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Hamilton Spectator
31-07-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Food pantry changes access model to give more dignity to clients
The Helping Hands food pantry is adopting a unique approach to addressing food security in the city. Since May, the food pantry has been offering a choice model, where people can enter the grocery store-style pantry and select what they need for their family, rather than receiving a hamper. 'We've had folks standing in here crying because they've never had access to milk before or cheese, or that they can make Kraft Dinner for their kids,' said Erika Gilroy, Helping Hands development co-ordinator. The pantry features a fridge stocked with essentials like milk and butter, a freezer filled with frozen items such as fries, bread and meats, and shelves filled with a variety of dry and canned goods. Allowing people to choose gives them more dignity and has also reduced the amount of food distributed to clients. 'Less food is actually being taken than when it was in hampers,' said Dalyce Sather-McNabb, Northreach Society executive director. Northreach Society amalgamated with Helping Hands over the past year. 'There's actually more food to go around when people are given the opportunity to choose.' Gilroy said that many people accessing the food bank and their pantry have never needed to before. 'Grande Prairie is full of a lot of financial gain, but there's also a lot of struggle, unfortunately,' she said, 'we're seeing a lot of seniors, a lot of people with disabilities, and a lot of families, mostly single parents, coming into access services here.' She said that some families are making choices between rent or mortgage and groceries. 'It could happen to anybody; anybody can be in a situation where they might need help from Helping Hands or other food security places in Grande Prairie.' Still, Helping Hands wants to ensure a low barrier of access for those in the community, so it does not have an onerous application process or require financial information. 'Very few people actually abuse the system; they're hungry, they need food, their children are hungry and they need food, so keeping access as low a barrier as possible is part of the goal,' said Sather-McNabb. City council approved $160,000 last year to Helping Hands to fund a pilot project to create a backbone organization that would make a co-ordinated approach to addressing food insecurity in Grande Prairie and focus on long-term solutions. The city said the goal was not to remove any organizations in the city that provide food. 'With Helping Hands being the backbone organization, it would never be about eliminating any of the other organizations or what they do in the community; it's really about breaking down the silos and working more directly together,' said Tammy Wentzell, city director of Housing and Community Development, last year. 'A really big goal is to get to the point where we're decreasing duplication of services, that we're all supporting each other, that we're directing folks where they need to go to get the help they need,' said Sather-McNabb. Gilroy is meeting with other local food security agencies in Grande Prairie to gain a better understanding of what is being offered and streamline ways to collaborate. 'Collaboration takes time, building relationships takes time, and this is in no way should be considered a competition, or that we're a direct competitor of any other agency within the city, we're just here as an adjunct,' said Sather-McNabb. Recently, Helping Hands was able to donate extra produce it received to other food security organizations, as well as soup and frozen meals to Wapiti House and the Saint Lawrence Centre. Last year city council received multiple funding requests from different organizations for their food security programs, and found that collaboration between those organizations was lacking. The approach to food security in Grande Prairie was seen as reactive, relying on short-term relief and fragmented services. Last September, a meeting was held with local organizations which provide food to the public. The city recognized an urgent need for a dedicated and focused approach to addressing food security within the city. Helping Hands took on the challenge. Since then, Helping Hands has partnered with Food Banks Alberta, serving as a hub for Northwestern Alberta. The partnership has enabled the organization to distribute food to communities in the surrounding area on behalf of Food Banks Alberta. 'We get a lot of our dry goods and frozen goods from Food Banks Alberta, so that's been really great,' said Gilroy, noting it has also provided items in high demand such as baby formula, and has also provided a 45-foot freezer sea-can as well as a forklift and training. The partnership has also included information on how to scale the operation of the pantry so that it can help more people. Since May, nearly 16,000 kilograms of food have been delivered to Helping Hands. Food Banks Alberta also helps provide emergency relief to communities in the area. Helping Hands stores emergency items ready to be deployed, such as drinking water and care packages for evacuees. This is the first partnership by a city organization with Food Banks Alberta; the partnership may come with additional funding in the future. The partnership between Food Banks Alberta and Helping Hands will mean the organization will need to achieve the standards of excellence set by Food Banks Canada. 