Safety net programs for families struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic got a fiscal boost last month after Longmont City Council allocated more than $877,000 to agencies helping promote housing stability and self-sufficiency.
The funds come from $1.7 million in the 2021 budget set aside for human service needs, according to a city staff report. The total allocation is 2.5% more than last year and will help families regain some footing while the virus rages, according to the report.
“The Council’s decision to increase the set aside for 2021, in spite of an unknown economic future, demonstrates the commitment of Longmont to serve its most vulnerable residents,” the staff report states.
Longmont’s Outreach United Resource Center, or OUR Center, received $15,000 for its Aspen Child Care Center to help prepare children for kindergarten. The OUR Center also got $87,745 for its basic needs program, which helps residents get into permanent housing, as well as emergency shelters.
Marc Cowell, executive director of the OUR Center, said the vast majority of families streaming into the nonprofit for food or shelter are not doing so by choice. The loss of a job, or a home or another financial setback can easily send many people onto the streets, Cowell said in an email.
“I do believe it is important to communicate that most individuals who are experiencing poverty of homelessness do not choose to be in their current circumstances and most individuals and families we support at the OUR Center want nothing more than to improve their circumstances,” Cowell said.
Turning their lives around is often difficult, he said. There usually are multiple obstacles that hinder a family’s recovery and overcoming obstacles cannot be done without help, he said.
“I believe it is very important to have a strong safety net that can assist with the multitude of factors that result in poverty and homelessness …,” Cowell said.
That message, “ I believe, needs to be repeated over and over to help us all understand the immense challenges involved when you are addressing poverty and homelessness,” he said.
City staff also gave council the results of the 2020 Human Services Needs Assessment, which stated that housing stability remains the leading need for residents of Longmont, who face some of the metro area’s highest rents, according to the assessment.
Several agencies have responded well to the pandemic, and many residents are happy with efficiency of drive-thru food banks now being used to distribute food to families, the assessment states.
“... With a few modifications to allow for size and household and dietary needs, some would prefer to continue with the drive-thru method,” the report states.
