This LevittownNow.com multi-part series on homelessness during COVID-19 has been supported in part by funding from In The Know Club members.
This LevittownNow.com multi-part series on homelessness during COVID-19 has been supported in part by funding from With no place to live and four children to take care of, a local woman who asked to be identified only as Victoria faced a daunting challenge after recently finishing three and a half years of incarceration.
Factor in the coronavirus pandemic, and that task became even more difficult.
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“It’s hard because as a convicted felon, our resources are very little and it’s hard for us to find a job as it is,” said Victoria, 34.
Making matters worse were the economic hardships placed on businesses because of the pandemic.
“With everything shutting down, nobody wants to give us a chance or help us,” she added.
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But things are looking up for Victoria. After leaving incarceration within the last year, she was able to secure a spot at the Bucks County Emergency Homeless Shelter in Bristol Township’s Levittown section. A long job search that included applying to 50 different places finally landed her a position at a local ShopRite, and she will soon be homeless no more after signing a lease for an apartment.
“In just a few days I’ll be getting my kids back out of foster care,” said Victoria, a single mother. “This is a fresh beginning.”
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She credits agencies like the Family Service Association of Bucks County, which operates the homeless shelter, United Way of Bucks County and others for helping turn her life around.
Victoria told her story while “shopping” at the Help Center, located in the Bristol Commerce shopping center next to the former Walmart in Bristol Borough.
A cooperative venture between United Way, the Bucks County Opportunity Council, and St. Mary Medical Center, with funding provided by Penn Community Bank, the center distributes food to pantries across Lower Bucks County.
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It also collects donations of new clothing, furniture, bedding, small appliances and many other items from individuals and businesses, and allows people transitioning out of homelessness, like Victoria, and others in need to come in and pick out whatever they need at no charge.
Victoria loaded up a cart with vacuum cleaners, a bed, bedding, clothes and bathroom items to take to her new apartment.
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“I am eternally grateful for programs like this, and the shelter, for giving me a chance,” she said. “Being homeless and being in the system, people judge me so quickly and many are not willing to help. But, I found people who were.”
As with life in general, the pandemic has made the process of aiding the homeless longer and more difficult, said members of various agencies who help people in need of housing. It also seems to have increased the number of people needing help, they added.
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The waiting list for the homeless shelter has grown from roughly 50 to 75 people just before the pandemic to more than 100, Family Service officials said. And because it’s more difficult to find permanent housing because of coronavirus factors, the average stay at the homeless shelter has increased from about 65 days to 85, FSA CEO Julie Dees added.
At the Help Center, which is open by appointment only and not to the general public, staff and visitors must wear masks, social distance whenever possible, have their temperatures checked every day and observe other precautions. The coronavirus has also significantly reduced the number of people who can be in the center at any one time.
Credit: Chris English/LevittownNow.com
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“It’s an 8,000 square-foot space but we can’t have more than a handful of people here,” United Way of Bucks County President and CEO Marissa Christie said. “It’s not like we can bring in 20 volunteers.”
Nevertheless, since opening for appointments in October and through the end of 2020, the center helped 458 individuals and/or families transitioning out of homelessness or otherwise in need, United Way of Bucks County Donor Relations and Volunteer Engagement Manager Sheri Ratner said. She helps run the center along with United Way of Bucks County Impact Services Coordinator P.J. O’Brien
“We reacted to the pandemic and we opened this particular building, but these things were all programs and efforts going on pre-pandemic,” Ratner said. “We just reacted to the increased need.”
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“It is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” she said of her work at the Help Center. “Our first appointment sticks with me. It was a senior citizen transitioning out of the shelter. He was able to come in and get brand new bedding and a new comforter, and even some toys he could give to a grandchild.”
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