Milford Square shelter building getting "wrapped up" prior to application of siding donated by CertainTeed.
FINALLY, after three years, hundreds of volunteer hours and over $55,000 in donations - our Milford Square Shelter is being renovated and repaired and sided! The shelter, home to six families working to move to permanent housing and financial stability, is a home built in 1890 and renovated to accomodate homeless families. Check back for updates as the project progresses!
l-r: Melissa Mantz, Chris O'Connell and Nancy Szamborski
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The primary goal of the food drive is to keep local food pantries stocked during July and August, months when donations are lean, but need continues unabated. Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2012 with a “10 for 10” Community Service Campaign, Furia Rubel is hosting its own food drive in support of the Housing Group’s summer program and is distributing branded grocery bags to clients, colleagues, family and friends during April and May to collect non-perishable food items.
“While many of us look forward to our summer vacations, hunger, unfortunately, does not take a vacation,” said Furia Rubel founder and CEO Gina F. Rubel, Esq. “In an effort to stop hunger in our area, we are asking our friends to join us in supporting the Bucks County Housing Group’s summer food drive. Gifts of non-perishable items, monetary donations and gift cards to local Bucks County grocery stores will help keep the county’s food pantries stocked for those who might otherwise go hungry this summer.”
Some of the needed non-perishable items include canned fruit, chunky soups, healthy kids’ snacks, instant coffee, peanut butter, jelly, juice boxes, kids’ cereals, powdered milk, spaghetti sauce, sugar and tuna.
Organizations interested in supporting the “Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation” food drive may contact Furia Rubel at (215) 340-0480 or or BCHG at (215) 598-3566. The Housing Group is also gratefully accepting monetary donations and/or gift cards to Acme Markets, Bottom Dollar Food, Giant, Kmart, Landis Super Markets, Target, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, Wegmans or Whole Foods Market.
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In December BCHG recieved a grant from Foundations Community Partnership to underwrite the costs of a pavilion at our Robert Morris Apartment complex. Well the pavilion is almost complete and residents are pretty excited about this great addition to the property. ” We will use this pavilion to host our summer feeding program, for kids activities and for tenant gatherings.” said Dana Smith-Kurtbek, Community Builder at the site. “This is a wish come true for us and we are very grateful to FCP for making this happen.” A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place in May.
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BCHG is the recepient of a $15,000 grant from the Workforce Investment Board Bucks County Youth Council which will fund a week long career camp at Snipes Farm http://www.snipesfarm.com/. The grant is designed to give children the opportunity to learn about possible careers for the future. The camp Farm for Your Life Career Camp will include educational seminars as well as hands-on experiences for youth campers. Activities will include daily chores to feed animals, tend the children’s garden and create snacks with farm fresh ingredients. Daily career seminars will explore the hows and whysof farming and cover the many skill sets involved in farming. Seminar topics will include:
Education will be highlighted as in seminars and daily activities to facilitate learning every day in many
ways, with mention of the many programs that are available. SFEC uses solar energy in part to run the farm and will explore the work that it takes to install a system and how the sun’s energy is converted into electricity. SFEC plans to do a morning field trip to the Bard Holding lab that makes bio-fuelout of algae. Bard’s website is www.bardholding.com.
Seminars are designed to be hands-on and fun with games and singing woven throughout. The week will culminate in a farm market-for-a-day experience where everyone would help to harvest and prepare crops, set up a small farm stand with signs and pricing, prepare a couple of recipes for sampling and learn some basic facts about theveggies to share with visitors. A flyer for the event would be prepared by a camper marketing committee. Campers will go home with fresh produce every day, will take home recipes and information about local farms andfarm markets and a list of careers that we’ve included in the camp experience with websites and resources to reach for moreinformation.
Welcome home to the historic Albert J. Jones House. This 1858 Federal style home warms you with country elegance and touches of nostalgic whimsy—thanks to some serious auction-going by the owners. Kitchen, dining and family rooms have been added and revamped, with a surprise ‘entryway’ situated ‘on high’ in the family room.Lots of nooks and crannies offer up clever 21st Century storage solutions within; while the back barn exudes sheer amusement– certain to put a smile on your face.
December 2 ~ 6pm-9pm and December 3 ~ 11am-4pm Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 on the day of the tour and you can purchase online by clicking on the house!
Bucks County Housing Authority is a county agency tasked with oversight of the HUD Housing Voucher Program while Bucks County Housing Group is a private non-profit social service agency serving homeless and low income familes since 1979.
“Kill her”, the man said as a bullet whizzed by her ear. Frozen in fear, Joan wasn’t sure if she was dead or alive. Then he stopped, turned and walked away. Immediately she jumped out a window and ran. “I ran so fast that night. I can run, or walk anywhere now,” she said. “Anywhere.” That was the beginning of a long journey from a life she had known to a life she could not even imagine.