'Being a member of Food Banks Alberta automatically makes you a member of Food Banks Canada, so with that comes extra kinds of support,' said Sather-McNabb. The support from Food Banks Canada includes grants, which Helping Hands has already applied for and will continue to work on other applications as well. Helping Hands still needs food donations, monetary donations and volunteers. 'We really need volunteers; we need a robust, diverse group of folks, people with muscle that can help move things, people with trucks that can potentially deliver allotments to some of our other communities. 'A lot of the volunteers in the other communities don't have, maybe, the capacity to be picking up pallets of food, and we need volunteers for cleaning schedules, we need volunteers as we grow and as we potentially have more shopping days, we're just going to need more people,' said Sather-McNabb. She said that in the future, there will also be some fundraising endeavours. If interested in donating or volunteering, you can contact Helping Hands through their Facebook page at . 'The need is so great, and we can't, unfortunately, help everybody, but we try to help, or at least try to get people connected to somewhere else in the community, if we're not able to help them directly,' said Gilroy. Food insecurity affects about 19 per cent of Grande Prairie residents, according to the 2023 Food Access & Affordability Survey report, which was partially sponsored by the city. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Gov. Wes Moore make progress on housing, but hurdles remain
BALTIMORE — Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott's plan to build new housing to replace vacant units is making progress, but some hurdles remain. Maryland and Baltimore are racing to confront a deepening housing crisis — one defined by soaring rents, crumbling vacant properties, and a chronic shortage of affordable units. While state and city leaders have outlined bold, billion-dollar strategies to build, rehabilitate, and preserve housing, they face a maze of obstacles: budget shortfalls, bureaucratic delays, aging infrastructure, and the looming threat of federal funding cuts. For thousands of families, the stakes are immediate — stable housing hangs in the balance. As of this month, there are less than 13,000 vacant units in Baltimore City. This number has been steadily decreasing over the last five years, with more than 16,000 vacancies reported in January 2020. The city is on track to increase its rate of reducing the number of vacant units from 500 a year to 1,000 a year, Maryland Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day said. There's an opening for Baltimore to possibly help fill the housing shortage in Maryland, which sits at about 96,000 units. The Eager Park Partners' East Baltimore Development Project, which the mayor's office said is a part of the first new residential development in the Broadway East neighborhood in decades, broke ground during a Tuesday ceremony. The project plans to build 54 townhomes in place of once-vacant townhomes. 'It's made possible by the funding support from the state, from all our partners to make sure that we do not stop, that we keep building and we keep getting rid of vacants.' Scott said at the groundbreaking ceremony. This is the latest step towards building livable housing in Baltimore, where vacant units once were, as the city has seen many residents move outside of its limits in recent years. Last year was the first year since 2014 that the Baltimore population did not decrease. It grew by 754 residents. The mayor's plan to address vacant housing includes a 15-year plan to invest $3 billion in acquiring vacant properties and later rehabilitating the units or demolishing them to construct new housing. He has also made efforts to change some zoning laws that have made building high-density housing difficult. Gov. Wes Moore has also prioritized replacing or revitalizing vacant properties in Baltimore. The governor signed an executive order last fall to create a 'Reinvest Baltimore' program to coordinate the transformation of 5,000 vacant units into owned homes or other 'positive outcomes' within the next five years. Moore is also working to expand affordable housing across the state, especially near transit hubs. However, Scott and Moore's housing plans to encourage more people to move to Baltimore could be impacted by planned federal cuts to housing programs. This includes significant cuts to Section 8 and other federal rental assistance programs, proposed as part of a major Republican tax and spending bill being considered by Congress. Day said he is concerned about the proposed cuts to housing-related programs, but added that because there are state and city resources investing in housing in the area, the cuts would likely impact Baltimore City less than other areas of the country. 'It will affect all housing, it's going to affect every jurisdiction,' Day said. 'Baltimore might actually be in a slightly more advantageous position to other places given the investment that we're trying to make here.' There are also concerns about how these developments will impact the makeup of Baltimore and whether they will lead to the gentrification of neighborhoods. Scott downplayed these concerns when asked by The Baltimore Sun and pointed to the developers of the Broadway East neighborhood development, who are from Baltimore. The mayor said that these housing projects, which replace vacant units, have already led to families moving back to the city. _____
