A struggle just to survive

By Nick Grabbe
Staff Writer

Published on November 14, 2008

The Amherst Survival Center has noticed increased demand for its many services as higher prices and a tight job market have pushed more people to seek help.

But at the same time, the center is absorbing a $15,000 reduction in state funding ($30,000 next year) because of cuts Gov. Deval Patrick made last month to cope with the commonwealth's economic slowdown.

The result is a crowded Survival Center, an overworked staff and an appeal to the community to help bridge the gap by donating money, food and clothing. It just published a "gift catalog" for people who want to give Christmas and Hanukkah presents to help people in need.

The signs of stress at the Survival Center are many:

* It formerly served 700 free lunches a month, and it now serves 1,000. There isn't enough space in the eating area, so many people have to take their lunches to other places in the building or outside.

* The free health clinic, which started in January, saw 120 patients in 250 visits in August. The doctors have found and treated conditions ranging from diabetes to colon cancer, tuberculosis to congestive heart failure.

* There used to be 65 to 70 people a week using the food pantry, and now there are 90 to 110. The pantry is perennially out of canned soup and is seeking more canned tuna and peanut butter, too.

* The demand for free clothing has increased. Right now, the center needs more winter coats, socks, boots and blankets - and also tents for homeless people.

One thing the Survival Center has plenty of is volunteers, about 70 a week. About a third are students, a third are center clients, and a third are supporters with some free time. But more are needed for the annual Thanksgiving dinner from 1 to 3 p.m. on Nov. 26, to cook food, serve and clean up.

Cheryl Zoll, the center's executive director, said she started noticing the increased demand last summer. Food and gas prices started rising last spring, squeezing more people's household budgets, including many people who have jobs that don't pay enough to keep up, she said.

"People are feeling panicky about heat," said Tracey Levy, the center's program director. "They say, 'I'm delaying turning on the heat' or 'I haven't paid off last year's bill so they won't deliver' or 'I'm having a hard time making ends meet now, so what will I do when I have to pay heating bills?'"

The Survival Center has never turned anyone away and doesn't plan to, even as it gets less money from the state, Zoll said.

"We're committed to not cutting anything," she said. "We're appealing to the community to make up the difference. It seems like the wrong time to cut services when the need is going up."

In fact, the Survival Center has bounced back over the last 18 months, with a new staff and board members, after a dark period in which disgruntled users' complaints touched off a Select Board debate and a study of the problems.

Now, the center is a much more positive, organized place, and Zoll has ambitious plans to develop volunteer tasks into formal job training and work with town officials to find a bigger space in which to operate. She envisions incorporating nutrition education into the meal program, making the pantry a regional center for access to food stamps, and turning the free store into a patron-managed coop.

Already, the center has forged many collaborations with other agencies and groups:

* It now delivers boxes of groceries to 100 low-income seniors in Amherst and plans to expand into Pelham, Leverett and Shutesbury.

* On Thursdays, a social worker comes to the center to help the homeless and mentally ill get services.

* Every Monday, Brenda Galloway helps people sort out health insurance problems.

* Kathy Bennett, formerly of Grace House, helps advocate for people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.

* On Tuesdays, Kay Fite of the Salvation Army writes vouchers for prescriptions, clothing, utilities and rent.

* Amherst's Interfaith Council organizes food drives outside Stop & Shop, providing thousands of pounds of food a year for the pantry.

In April, the Survival Center began holding family nights on the first and third Mondays of the month from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. While parents and guardians pick up free clothing and food or see Dr. Susan Lowery, children can get involved in games or crafts or get homework help.

The Survival Center has trimmed its spending from $315,000 a year to $305,000. It gets about $115,000 a year from individual donations. Counting the "in-kind" value of volunteers and free food, the Survival Center is a $1 million-a-year operation.

Gifts of money can most easily be leveraged into services, said Zoll.

"If people want to do something more tangible than write a check, food is always welcome," said Levy. "You know it will go directly into someone's food box, probably within hours."