With Permission
BranfordCares Meets
Cutbacks in funding for various social service programs have galvanized the efforts of people in Branford and beyond.
“This has been a worse year than it has ever been,” says Pat Andriole, director of the Branford Counseling Center. She has said repeatedly over the past several years that Branford families are having a tough time.
“People who never thought they’d need help are applying for help,” she says. “People are coming in because they can’t pay rent because they have to pay for utilities and food. That’s new this year.”
“We’re lucky to live in Branford where there are a lot of good neighbors,” says Andriole of the many contributions they make.
Newly formed BranfordCares, a joint church-town effort to raise funds for the needy, comes right on the heels of the Foundations Fuel Families Fund Drive 2012, a joint effort among the Community Foundations of Branford, Guilford, and Madison.
The goal of the Foundations Fuel Families project was to raise $100,000 in private funding from within the communities to help families needing fuel assistance. The Community Foundations promised to match dollar for dollar, up to $10,000, the funds raised in each town. The Branford Counseling Center, Madison Youth and Family Services, and Guilford Social Services distributed them, and the money raised in each town will benefit its residents.
Eunice Lasala, president of the Branford Foundation, reports that $9,420 was donated by the community at large and individuals and $7,161 was donated by the Branford Rotary Club. The Branford Community Foundation’s matching grant was $10,000, for a total of $26,581.
“It will help, but it won’t solve the problem,” she said.
Lisa Janssen Petra, executive director of the Guilford Foundation, said that just over $14,000 was raised in Guilford, which was matched at $10,000. Guilford’s Department of Social Services will distribute the funds. She said she was “overwhelmed and touched” by the response of the community.
In Madison, Nancy Gerson, president of the Madison Foundation, estimated that a little over $20,000 was raised there (they were still waiting for online banking totals) and $10,000 also will be added to that total. The funds will be put to good use through the town’s Neighbor to Neighbor (n2n) program.
Gerson said the program showed “how generous and compassionate the town of Madison is to those facing economic challenges. There was no donation given that did not come from the heart and without thought to those who have been ‘more’ affected in facing hardship. Our town rallied together to support neighbors in need when the federal and state government abandoned them.”
Lasala explained that the timing of the program was based on the need to fill in the gap at the end of the winter when the usual resources – funds from individual towns, state resources such as Operation Fuel and federal help through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program – were nearing depletion. The program ran until the middle of March.
Cutbacks in State and Federal Funding
The effort was in response to the cutback in state and federal assistance at a time when fuel costs are rising and residents are still suffering from the effects of the recession. Lasala said the community foundations began plans for the program last September after realizing they has the same kinds of problems. Town officials and state legislative officials also took part in making plans.
As for the mild winter … that didn’t mean that fewer people needed a helping hand.
In 2010 – 2011, Branford alone saw the number of applicants increase from 450 to 550; 241 were approved, up from 203 last year. Andriole said that during 40 consecutive working days, the Branford Counseling Center received 447 requests for assistance, as many as 40-plus calls in a day. From Jan. 10 to Jan. 13, there were 96 requests for assistance.
Andriole sees those who are long-term unemployed and newly unemployed. However, she’s also seeing more people who are under-employed. They are not reflected in unemployment statistics, nor are those who have stopped looking for work. Branford’s unemployment rate as of January 2012 was 7.3 percent; it was 7.7 percent in April 2011 and 6.8 percent in April 2010. Add to that, people who just can’t make it on the income they have and those on disability.
Andriole explained that the economic impact goes beyond the immediate family. Other family members who helped out in the past are tapped out as well. She hears people say, “I can’t go there,” and “They can’t do any more.”
Andriole and Mike Grande meet regularly to determine how best to help residents seeking assistance. Andriole says that sometimes they feel like they’re “playing God.” They’ve given out varying amounts – $25 food cards, $200 for utilities, $500 for rents or mortgages. On a larger scale that translates into $5,000 for food cards, $29,000 on utilities and $25,000 on rents.
They also refer people out to other related services.
Thus far they’ve gone through $45,500 from the town, an amount that has remained pretty consistent over the past few years, says Andriole. “The town can only help so much.” Additional funds come from private grants, donations and, this year, the Foundations Fuel Families drive. Andriole expects that they will have spent well over $100,000 by the end of the fiscal year.
Sadly, Andriole doesn’t believe we’ve hit bottom yet. She says she sees more and more people coming to her each month. And, once winter fuel protection is discontinued, she says they’ll be “inundated.”
She does believe they’re “doing okay in helping so many people.”
BranfordCares
Much of the agencies’ work is devoted to fundraising and it is hoped that the BranfordCares campaign will free them up to do what they do best – provide hands-on help to Branford residents in need. The Rev. Sharon K. Gracen of Trinity Episcopal Church said that many people aren’t even aware of the extent of help available in town.
BranfordCares was formed in recent weeks. An almost-impromptu coalition of Branford churches and social service agencies, the new non-profit plans to raise $300,000 between the weekend of the Branford Festival in June and Labor Day weekend to help those in need in the town.
Rev. Gracen and one of her parishioners, Andy Campbell, now the Democratic Second Selectman and Dave Carswell, business development officer at the Guilford Savings Bank and Lasala are now guiding BranfordCares. As an informal board they will seek to provide ways to raise $300,000 by Labor Day to help those in need in the town. The Branford Community Foundation, a non-profit organization, will oversee the funds until they are disbursed. The counseling center is expected to receive the majority of funds. First Selectman Unk DaRos supports the project “as long as they keep it simple.”
Various social groups will be leaned on, from the Girl Scouts to the PTA’s. Campbell says. “Our goal is to get $300,000 in 11 weeks. This runs from the Branford Festival to Labor Day. We are steering everyone toward one goal.”
A website, branfordcares.org, is expected to go live very soon and additional details will be forthcoming in the Eagle.
Marcia Chambers contributed reporting.
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