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mayor Brandon Scott, Gov. Wes Moore make progress on housing, but hurdles remain
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott's plan to build new housing to replace vacant units is making progress, but some hurdles remain. Maryland and Baltimore are racing to confront a deepening housing crisis—one defined by soaring rents, crumbling vacant properties, and a chronic shortage of affordable units. While state and city leaders have outlined bold, billion-dollar strategies to build, rehabilitate, and preserve housing, they face a maze of obstacles: budget shortfalls, bureaucratic delays, aging infrastructure, and the looming threat of federal funding cuts. For thousands of families, the stakes are immediate—stable housing hangs in the balance. As of this month, there are less than 13,000 vacant units in Baltimore City. This number has been steadily decreasing over the last five years, with more than 16,000 vacancies reported in January 2020. The city is on track to increase its rate of reducing the number of vacant units from 500 a year to 1,000 a year, Maryland Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day said. There's an opening for Baltimore to possibly help fill the housing shortage in Maryland, which sits at about 96,000 units. The Eager Park Partners' East Baltimore Development Project, which the mayor's office said is a part of the first new residential development in the Broadway East neighborhood in decades, broke ground during a Tuesday ceremony. The project plans to build 54 townhomes in place of once-vacant townhomes. 'It's made possible by the funding support from the state, from all our partners to make sure that we do not stop, that we keep building and we keep getting rid of vacants.' Scott said at the groundbreaking ceremony. This is the latest step towards building livable housing in Baltimore, where vacant units once were, as the city has seen many residents move outside of its limits in recent years. Last year was the first year since 2014 that the Baltimore population did not decrease. It grew by 754 residents. The mayor's plan to address vacant housing includes a 15-year plan to invest $3 billion in acquiring vacant properties and later rehabilitating the units or demolishing them to construct new housing. He has also made efforts to change some zoning laws that have made building high-density housing difficult. Gov. Wes Moore has also prioritized replacing or revitalizing vacant properties in Baltimore. The governor signed an executive order last fall to create a 'Reinvest Baltimore' program to coordinate the transformation of 5,000 vacant units into owned homes or other 'positive outcomes' within the next five years. Moore is also working to expand affordable housing across the state, especially near transit hubs. However, Scott and Moore's housing plans to encourage more people to move to Baltimore could be impacted by planned federal cuts to housing programs. This includes significant cuts to Section 8 and other federal rental assistance programs, proposed as part of a major Republican tax and spending bill being considered by Congress. Day said he is concerned about the proposed cuts to housing-related programs, but added that because there are state and city resources investing in housing in the area, the cuts would likely impact Baltimore City less than other areas of the country. 'I think you don't care': Baltimore City Council slams mayor for not sharing salary data U.S. is seeking release of man wrongly sent to El Salvador, but it's not Abrego Garcia, court records show Why Gov. Wes Moore is making a sales pitch to businesses in South Carolina Rep. Steny Hoyer faces challenge from young political newcomer Baltimore County Council votes against environmental fund financed by paper bag fee 'It will affect all housing, it's going to affect every jurisdiction,' Day said. 'Baltimore might actually be in a slightly more advantageous position to other places given the investment that we're trying to make here.' There are also concerns about how these developments will impact the makeup of Baltimore and whether they will lead to the gentrification of neighborhoods. Scott downplayed these concerns when asked by The Baltimore Sun and pointed to the developers of the Broadway East neighborhood development, who are from Baltimore. The mayor said that these housing projects, which replace vacant units, have already led to families moving back to the city. Have a news tip? Contact Katharine Wilson at kwilson@
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
California wrestles with approach to homeless encampments
