORT— With more than 200 children and 400 adults homeless in the Greater Newburyport region, a group of retired local residents has decided to take action.

A new organization called Roof Over Head Collaborative is aiming to provide transitional housing for homeless families from Newburyport, Amesbury and Salisbury and in the process, collaborate with organizations to put homeless families back on their feet.

"I read an article with figures on homelessness," Chairwoman Norma Beit said. After bringing the issue up with friends, Beit and others made the decision to stop talking and do something about the problem locally.

Now two months in, ROOF has nearly 20 members and has been meeting with local social service organizations to find out which of them might be a good fit for their mission.

"We want to collaborate with an organization so we would fundraise for and secure the housing, then the organization would own, manage, tenant and provide social services," Beit said.

Members include Norma Beit and her husband Harvey, Bill Abbott, Bill Carruth, Richard Cataldo, Kent Donovan, Jean Doyle, Leslie Eckholdt, Jean and Norm Hansen, Karen and Rick Hudner, Annalee Johnson, Jo An Kincaid, Lou Masiello, Barbara Thomas and Sarah Warren.

The members, hailing from Newburyport, Newbury, Salisbury and Amesbury, hope to begin site visits for potential properties in the next few months in order to get the program up and running within six months.

"It's most unlikely we would be doing new construction," Beit said. "We are looking for multi-familiy, condos, all kinds of housing in the different communities."

ROOF will raise funds to purchase the transitional housing then turn it over to a social service organization to manage, screen tenants and provide services for the resident families. The housing would use "scattered site theory," meaning the housing sites would be integrated into neighborhoods around the area.

Under ROOF's plan, there would be low- to no-income housing made up of self-contained units for families with children.

"We will make an effort to work with possible funding sources such as corporate and individual giving," Beit said.

ROOF hopes to build relationships with other groups and organizations in the community such as schools and faith-based groups to increase effectiveness.

"The state recently said $2.7 million will be taken from the budget for homelessness," steering committee member Dr. Ganson Purcell of Amesbury said. "That means we have 3,000 beds in the state and 105 will be removed."

Purcell said for ROOF, the mission is to step up and help where the state has left off.

"The dilemma of homelessness will get worse," Purcell said. "With the economy and inability of the state to address this, we have to get like-minded individuals together to make a difference."

Still in the organizational stages, the group hopes to have the program up and running as soon as possible.

"We want to create heavy momentum behind this," Purcell said. "It's unconscionable there are families with no roofs over their head."

With a broad range of community service organizations and a history of activism, ROOF members believe the Greater Newburyport region is ready for the project they are starting.

"The local community is remarkable when there is need," Doyle said. "We know they will respond."

ROOF is currently seeking volunteers to serve on a variety of committees such as legal, governance, fundraising, site selection and public relations. The next ROOF meeting will be held shortly after Thanksgiving.

"With state programs being withdrawn, true volunteerism must be obtained," Harvey Beit said. "We have an obligation to get a roof over the heads of local families."

For more information on ROOF, e-mail roofoverhead@email.com.