Budget deal finally reached
How LSH has weathered the storm
News from our various programs...
BDVP: LSH welcomes Casey Sill as the new Director
CEED: A Young Mother Takes the First Steps in Achieving her Professional Goals
Senior Center: Seniors to get help staying warm
Homeless Services: Jane Addams Place Staff present at international Sanctuary Network Conference 2009
How you can help...
Help to sustain LSH's vital work in the community
Help make the holidays brighter for a family in need!
80 days after they were mandated by law to do so, Governor Rendell and state legislators finally reached an agreement on the state budget for the current fiscal year. Although the agreement has been reached and a signed budget appears close, it may be quite some time before payments on contracts to deliver services begin to flow. Many social service agencies rely on a combination of federal, state, and local funding as primary sources of revenue. Many funds that come through the city actually originate with the state. Thus, the budget crisis disrupted the flow of funding for organizations that depend on either city or state funding to provide critical services to the regions most vulnerable residents.
Social service agencies have been struggling to keep doors open during the interim, and the picture for non-profits across the state has grown increasingly grim since the beginning of the fiscal year on July 1. According to the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania,
63% of social service agencies in the Philadelphia region have either reduced or eliminated programs and services or anticipate that they will need to do so by September 30, 2009 if state funds have not been received
36% have implemented staff layoffs to date
69% have been forced to delay payments to vendors, and 79% have delayed orders for supplies.
Approximately 33% of area non-profits have had to rely on a loan or line of credit to maintain services
56% report drawing on reserves, savings, or an endowment to keep their doors open
19% report that they were late issuing paychecks to staff, or missed at least one payroll entirely
7% have fallen behind on their payroll taxes
Even if the state were to issue checks tomorrow to cover all past due payments to agencies for services rendered, the budget crisis has already had a devastating effect on the non-profit community in Pennsylvania; one from which it will not recover quickly or easily. Social service agencies have been forced to slash programs and staff, and some without reserves or lines of credit have already shut their doors completely. The capacity of these agencies, which form the infrastructure of the Commonwealth's social safety network, has been severely compromised. Agencies which were forced to take out loans or draw down lines of credit will not be receiving extra monies from the state to help pay back the interest owed. Organizations that worked hard to build an endowment or create a reserve must start again from scratch. Years of experience and institutional knowledge possessed by laid off employees has been lost. Delayed payments to vendors have resulted in late fees, service charges, and delinquency fines which will not be repaid by the state. And agencies that have had to cut back on programs and services, and whose state funding is tied to the number of clients served, are in a double bind as they will likely be receiving smaller than expected checks from the state once payments resume. As agencies struggle with financial fallout, each dollar which goes to repay a loan, or a late fee, or back taxes will represent money that is not being spent on the essential programs and services which these agencies exist to deliver.
The services provided by these agencies are essential to thousands of vulnerable Pennsylvanians who rely on them for everything from a hot meal for low-income seniors, to quality literacy programs, to support and advocacy for victims of domestic violence, to a place to sleep at night. However, it is not only the clients and staff who are affected. The non-profit sector represents an important part of the state's economy. According to the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations, non-profits provide one out of every nine full-time jobs in Pennsylvania. In Southeastern Pennsylvania alone, estimates suggest that non-profits spend $6 billion annually in products and services from the local economy. Studies suggest that at the local and state level, non-profits have an even greater impact on the economy than do hotels, legal services, or restaurants.
The last few months have certainly not been an easy time at LSH as we have watched our sister agencies cutting back services, and in some cases, shutting down entirely. We are proud to report, however, that there have not been any programs or services reduced or eliminated at LSH as a result of the budget crisis. However, LSH has had to take certain measures to make this possible. Staff are taking eight unpaid furlough days each between June and December to cut down payroll costs. Many of LSH's vendors have not been paid. A line of credit has been taken out, and vacant positions have not been filled.
These are difficult times for the agency, and unfortunately the imminent passage of the budget does not necessarily mean that the worst is over for LSH. The process for releasing funds once the budget is passed is cumbersome, and LSH may not see any payments until December. This will mean than LSH has been delivering services without any funding for over 6 months. We have proudly served the neediest Philadelphians since 1902, and with the passage of the budget we will once again be able to put our fiscal house in order and look to the future with confidence and the dedication to our clients which has been our hallmark for the last hundred years.
Casey comes to LSH from Pittsburgh, where she was one of the co-founders of the Project to End Human Trafficking. She specializes in issues surrounding reproductive and sexual health, and has worked with victims and survivors of intimate partner violence. A strong advocate for human rights, Casey has also lectured at local, national and international venues regarding the issue of modern day slavery and sexual exploitation of women and children.
