News from DACKKs
A little bit late for Happy New Year wishes…though we do wish you one! We are slow out of the gate with our yearly update, and I apologize. It simply means we have been busy fulfilling our mission!
We start our second decade with eleven apartments, all fully occupied by twelve adults and six children. During the last year, we:
At our November fundraiser we honored BD, Becton Dickinson, for its very generous support in this and in years past. We also honored Robert Timmes, of the firm Fulton, Timmes, Frega and Straubinger, PC, for his generosity in volunteering his professional accounting services to us over the last decade. Both honorees epitomize the invaluable support we receive from the community in addressing the needs of our fellow Bergen County citizens. We can't do it without you. Visit our Facebook page to view pictures of the event.
Our workload has significantly increased with the addition of five chronically homeless adults. Their long term homelessness reflects the particular struggles they face managing their disabilities, and challenges us in providing support and services to them. Life on the street is a setback and picking up the pieces a major task. While all of our tenants rejoice in their good fortune of finally obtaining housing, for some, adjusting to their new responsibilities as both a tenant and a member of the community can be difficult after long periods of time on the street. For the first few months, and for some tenants, years, they require frequent contact as we help them learn to accept their responsibilities and better manage the issues in their lives. All are receiving counseling and supportive services from quality Bergen County agencies. And all receive our day-to-day support in learning such basic skills as budgeting, banking, shopping, cleaning/laundry, maintaining an apartment, adjusting to their new surroundings, and all those others skills required for living successfully and as independently as possible in their own home. They are making progress!
Though this work is challenging, the rewards are great. Who can see a person's life change from one of drifting without hope to one of finding a center, a structure and a future and not feel that the effort was worthwhile? Of course, our growth means that our responsibilities - managing our properties, supporting our growing tenant base, securing adequate funding and fulfilling our funding requirements - have also greatly increased. We hope you will continue to provide us with the kind of support that has allowed us to grow.
Here is some required reading for people who want to stay on top of the issue of homelessness, particularly in Bergen County:
2011 Point In Time Count.
Every year, organizations nationwide that receive federal funding for homeless assistance programs conduct a survey of their geographic area to determine on the day of the survey how many people consider themselves homeless. Bergen County performed its survey on January 27, 2011 and found that 522 people, including 121 children, reported themselves as homeless.
Go here to read the full report, then click on the link for the 2010 Bergen County data.
Out of Reach 2010.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition (nlihc.org) works to influence public policy to assure that people with the lowest incomes have decent and affordable housing. Go here to see a side-by-side comparison of housing affordability in Bergen County and New Jersey
For the full report on housing affordability nationwide, go to:
http://www.nlihc.org/oor/oor2010/
Save the Date! On Saturday, May 14, join us for a fun-filled night of bowling, a perfect outing for kids from 8-88!
Games, raffles, tricky trays, prizes, our second annual event will delight.
And log in to our website periodically to catch the latest updates about the DACKKs Group, its projects, its fundraising events and volunteer opportunities. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Karen E. Amy
President
April 2011