A Message from the Executive & Associate Director
Our poor economy has caused Community Shelter Services expected financial difficulties. In 2010, however, our agency did develop three new services to celebrate. Our long awaited family-supported housing project, called Lighting the Candle, received HUD funding and enabled us to lease 10 apartments to formerly homeless families. The funding allows the families to establish a safe, affordable place to call home. Once established, family members have the benefit of financial assistance and case management support for two years. During that time, Lighting the Candle helps residents develop a ‘common sense approach’ to establishing financial independence and self-sufficiency. It is our hope and our expectation that the families we serve will have developed the skills, awareness and motivation necessary to live independently.
With Pennsylvania Emergency Shelter Grant funds we have added a separate kitchen and bathroom in each of our family shelter apartments as well as a fully-equipped laundry room. These improvements enable two-parent families or families that include older males to receive emergency shelter services while keeping the family intact.
Sincerely,
Kathleen “Kitty” Cancilla
Executive Director
Community Shelter Services’ Homeless Prevention program, also funded by HUD as part of the 2008 Homeless Prevention Fund, provides financial assistance to eligible families to help keep them from losing their homes. Our staff works with landlords and creditors to eliminate old debt and late fees and helps working families get caught up. For those families who have lost their apartment but can afford to live on their own, HPRP helps them find new homes quickly. The Homeless Prevention program has prevented hundreds of families from losing their homes and hundreds more find new homes quickly. We have assisted over 1500 families since the program began in January of 2009.
Finally, this summer Community Shelter Services was awarded a generous grant by the Erie Community Foundations’ Vital Signs initiative, to develop a program called Step Ahead. Step Ahead is a multi-agency collaborative for working families which focuses on developing the education, skills and motivation needed to manage their money and their lives more effectively. Community Shelter Services, SafeNet, Erie Dawn and the United Way are implementing a research-based financial social work model which is focusing on delivering long term, sustainable, financial behavioral change.
Sincerely,
Pat Herr, M.S.W, LSW
Associate Director