“I felt drawn initially to the work of the BDVP because of its solid reputation among domestic violence services providers in the state, and by the fact that it was one of the first domestic violence agencies in the state to offer services in both English and Spanish.” Casey was also intrigued by the BDVP’s medical advocacy program, which is based on an innovative model of providing domestic violence education and counseling services in a pediatric medical setting. She sees this area as one in which the BDVP will be expanding in the next several years. Casey also sees increased collaboration with the other 3 major domestic violence agencies in Philadelphia as a priority in the coming year. She says, “I feel fortunate as a new Director to walk into a program like the BDVP that already has in place such high-quality programming and such a talented, dedicated, and passionate staff.”
Karlita is a young single parent who has persevered in getting her GED and is going on to further her education. After starting her GED study at LSH in February, 2008, four months later she was told by her physician that she needed complete bed rest if she hoped to give birth to a healthy baby. Since she had lost her first baby before birth, she didn’t want to risk that again. She decided to get her own GED book and to study in bed until her daughter was born. Passing her reading, social studies, and science GED exams, she returned to LSH to study math with Heidi Haupt and writing with Norman Simmons. When she did not pass the GED math exam the first time, she returned again to LSH to brush up on her math skills. Recently, she took the math exam again. This time she is 99% sure that she has passed. So sure, in fact, that she is applying to a program to acquire a post-secondary diploma. Her career goals include eventually owning her own restaurant one day, and she is working hard and successfully on the first steps in achieving her dreams.
The sad reality is that each winter, many seniors in Philadelphia face the hard choice between paying for their heat and buying food or paying for prescription medicines. This difficult decision is one which is faced by many of the members of LSH’s Senior Center. Some seniors don’t know, however, that there are options for getting assistance with their heating bill. Fortunately, the Center’s social worker, Shawn Langdon, is on hand to provide support and assistance to low-income seniors who are facing the prospect of not being able to afford to heat their homes during the coming months. Many seniors qualify for LIHEAP, or the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. However, this year there is a proposal on the table to lower the maximum annual income for participating in the LIHEAP program from $23,110 to $16,245, although this has not yet been finalized. For those seniors who might no longer qualify, there are a couple of other options for help, including a small one-time payment from the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging’s emergency fund, or enrollment in the Customer Assistance Program, which helps make monthly heating payments more manageable. Shawn helps seniors in need to explore their options and provides assistance in completing applications, gathering necessary documentation, and understanding the process.
If you are a senior and have questions about how to get help with paying the heating bill this winter, please contact Shawn Langdon, 215-426-8610, ext.203
David Roth, Associate Director of Jane Addams Place, and Sherrice Jones, Jane Addams Place Cook, were invited to present at the 2009 international Sanctuary Network Conference held September 23-24 in White Plains, NY. The presentation was about their work in implementing the Sanctuary Model of trauma-informed care at Jane Addams Place. Entitled Sanctuary in the Kitchen: Building Community One Room at a Time, it focused on their success in extending the principles of trauma-informed services and the seven Commitments of Sanctuary (the Commitments to non-violence, emotional intelligence, social learning, democracy, open communication, social responsibility, and growth and change) into the kitchen environment at the shelter.
Because the kitchen is the heart of any home, traumatized homeless families who enter a shelter can be re-traumatized by the institutional, “cafeteria mentality” feel of the kitchen. Mothers are deeply affected by their lack of ability to provide food for their own children and to cook their children’s favorite meals. In a highly institutional setting, intimate conversation is not encouraged, and food is not seen as a means to create and sustain a feeling community and a feeling of attachment among family members. At Jane Addams Place, however, the kitchen has been re-molded into a true “Sanctuary” for residents – where they have the chance to cook with and for their children, help to decide the menu, come together as a community at meal time, use vegetables from the shelter garden in the community meals from the shelter garden, and transform the experience of eating into one which reinforces the healing process.
As always, LSH welcomes any donation you are able to give. At any time of the year, your gift helps to ensure that homeless families have a place to sleep at night that low-income seniors have companionship and a resource to help them stay healthy and in their own homes that abused women have a place to turn and that at-risk adults looking to improve their lives through literacy and GED classes are able to access those classes for free. Thank you for your generosity!
Click below to make a secure online donation.
It’s hard to believe that fall is already here, and the holidays are right around the corner. This winter, LSH’s clients need your help! Each winter, we provide food baskets, coats, and Christmas toys to some of our most needy clients. We are looking for donations of new or gently used winter coats in all sizes. We are also looking for donations of gift cards to supermarkets (so that our clients can purchase a turkey), and canned and other non-perishable foods (such as canned vegetables, stuffing and gravy mix, instant mashed potatoes, pie filling, etc.) for Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets. Also, please consider adopting a family for Christmas!
For more information please contact Esther Hall-Reinhard, Development Associate, at 215-426-8610, ext. 216, or via email at ehreinhard@lutheransettlement.org
