12/03/2012

Citizens Bank Foundation grants $60,000 to help individuals and families facing homelessness

Initiative provides grants for homelessness prevention emergency shelters and transitional housing

Manchester, N.H. (December 3, 2012) – The Citizens Bank Foundation today announced it is providing $60,000 in contributions to seven organizations serving the homeless across New Hampshire. These programs will directly support individuals and families in New Hampshire who need housing, food and social services.

"Homeless shelters continue to find ways to support the significant number of individuals and families turning to them for help in their time of need,” said Joe Carelli, President of Citizens Bank and RBS Citizens, New Hampshire. “We recognize the challenges these shelters face with the increased demand for services. We hope these grants will help provide a safe and stable environment, warm meals, and a path of hope for those in need."

According to a Point-in-Time Count conducted in January 2012 by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services and the Bureau of Homeless and Housing Services, the state’s total homeless population was 2,438. This included 1,357 sheltered, 368 unsheltered and 713 who were temporarily residing with family or friends. Of this count, 405 were families.

The organizations that received grants from the Citizens Bank Foundation to address homelessness are:

Manchester

  • New Horizons for New Hampshire Inc: $10,000 grant to support the New Horizons emergency homeless shelter, which provides personalized case management and supportive services to homeless individuals, including veterans.
  • Child and Family Services of New Hampshire: $15,000 grant to the Street Outreach program, providing support services to runaway and homeless youth ages 12 to 21. The program includes street-canvassing efforts, a teen drop-in resource center in Manchester and a mobile resource service in New Hampshire’s coastal communities.

Portsmouth

  • Cross Roads House Inc.: $10,000 to provide emergency and transitional shelter programs to homeless families and individuals; as well as supportive services and basic human needs.

Nashua

  • Marguerite’s Place: $5,000 to support transitional housing, child care and supportive services for 100 homeless women and children annually.
  • Front Door Agency (formerly Nashua Pastoral Care Center): $10,000 grant to help meet the increasing demand for basic-needs services and for assisting individuals and families as they transition from crisis to self-sufficiency.
  • Harbor Homes: $5,000 grant will provide program support for Maple Arms Shelter, which provides emergency housing to 140 men, women and families in the Greater Nashua area.

Western Region

  • The Upper Valley Haven, Inc.: $5,000 grant will provide temporary support for homeless individuals and families, helping them find and sustain adequate living, employment and childcare arrangements. Fiscal year 2012 numbers showed that the Haven served 4,629 people, an increase from 2,821 the previous year.

"The number of individuals staying in our homeless shelter has increased dramatically over the last year, with alarming increases this past spring of between 59 percent and 84 percent over the same period last year,” said Charlie Sherman, Executive Director of grant recipient New Horizons, of Manchester. “Homeless shelters typically see significant increases two years after the overall economy dips, but the demand is continuing to rise. These increases can be attributed to many factors, including unemployment, expiration of employment benefits, eviction and foreclosure."

The Citizens Bank Foundation has invested more than $800,000 over the past nine years in homelessness prevention, transitional housing and emergency shelters. It supports programs and organizations that take a holistic approach to helping individuals and families find housing and achieve self-sufficiency.

"The grant will support our prevention and intervention services that help provide an appropriate living environment in the short term and self-sufficiency in the long term,” said Maryse Wirbal, Executive Director of Front Door Agency in Nashua, another grant recipient. “Helping individuals and families make permanent life changes is what our agency is all about. We are thankful to Citizens Bank for its continued support in helping us provide clients with the tools and guidance they need to return to permanent housing."

About the Citizens Bank Foundation
Citizens Bank Foundation is a subsidiary of the Citizens Charitable Foundation, which is a charitable contributions vehicle of RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc., RBS Citizens, N.A. and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. The foundation’s support is focused on human services, affordable housing and economic development. RBSCFG’s website is citizensbank.com.