Struggle to meet financial and shelter requests is front-page news

I’ve been writing about local efforts to come up with additional emergency winter shelter, and about the increase in requests for assistance and decline in giving. Today’s News & Record features front-page, above-the-fold coverage of both those issues.

“Requests for help rise as non-profits struggle:” (PDF) Some agencies have seen applications for emergency financial assistance double since last year. That assistance pays for utility bills and rent payments. Some people are being turned away. That means gas and electricity turned off. And families being evicted from housing. (When you can’t pay your rent, you get evicted. And if you live in public housing and your utilities get turned off, you get evicted.) Greensboro Urban Ministry Director Mike Aiken says this is the worst he’s seen it in his 30 years of service.

“The cold snap causes scramble at shelters:” (PDF) Homeless shelters in High Point and Greensboro are already doing emergency winter shelter — sheltering people beyond their normal capacity — because of freezing temperatures which have come early this year.  And there isn’t enough shelter space for everyone who needs it.  This adds urgency to our efforts to establish more emergency winter shelter locations.

I fear that it’s going to be a long, cold winter.  In a lot of ways.  For a lot of people.