Expiration of stimulus funds removes safety net

By Ivy Farguheson The Star Press MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) -- Stimulus dollars helped turn Nicole Jefferson's life into a success story for others to follow. Unfortunately, the end of those dollars, which funded the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program, will prevent other families from walking in her shoes as they try to turn around their housing situation. The HPRP funds will expire on June 30. A few months ago, the Muncie, Ind., native was laid off from one of her two jobs, leaving her with a minimum wage income to support herself and her 5-year-old son. The check didn't come close to paying for child care, rent, utilities, food and any extra assistance she needed to care for her son, who is autistic. Jefferson was on the verge of becoming homeless until she applied for the HPRP, administered locally by Bridges Community Services. "It seems that it's difficult to find help when you want to help yourself, when you need a little help to move forward," Jefferson said. "This program really helped me. It's too bad it won't be around anymore. The government needs to find a way to keep it going." The HPRP was funded with a combination of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 -- also known as the stimulus bill -- and dollars from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The program was intended to prevent families from falling into chronic homelessness, ultimately preventing the nation's homeless numbers from rising during the economic recession. It was not meant to assist those living in chronic homelessness, people who have spent years without stable housing due to substance abuse or untreated mental issues or who have lived on the streets as a "choice." Individuals and families could only receive assistance if they had "moderate" barriers preventing them from maintaining a stable living environment: not enough funds to pay for a housing deposit, a backlog of missed utility payments and more. "This program was very successful, in my opinion," said Melissa Nelson, an HPRP case manager at Bridges. "We saw slightly more than 400 families in our area not fall into homelessness. In fact, most of them have taken the assistance and run with it, staying in their homes, maybe even buying their own homes after getting their lives together. They just needed a Band-Aid to keep them moving before things got out of control. And they got it." Bridges was granted $1.2 million dollars between 2009 and 2012 to administer the program in Blackford, Delaware, Grant, Henry, Jay, Madison and Randolph counties. Staff added a further requirement of employment as a means to assist the working poor with housing assistance. Bridges has applied for more funds to continue a version of the HPRP program, but Executive Director Susan Kemp believes larger communities are more likely to receive those dollars given the size of their homeless populations. All is not lost without the dollars, Kemp believes. Through the HPRP dollars, local agencies and families learned what is needed to prevent the working poor from falling into chronic homelessness: short-term financial support to get workers into homes they can afford. "We knew these dollars weren't going to be around forever," Kemp said. "But I'm of the belief that whenever we can help one family, that's good. We did that for 400 families. That's a big deal. We helped families and we'll keep doing that somehow." Published: Mon, Jun 11, 2012