All Across The Country People Are Living Paycheck To Paycheck
All across the country people are living paycheck to paycheck, and that can mean a tragedy can cripple anyone, anytime. Basic needs mean food, shelter and clothing, and shelter can be incredibly expensive, and people call fall into homelessness for any list of reasons. That’s why it is so critical that homeless shelters intended to provide immediate and temporary housing to people in need are properly funded.
For many this is a last resort, but it’s a resort that needs to exist. It’s a necessity so people aren’t sleeping on the streets and don’t find themselves in unthinkable and unsafe situations exposed to the elements. Homeless shelters require money to keep their doors open to people who need their assistance. For one homeless shelter in Florida, good news amidst a lot of bad news came this week, as they received a grant they had applied for.
Daytona Beach’s First Step Shelter has received a grant worth almost $160,000 to pay the salary of a fundraiser that will be tasked with raising at least $700,000 over the next eighteen months. The shelter has faced multiple years of setbacks and has struggled to keep it’s doors open for a very long time. But Daytona Beach’s First Step Shelter has a plan that they’ve outlined to help increase the offerings to their residents
In December shelter opened a new 45-resident facility, and that facility is running operationally so well that the shelter can increase its capacity to 70 residents by April 1st.
The executive director of First Step Shelter, Victoria Fahlberg has laid out a plan to laid from local governments, businesses, churches, clubs and individuals by about $600,000 over the next year, and a member of the board for First Step, Rose Ann Tornatore has herself donated a quarter of a million to build a holding area inside the shelter. She says that she’s confident that she can get she can get a lot materials and labor donated or at a reduced cost, which would allow a good portion of her contribution to go toward running the holding area, which is referred to as a safe zone.
The $160,000 in funds have been awarded by The Father’s Table Foundation, due to the director of that foundation, Dan Gilardi visiting the shelter’s homeless assistance center west of Interstate 95 this month, and he made the decision would help a lot more than a one-time grant to stop gap the shelter’s annual budget.