by Douglas Fair
Staff Writer
Local nonprofit organizations will be feeling a financial pinch during the 2006-2007 fiscal year.
Clara White Mission CEO/President Ju’Coby Pittman-Peele said she is working with Emergency Services and Homeless Coalition Executive Director Wanda Lanier, along with several other nonprofit organization heads, to make local politicians aware of their upcoming plight.
Pittman-Peele said federal funding is being cut with the intent that local governments will pick up the slack. She said politicians are already looking to federal funding to alleviate these allocations from their yearly budgets.
“We’re all losing funding and it’s becoming real critical,” said Pittman-Peele, explaining her intent is to make local lawmakers aware of the impending threat to supportive services programs. “We don’t want them to think we only come to them with our hand out for money. We want them to see that we are looking down the road and just want to make them aware of what is ahead.”
Pittman-Peele said now is the time to start looking at other communities to see how they supplement the lack of federal funds for supportive services programs.
Lanier said EMSHC receives $3.7 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that is divided between 12 different programs locally, which include everything from transitional housing programs to employment services to permanent housing. She said her organization has to decide who receives funding. However, in the past two years, HUD has made changes by placing emphasis on housing activities such as construction, buying or leasing — not on supportive services like counseling, training or education.
Lanier said it would have been more effective if HUD had announced another federal agency would provide funding for supportive services programs.
“Basically they’re just passing the buck to local agencies to figure out how to fund programs,” said Lanier, who understands HUD is responsible for housing, not supportive services, but believes another federal department should have made up the difference.
However, with budget cuts being felt all across the board, Lanier said she doesn’t expect any departments to voluntarily provide funding. She said the issue isn’t just a local problem, but a national concern. In addition, Lanier said local groups will be forced to fight over the same local funding sources, such as donations or fund-raising efforts.
Lanier said a request is being made to the state legislature for a $1 million appropriation to help with supportive services.
The Clara White Mission stands to lose $43,000 during the 2006-2007 HUD funding cycle. Pittman-Peele said HUD emphasizes the importance of supportive services for homeless clients, but expects local communities to leverage other funding sources to pay for these services.
“HUD is interested in housing, but not in supportive services. Therefore someone must pick up the cost,” said Pittman-Peele.
Pittman-Peele said the Clara White Mission currently assists homeless in the community to develop a viable skill through their accredited and Florida state-certified culinary training program. The program also provides temporary housing for students while they attend school.
She said the two-year program has been extremely successful, and cites last year when her agency stabilized 167 enrolled students, with 76 percent of those students acquiring full or part-time employment within 30 days of graduation and 70 percent placed in jobs remaining employed.
Pittman-Peele said graduates may also pursue apprenticeship programs or even go to college, utilizing the 450 credit hours earned toward a college degree. Students may also go on to become sous chefs. She said there are currently 76 companies the mission works with to provide job placement for culinary graduates.
“It is the combination of housing with these vital services that is making the difference,” said Pittman-Peele, adding housing alone will not provide viable income for those in need. “The key is education.”
She said the program allows the Mission’s clients to get back on their feet and return to the workforce where they contribute economically to society.
“They want us to show how our dollars have made a difference and we have met the benchmarks we said we would provide,” said Pittman-Peele, adding it is now up to the federal agencies to uphold their end of the agreement by ensuring effective and viable programs to support services programs in the future.
“They’re taking away services to help people become self-sufficient,” said Lanier said, explaining that eliminating services has a negative impact on the community and only serves to increase the number of homeless people. She said housing without supportive services creates an almost ineffective program.
“They need support in order to get back on their feet,” said Lanier, adding that not helping these people will also impact the budget of area agencies, as these people will be forced to return to the cycle of living on the street or in a shelter while never progressing towards independence.
Lanier said one program that helps families afford child care, Community Connections Child Care, has already seen significant cuts. She said without the program, parents are stuck in a situation where they cannot return to work and are unable to get back on their feet.
“It’s impacting our programs overall and may have further overall impact as time goes on,” said Lanier.