Rebel wars raged in her home of Liberia; government on one side, rebels on the other. That night was not to be the last time Joan would look straight into the eyes of death. There was another time when her close friend was randomly pulled off a line and shot. “It was the first time I saw anything like that, the first time I saw anyone die,” said Joan. First time? I couldn’t ask her about the other times. She hinted later in the conversation about seeing a room, carpeted with dead bodies strewn from side to side.
To escape this hell, Joan and a friend hired one of the rebels to drive them across the border to the Ivory Coast. When finally they crossed the border into the Ivory Coast, she cried. Relief? I thought. “Oh, no,” she said. “I was leaving everything I ever knew. I just kept crying. I was leaving my homeland. Everything was foreign, everything was different. But then, as we drove, I saw a peace. There were no guns. There was no fear.”
Joan found her way to a refugee camp that was hosted by the United Nations. Joan was then randomly selected by a Swiss woman, a stranger whom she would never even meet. She paid for Joan’s rent and tuition. The Swiss woman’s only request was that Joan get her education. When Joan finished her education, the arrangements were made through the U.N. in the Ivory Coast to get her a visa to come to America.
After a few years in America, the birth of a son, various jobs and journeys, her travels eventually lead her to Bensalem, PA. Homeless again, she found her way to the Red Cross Shelter Bucks County. Red Cross referred her to Bucks County Housing Group (BCHG.)
BCHG is a 30 year old private social service agency whose mission it is to help homeless families in Bucks County. She wanted to work but while living at the BCHG shelter Milford Square, transportation was an issue. Her BCHG case manager, put her on the list waiting for a car in BCHG’s Wheelz 2Work Program.
Wheelz2Work, a 12 year old program of BCHG, is a community supported car donation program. The community donates a car; Wheelz2Work fixes it up with the help of repair grants from foundations and social services. Wheelz2Work then gives the car to one of the BCHG families in need. “What!” Joan said in disbelief. “Am I really going to get a car?”
The waiting list for a Wheelz2Work car was long. She had gotten on the list in June 2010. Car donations to the program have been have been slow since the recession. It was a 14 months before her name would come up for a car.
On August 19, 2011 Joan was given a Wheelz2Work car, a donated and repaired 2000 Volkswagen Passat at Kerrigans Autobody in Doylestown. When she saw the car she told me she had no idea it would be so beautiful. “It has been hard, very hard. Sometimes I walk, long distances if the bus is not coming. This car will change so much, it will make a big difference in my life and in my boy’s life. I am very grateful. So thank full. I cannot ask for more than this. May God continue to bless this program for all the ways it has served us and other women who have the same struggle.”
What was her day like before the Wheelz2Work car? She would get up at 5AM to take her son on a 2 hour bus ride to school. Two hours to get there, two hours to get back. Midday she would search for a job. She took a bus to look for the job, another bus to get home. She must allow another 2 hours to get back on the bus to get her son; 2 more hours to get back home.
“This will change my life.” Joan said. “I will be able to get a better job. I am so grateful to all the good people who are involved in this.” This will make a difference. My son and I prayed. He was so happy when I told him. I was crying when I told him. I told him that God used good people to get us this car.”
Again, Joan was helped by a stranger: the donor who supported the Wheelz2Work Program by giving her car to this worthy cause. I am guessing that the donor assumed that it would be for someone down on their luck. Did she think she would be helping a woman who walked in such faith and fortitude? Whose patience and perseverance prevails through each challenge she has met. Could the donor ever have imagined how her generosity would impact this life?
For more information about donating your car to Wheelz2Work, call 215 5098 3566 x 130. You can also visit the website at http://www.bchg.org/w2w/ .
BCHG is pleased to announce new officers on the Board of Directors. Donna McQuillen was chosen as President replacing out going President Sean Galt. Kevin McPoyle was named as Vice President filling in Ms McQuillens’ vacated spot. Other officers in place are John Donaghy-Treasurer, Tom Steele- Assistant Treasurer, Erin Coyne- Secretary and Donna McHugh- Assistant Secretary. Marlene Pray, Amy Saunders, Gail Acosta, Robert Gundlach and Mike Cosmo also serve as Board members.
Outgoing President Sean Galt finished his term and was lauded by BCHG Executive Director Nancy Szmaborski: “We can not thank Sean enough for his gifted leadership through a time of transition. Sean’s insight and energy are so important and we are very grateful that he is staying on our Board.” Mr. Galt is the President of Thompson Networks which provides customized voice and data solutions to help businesses of all sizes improve and facilitate communications with their customers, employees and the community. Mr. Galt resides in Doylestown with his family.
Incoming President Donna McQuillen lives with her family in Furlong. Ms McQuillen is a long-time volunteer for BCHG serving as an Apartment Partner at the Doylestown Shelter from 1996 until joining the Board of Directors in 2006. “I believe in the work of BCHG. I have met so many of the client families over the years and I see the difference that working with BCHG makes for these families. I am proud to serve as a volunteer and look forward to my time as President of our Board.” said Ms McQuillen. Ms McQuillen is a Benefits Consultant with Trion a Marsh McClellan Agency LLC.