May 16 (UPI) -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled his model ordinance to address homeless encampments with dignity this week but advocates say the approach ignores real solutions. Newsom's ordinance "Addressing Encampments with Urgency and Dignity" calls on local jurisdictions to immediately begin removing homeless encampments, giving 48 hours notice when possible. Jay Wierenga, deputy secretary of communications for the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, told UPI the issue of addressing encampments is ultimately a local issue. "The governor's model ordinance is a template for them to address encampments with care, humanity and urgency," Wierenga said. "They can, and should, begin this work immediately. The governor's actions are reversing a crisis that is decades old, as the numbers show." Newsom and the state government have blunted the growth of the population of unhoused people who are completely without shelter, according to Jennifer Hanson, assistant deputy director of external affairs for Housing and Community Development. Unsheltered homelessness grew by 7% in the United States but only 0.45% in California. In the five years prior to Newsom being elected governor, unsheltered homelessness grew twice as fast, on average, than it has during Newsom's term, Hanson added. "This administration is the first to have made addressing homelessness a top priority and has provided local governments with unprecedented assistance to address it," Hanson told UPI in an email. "California is now reversing decades of inaction." The ordinance is backed, in part, by $3.3 billion in voter-approved Prop 1 funds. In the fall, the governor's office said the state invested $40 billion to create more housing and $27 billion to "help prevent and end homelessness." The California State Association of Counties pushed back on the claim that $27 billion has gone to address homelessness, Jeff Griffiths, president and Inyo County supervisor, told UPI. "Nearly half of that is for housing," Griffiths said. "It hasn't actually translated into units built on the ground that are sufficient enough to meet the scale of the problem." Griffiths agrees that county leaders would like to see encampments cleared but Newsom's ordinance lacks any assurance that there will be shelter or transitional or permanent housing for people. "The problem is clearing an encampment doesn't do anything if there's no place for those people to go," he said. "What we need are clearly delineated responsibilities of which level of government is responsible for which part of solving the homeless issue and then we need sustained funding." California currently allocates $1 billion annually toward counties to address homelessness. This sum is spread across the 58 counties in the state. Griffiths noted that this amount of funding is inadequate, and the short-term nature of providing funding annually makes it difficult for county governments to plan long-term solutions. CSAS has designed its own framework for addressing homelessness in California, the At Home plan. It calls for a clearer breakdown of the roles of different levels of government in addressing the issue, increasing and maintaining affordable housing units to meet a variety of needs and increased outreach programs and workforce to support those programs. The plan also calls for more social safety nets to prevent people from becoming homeless and the creation of programs and employment opportunities for people who are unhoused. "We will continue to work in good faith on all of the initiatives for having a comprehensive solution to homelessness," Griffiths said. "We believe the framework is there to make a significant impact on this problem. We just need to get buy-in and support from the state." Newsom's announcement of a model ordinance credits the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the case Grants Pass, Ore., vs. Johnson for clarifying state and local governments' rights when addressing homeless encampments. Since that decision, more than 150 jurisdictions across more than 30 states have passed ordinances allowing them to punish people for camping on public property. Jesse Rabinowitz, communications and campaign director for the National Homelessness Law Center, told UPI the broad attempt to criminalize homelessness is backed by the Cicero Institute. The Cicero Institute is a conservative think tank that advocates for a complete ban on street camping. It also proposes that people not be allowed to sleep, camp or take long-term shelter on federal lands such as national parks. In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to remove all homeless encampments located in national parks in the District of Columbia. "California certainly has put money toward solutions to solve homelessness, like housing and support. It's not enough," Rabinowitz said. "This criminalization approach is going to dampen the effects of all the good work that service providers and activists on the ground have done in California." "If we want to solve homelessness in California, we need to focus exclusively on what works, which is housing services, and not waste resources and time by punishing people, by displacing people and by arresting people for sleeping outside when they have nowhere to go," he added.
