On May 2, the White House released President Trump’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year. This budget – if approved – will have devastating consequences for thousands of households on Cape Ann and across the broader Essex County region.
In this budget, the Administration proposes cutting vital programs that help working families pay their heating bills, help seniors on fixed income keep up with rising housing costs, and help disabled adults move out of homelessness and into housing.
If this budget is passed, the negative consequences to our community cannot be overstated.
At Action Inc., we assist more than 3,000 individuals per year through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) program – a program that the Administration proposes to eliminate. Through LIHEAP, we ease the burden of utility and heating costs for local residents. We make it possible for working parents to keep their homes warm and safe for their children – so they don’t have to choose between putting food on the table and paying their heating bills. We make it possible for elderly widows and widowers to heat their homes in the winter – so they don’t have to choose between paying for medicine or paying for an oil delivery in the middle of January. Last year, we helped more than 1,100 elderly residents from Gloucester, Ipswich, Rockport, Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Hamilton, and Wenham through the LIHEAP program. We have operated this program efficiently and effectively since the 1980s and our community has come to rely on it.
The Administration’s budget also proposes eliminating the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program, which has been a core part of Action Inc.’s work for decades. Through CSBG, we help local residents avoid eviction, prevent foreclosure, and connect with other community-based services on Cape Ann. We make sure local residents who are facing an unexpected layoff don’t lose their housing because of this temporary hardship by assisting them with their rent while they get back on their feet. We help homeowners avoid foreclosure if they face temporary setbacks – like unexpected costly home repairs – that cause them to fall behind on their mortgage payments. We support people with the complicated process of navigating benefits systems and community-based services that are available to them. Last year, we helped more than 420 people avoid eviction and supported more than 1,100 people with accessing services to meet basic needs thanks to CSBG.
Moreover, the Administration proposes massive changes and cuts to several U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs – most notably the elimination of the Continuum of Care (CoC) program as we know it. The CoC program provides permanent housing with supportive services to disabled individuals and families who have faced chronic, long-term homelessness. At Action Inc., we have seen the lifesaving impact this program can have. In the chaos of chronic homelessness, people are unable to take care of their health – lacking a safe place to keep their medication or recover after a medical procedure. They lack a consistent address to use when applying for jobs – or face discrimination and stigma if they use the address of a homeless shelter.
Through the CoC program, we can provide these individuals with housing – and with opportunity. A home offers them a place where they can attend to their health needs, follow doctor’s recommendations to care for themselves, and apply for work if they are able to do so. Action Inc. has operated this program for years and, during that time, we have seen incredible success. We have helped more than 100 formerly homeless people through this program and have seen 98% of those households retain their housing – thanks to the stability and support this program provides.
At Action Inc., we are working hard to inform leaders and advocate for LIHEAP, CSBG, and these critical HUD programs. We need you to join us in this effort to save essential services for our community!
Contact your legislators to tell them our community needs these programs. You can find your legislators here: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member If you have out-of-state family or friends, please encourage them to call their congressional representatives with this same message.
No one should have to choose between food, medicine, or heat.
Everyone deserves a safe place to call home.
Peggy Hegarty-Steck
CEO
Action Inc.
A shorter version of this OpEd was published in the Manchester Cricket and the Gloucester Daily Times. Read more about Action, Inc.’s energy services here.