Tuesday, November 4, 2008

As the Economy drops, South End Non-Profits See Effects





By Kate Klinck

The Pine Street Inn will have the homeless will sleep on floors and in hallways this winter instead of beds that were available last year.

Barbara Trevisan, a spokeswoman for the Pine Street Inn, one of the city’s largest homeless shelters, said the effects of Governor Deval Patrick’s $1 billion budget cuts will affect them when winter comes.

“One thing that has been cut is additional beds for winter,” Trevisan said. “As the weather gets colder, we also feel the pressure with the costs of utilities such as heat and gas for trucks and vans.”

As the economy worsens, non-profit organizations such as the Pine Street Inn and the Haley House in the South End and Roxbury are seeing an increased number of clients, but have fewer resources to offer because of budget cuts and a drop in the amount of donations from local foundations.

Bing Broderick, the bakery director of the Haley House in Roxbury, said he has seen an increase in the number of people applying for the work training program.


“I have a waiting list of 19 people right now,” Broderick said. “That’s increased since last year.”

Noreen Manzo, the director of affordable housing at the Haley House in the South End, said the organization has seen an increase in the applications of people applying for transitional and permanent affordable housing.

Together, the Haley House and the Madison Park Development Corporation in the South End manage 69 housing units. Because of the increase in applicants, the Haley House has started a waiting list. “If the funds for endowments dry up, we’ll be affected,” Manzo said. Linda Royer, the director of Washington Gateway Main Street, said that she does not know of any development plans for affordable housing in the South End at this time.

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