Demand Up For Shelters, Food, Clothes For Families

Agencies in County Show Rapid Increases

As the nation's recession deepens, more Montgomery County families are becoming homeless, with the number placed in emergency shelter at motels nearly doubling over the past year.

County officials said they have rarely seen such widespread need. Nearly 90 families were booked into motels in November, and 24 were housed in the county's three family shelters.

"This is probably the highest demand for shelter we've seen," said Alexander Wertheim, administrator of homeless services, who said job losses appear to be a driving force. Many of those in need "are not high-income to begin with, so any loss of income will translate into a crisis."

In a typical month, all 85 beds at the county's family shelters are filled, Wertheim said. The large number of additional families who need shelter -- and are placed in motels throughout the county -- is a sign of increasingly tough times, he said.

County figures show that from September through November 2007, Montgomery placed 129 families in motels, a figure that nearly doubled, to 249, during the same months of last year. "I think this may be setting records," Wertheim said.

Among the newly needy is Daverena White, 41, a single mother who recently worked as a home day-care provider and earlier had a job as a New York City schoolteacher. White's family is being evicted from her Clarksburg home this week, in the wake of a foreclosure. She and her children, ages 5, 10 and 16, have no place to relocate.

"I am hoping and praying that at least we can get placed in a shelter," White said. She said she is trying to be strong and have faith that she will eventually land in a good job and stable housing. Her main concern, she said, is her children and "having them be as happy as they can be in these circumstances."

"I believe wholeheartedly that I will bounce back," she said. "But I know we are about to go through some very, very tough times."

In addition to more families in crisis, the county has found a growing need among homeless individuals, who are also served by county shelters. Their numbers during the same three-month period shot up to 1,465 from 1,205 in 2007, an increase of nearly 22 percent.

There are many other signs of the economy's toll.

At the county's regional service offices, lines have been long as more people apply for government assistance. Often, more people show up than county staff members can manage, so applicants are turned away and told to come back another day.

The number of applicants last fall was up markedly, more than 20 percent in Germantown and Silver Spring, and more than 35 percent in Rockville. "We're seeing people needing longer-term help, and more of them needing it," said Uma Ahluwalia, director of the county Department of Health and Human Services.