To all of our wonderful TIS supporters,
As the heat of the summer progresses, TIS is seeing more and more individuals and families applying for shelter. The high cost of housing makes it nearly impossible for a minimum wage earner to afford a roof, however modest, over their heads. This causes a block for our guests, not only the ones who have been in our Transitional Housing Program, who are hoping to move into housing of their own, but also for the people in the queue who would like to move from Shelter into Transitional Housing.
TIS may need to keep some of the apartments as permanent housing for some guests who have evictions in their record, as those folks cannot find any landlords to take them in, regardless of their income. This will require TIS to find and secure more housing so all of our guests who qualify for Transitional Housing may access it.
I ask you to please keep a lookout for our summer appeal in your mailbox. Our staff and volunteers are working very diligently to get these out to you, because TIS has so much more need each year for support for our most vulnerable neighbors. Please find it in your heart to give abundantly to help us in our mission to combat homelessness on Maryland’s Mid-Shore. Homelessness is a Housing problem, and this article illustrates the struggles very well.
Poverty for children is a heartbreak…they have lower academic scores, higher incidences of health problems, and perpetuate generational poverty for years to come. TIS tries to break that trend by giving parents the tools and education they need to fight themselves our of the poverty vortex that threatens to suck them in at every turn.
TIS offers Transitional Housing at rent rates far below the market rate, and provides case managers who work with them all along their journeys toward self-sufficiency. It is extremely difficult work, breaking the patterns that have been ingrained for decades, but our staff are up to the task!
What we need from you, our faithful followers and supporters, is help with funding so that we can keep well-trained and accredited staff working hard for our guests, and the opportunity to purchase and / or lease apartments in Easton and the surrounding areas so we can keep the flow through Shelter and Transitional housing going. We are not going to be able to fix the current housing crisis, but we can purchase and/or lease more housing units so that we can keep the progress going.
You can see from the infographic below that some of the Mid-Shore counties are struggling the most with childhood poverty. The local government is not taking on this challenge, but TIS and its partner organizations are, to the best of their ability.
Believe me, I understand the wariness to let go of some of our savings…inflation and interest rates are high, it’s an election year with all of its uncertainties, I could go on about what we think might be causing a reduction in giving, but I just want to appeal to you, who are housed, to think about what it might feel like to be unhoused, and the anxiety and the trauma that causes, and the ripple effect of that to poor children everywhere.
We are SO very grateful for your support of TIS. It makes my heart pound with joy whenever I open mail with a check inside, or see an online donation to TIS, no matter what size it is. We could not do the crucial work we do in our community of the 5 mid-shore counties without YOU!!!
With Much Gratitude,
Julie Lowe, TIS Executive Director