Basic Needs Are Increasing In Our Region - A Data Snapshot

The purpose of the Helping Neighbors NOW initiative is to help meet immediate needs of a growing number of families and individuals who are facing food, housing, and healthcare insecurity in this economic downturn. The focus will be on one-time emergency expenses that threaten to put a family or individual in a crisis situation.

Need:

- United Way of Greater Waterbury (UWGW) funded basic needs programs report a 20 % increase in the demand for their services.

- The recently implemented Holiday Assistance Program of the United Way Food Resource Committee documented a 20% increase in the request for food assistance.

- At the Economic Summit hosted by the UWGW in December, area providers testified to the increased demand for services and state experts reported high unemployment numbers and bleak forecasts as well as state budget deficits that reinforced the need for immediate intervention strategies that will directly provide relief to families and individuals.

- 2-1-1, a help line that connects people with resources, reports the top three service needs calls from our area were for utilities, housing, and information. In fact service needs calls to 2-1-1 from our area towns were up between 17 and 49%.

- Unemployment statewide is averaging 7% with a unemployment in Waterbury 10%,

Every day, the national economic crisis is affecting more people here in Greater Waterbury. Families and individuals are struggling to make ends meet. An increased number of homeowners teeter on the brink of foreclosure or may have already lost their homes. Parents are forced to make difficult decisions between food and fuel. Individuals who were just getting by with two or more minimum wage jobs find themselves homeless when one of these jobs is eliminated and they are no longer able to pay their rent or mortgage.

The crisis is daunting. As seasons change, the need is growing at a pace we have not faced in decades - more people are hungry, homeless and facing economic uncertainty. Food pantries can’t keep up with the demand and are dealing simultaneously with greater need for their services and significant reductions in funding. Because of the economy, organizations are seeing an influx of new faces that previously were able to “get by.”