Kevin McPoyle has served on the Board since 2007 and lives in Doylestown with his family. Mr McPoyle is Co-Founder and Partner of KMRD Partners, a leading risk management consulting firm and property & casualty insurance broker. Mr McPoyle has been instrumental in assisting BCHG with property management issues which is very important since all of the buildings BCHG owns and maintains are at least 50 years old. “I like what they do here.” said Mr McPoyle. “The staff is dedicated to making sure the neediest families in the community have options for housing and that folks have food. It’s great to be working with this team.”
Housing counselors scrambling after funding source is lost
By Crissa Shoemaker DeBree
Staff writer Calkins Media, Inc.
Local agencies that provide counseling for homeowners facing foreclosure are scrambling to find new funding sources after learning that state and federal money set aside for the services has run out. The cuts, counselors say, leave homeowners without support during the foreclosure process and open to scam artists who prey on vulnerable people scared of losing their homes.
“One of my biggest concerns, knowing all this funding is going away, (is that) a lot of the scams are probably going to pick up because people aren’t going to get the free services that were out there,” said Marci Polekoff, a housing counselor with the Bucks County Housing Group. “They’re grasping for straws trying to find somebody to help them. They’re not going to be educated not to (fall for scams).”
The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, which funnels state and federal aid to housing counselors, told agencies last month that funding would run out June 30 for all counseling services conducting under its Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Initiative, and for one-on-one default and delinquency counseling services through its Comprehensive Housing Counseling Initiative.
The one-on-one counseling helped homeowners make decisions about their finances and, if possible, work with their mortgage lenders to modify their loans, counselors said.
“Homeowners in this particular economic crisis, they can use all the help they can get,” said Joan Reading, president of the Credit Counseling Center in Richboro. “When you’re not funding additional counseling for the homeowner, it makes it more difficult for the homeowner to address their already difficult financial situation.”
In a memo, the PHFA said it asked for more than $8 million to pay for counseling services over a 14-month period; it received just over $3 million.
“Unfortunately, the demand for these types of counseling services here in Pennsylvania has already far exceeded the amount of funding received,” the agency said in the memo, which was dated June 17.
PHFA also has told its agencies that funding to process applications for another foreclosure program, the Homeowner’s Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program, ran out July 1.Until new sources of funding are found, agencies are focusing on the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program, which offers bridge loans to help homeowners catch up on their mortgages. But the program isn’t open to everyone — homeowners must have experienced a “substantial” loss of at least 15 percent of their income due to unemployment or underemployment related directly to the economy or a medical condition. And money for that program is set to run out this fall.
“From October to January, there’s no government funding available to help people,” said Nancy Szamborski, executive director of the Bucks County Housing Group. “The PHFA, although they would like to help us, they’ve overextended the money they’ve got.”
Still, both Reading at the Credit Counseling Center and Szamborski said their agencies won’t give up on homeowners who need help. They hope private sources of funding will come through.
“We will still work with them, go over their situation, go over their options,” Reading said. “I just have to figure out how I’ll fund it.”
Szamborski said Housing Group may redirect non-earmarked funds to support housing counseling, as well as looking for outside funding from banks and other organizations that have supported its programs in the past.
“We expect to continue to do this, because it’s a key part of our mission,” she said. “We’ve been doing housing counseling for 30 years. We’re not going away. We don’t want people to turn to unscrupulous people in the community who want to take their money. We want to continue to provide real, tangible help.”
Dear Colleagues, Advocates, Volunteers and Friends,
Homeless families in Bucks County need your help to help restore vital funding that has been eliminated from the state budget and to advocate for adequate federal funding for homeless programs. There are two action steps that we recommend:
Action Step#1: Email Senators Toomey and Casey by Friday April 8 to advocate on McKinney Vento’s FY 2011 budget, asking for an appropriation of $2.05 Billion Senator Casey http://casey.senate.gov/contact/ Senator Toomey http://toomey.senate.gov/contact_form.cfm
Action Step#2: The elimination of Human Service Development Funding will severely impact our counties ability to provide vital services to low income populations including the homeless, senior citizens, and domestic violence survivors. 4,000 bucks county residents were served because of this funding last year alone! Contact your state senator and representative and ask for restoration of the $23.5 million appropriation that was eliminated from the state budget. You can find your state legislators at:http://www.legis.state.pa.us/
It is important that you communicate how important homeless services are to families in need in Bucks County. Feel free to communicate to our legislators your own stories about the importance of this funding and to highlight the value of living in a society where no child is homeless and every person that works hard and plays by the rules has a right to decent and affordable housing
Thank you for your support!
Alison M. Poole, LSW, MSW
Director of Social Services
Bucks County Housing Group, Inc
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