A quarter-century fight for housing

Fund-raiser to mark nonprofit's 25th year

Dericka Acevedo, 28, a homeless single mother with three children, talks to her case worker, Kathy Adams, about dinner recipes at the Inn Between facility. Acevedo lost her housing when her young son had surgery and she had to quit her full-time job. (Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff)

PEABODY - It's a simple goal, really.

"We want to end homelessness," said Nancy Crowder, executive director for Citizens for Adequate Housing, which celebrates its 25th anniversary with a fund-raising gala and art auction this week.

"This is not a situation that should be considered normal in the American culture," said Crowder, whose organization serves families. "It is an obscenity and very traumatic for families, [and] exceptionally traumatic for the children."

Supporters of the family-service nonprofit may look at the quarter-century anniversary with the same mixed emotions that Crowder looks at her 21 years at its helm. It is important work, but a problem she wishes was solved a long time ago.

"Governor [Deval] Patrick is the first governor since Governor [Michael] Dukakis who the word 'homelessness' has actually come out of his mouth," she said, noting that Patrick created the Commission to End Homelessness to develop a plan to end homelessness in the state by 2013, and also revived the Interagency Council on Housing and Homelessness to implement those solutions.

"It's a very exciting time for us in the business, but particularly for those of us who have been in the business for so many years," Crowder said. "I never wanted this to happen. I wanted to move on to my next job, and not to be here for 21 years."

Crowder said the homeless families are frequently one-parent, female-headed households. Parents may be dealing with substance abuse issues, and many do not earn enough money to support themselves.

The Inn Transition, which serves eight families, is one of three Citizens for Adequate Housing components, all serving the North Shore or all of Eastern Massachusetts.

The others are the Inn Between, and emergency shelter with space for 10 families, and Communities Land Trust, created to provide apartments that are rented at below-market rates. The land trust has purchased five buildings with a total of 16 apartments.

All of the buildings are within 2 miles of the organization's Peabody offices, and Crowder said it has considered purchasing other properties.

"They just haven't fallen into place," she said. "We see ourselves as serving the North Shore. We just happen to have our mailing address in Peabody."

Housing advocates point to the 1980s condo boom and rising apartment prices, coupled with no increase in federal housing subsidies, as key factors in the homeless boom that occurred three decades ago. Recently, the foreclosure crisis and generally poor shape of the economy have driven another increase.

The spike has been more pronounced for family homelessness than for individuals, noted Libby Hayes, executive director of the Homes for Families, a statewide advocacy group that works with clients, providers, and policy makers.

"We don't need more shelters," Hayes said. "We need more affordable housing."

She has also been part of a working group advising the Interagency Council on Housing and Homelessness, which is fielding proposals from different parts of the state where private, nonprofit, and government entities are trying to implement the state's multi-tiered plan to end homelessness.

According to Department of Transitional Assistance figures, there were 1,347 families living in shelters and motels in September 2004. In 2008 the September figure was 2,552.

In the suburbs north of Boston, Hayes said, 43 families applied for shelter in September.

"If you think about the single moms working at Dunkin' Donuts or Walgreens and making their $8 to $10 an hour, and now have to pay what we're paying for gas, and the heat bill, and the food, it's gotten tougher again," Crowder noted.

While millions of dollars have been spent for emergency shelters over the years, Crowder said that a more comprehensive approach is what's needed.

"The problem has always been reparable," Crowder said. "It takes the will of the politicians, the Legislature, and it takes the will of the public. The solutions are right there."

Raising the Roof, the 25th anniversary gala for Citizens for Adequate Housing, Inc. highlighted by the live and silent auction of works from 19 of the area's top artists, takes place at the Sheraton Ferncroft Hotel in Danvers tomorrow. For more information go to www.cahns.org