UPI
16-05-2025
- Politics
- UPI
California wrestles with approach to homeless encampments
1 of 2 | A homeless man stays warm next to a fire during a rain break in the Skid Row section of Los Angeles on Feb. 25, 2023. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo May 16 (UPI) -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled his model ordinance to address homeless encampments with dignity this week but advocates say the approach ignores real solutions. Newsom's ordinance "Addressing Encampments with Urgency and Dignity" calls on local jurisdictions to immediately begin removing homeless encampments, giving 48 hours notice when possible. Jay Wierenga, deputy secretary of communications for the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, told UPI the issue of addressing encampments is ultimately a local issue. "The governor's model ordinance is a template for them to address encampments with care, humanity and urgency," Wierenga said. "They can, and should, begin this work immediately. The governor's actions are reversing a crisis that is decades old, as the numbers show." Newsom and the state government have blunted the growth of the population of unhoused people who are completely without shelter, according to Jennifer Hanson, assistant deputy director of external affairs for Housing and Community Development. Unsheltered homelessness grew by 7% in the United States but only 0.45% in California. In the five years prior to Newsom being elected governor, unsheltered homelessness grew twice as fast, on average, than it has during Newsom's term, Hanson added. "This administration is the first to have made addressing homelessness a top priority and has provided local governments with unprecedented assistance to address it," Hanson told UPI in an email. "California is now reversing decades of inaction." The ordinance is backed, in part, by $3.3 billion in voter-approved Prop 1 funds. In the fall, the governor's office said the state invested $40 billion to create more housing and $27 billion to "help prevent and end homelessness." The California State Association of Counties pushed back on the claim that $27 billion has gone to address homelessness, Jeff Griffiths, president and Inyo County supervisor, told UPI. "Nearly half of that is for housing," Griffiths said. "It hasn't actually translated into units built on the ground that are sufficient enough to meet the scale of the problem." Griffiths agrees that county leaders would like to see encampments cleared but Newsom's ordinance lacks any assurance that there will be shelter or transitional or permanent housing for people. "The problem is clearing an encampment doesn't do anything if there's no place for those people to go," he said. "What we need are clearly delineated responsibilities of which level of government is responsible for which part of solving the homeless issue and then we need sustained funding." California currently allocates $1 billion annually toward counties to address homelessness. This sum is spread across the 58 counties in the state. Griffiths noted that this amount of funding is inadequate, and the short-term nature of providing funding annually makes it difficult for county governments to plan long-term solutions. CSAS has designed its own framework for addressing homelessness in California, the At Home plan. It calls for a clearer breakdown of the roles of different levels of government in addressing the issue, increasing and maintaining affordable housing units to meet a variety of needs and increased outreach programs and workforce to support those programs. The plan also calls for more social safety nets to prevent people from becoming homeless and the creation of programs and employment opportunities for people who are unhoused. "We will continue to work in good faith on all of the initiatives for having a comprehensive solution to homelessness," Griffiths said. "We believe the framework is there to make a significant impact on this problem. We just need to get buy-in and support from the state." Newsom's announcement of a model ordinance credits the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the case Grants Pass, Ore., vs. Johnson for clarifying state and local governments' rights when addressing homeless encampments. Since that decision, more than 150 jurisdictions across more than 30 states have passed ordinances allowing them to punish people for camping on public property. Jesse Rabinowitz, communications and campaign director for the National Homelessness Law Center, told UPI the broad attempt to criminalize homelessness is backed by the Cicero Institute. The Cicero Institute is a conservative think tank that advocates for a complete ban on street camping. It also proposes that people not be allowed to sleep, camp or take long-term shelter on federal lands such as national parks. In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to remove all homeless encampments located in national parks in the District of Columbia. "California certainly has put money toward solutions to solve homelessness, like housing and support. It's not enough," Rabinowitz said. "This criminalization approach is going to dampen the effects of all the good work that service providers and activists on the ground have done in California." "If we want to solve homelessness in California, we need to focus exclusively on what works, which is housing services, and not waste resources and time by punishing people, by displacing people and by arresting people for sleeping outside when they have nowhere to go," he added.
