Roof Over Head Collaborative provides housing, hope to families in need. You can help by attending their fundraiser hosted by Orange Leaf in downtown Newburyport on April 8
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Newbury resident Kerri Perry was working a fundraiser at the Port Tavern in December when a man walked up to her and handed her a donation, a large wad of bills.
Perry counted out the money and told the man she would be back with a receipt.
“I don’t want a receipt,” he told her.
A little later, the man approached Perry again, saying he wanted to introduce her to someone.
“This is my grandson,” the man said, leading her over to an adorable baby boy, just 10 months old. “He lives in one of your units. I literally thought I was never going to see him again.”
Perry, co-president of Roof Over Head Collaborative, an organization that provides supportive housing to homeless and at-risk families in Newburyport, Salisbury and Amesbury, was so overcome by emotion at the man’s gratitude, and so grateful for the connection to her group’s work, that she introduced he and his grandson to other board members at the event.
“Our board is awesome, compassionate, and engaged. They go above and beyond mandates,” said Perry, whose own passion for ROOF is evident in her voice. “There’s just not a lot of physical connection.”
ROOF started out as just an idea in 2008, when a group of local retirees – led by Newburyport residents Norma and Harvey Beit – became concerned about the area’s rising homelessness rate.
They were determined to be part of the solution.
And so the Beit’s organized and the group got to work. “They were really the engine that kept the train going,” said Perry.
By 2009, when Perry joined the all-volunteer Board, fundraising was already well underway. By 2010, the group had raised enough in private donations to purchase their first property, a condo in Amesbury. And in 2011, ROOF handed the keys over to a family of three who were living in a Salisbury hotel after suffering job loss, car trouble and rising market rate rents.
Today, ROOF owns three properties – two in Amesbury and one in Newburyport – with plans to purchase a fourth unit this summer. To date, they have helped five families get back on their feet, a seemingly small number when you consider the stats. According to the most recent statistics provided by the Pettengill House, a nonprofit, social services agency located in Salisbury, there were 227 homeless children and 448 homeless adults in Amesbury, Newburyport and Salisbury alone last year.
But, Perry says, “We feel very strongly that you can make a huge impact with a small number of properties.”
ROOF’s program works like this: at-risk families with dependent children who are able and motivated to contribute to their housing costs are welcomed to apply. If chosen, the family signs a two-year lease and must agree to meet regularly with Community Action, Inc. – a Haverhill-based service agency – for budget, employment and educational counseling.
“We really sit down with families and talk to them about expectations,” said Perry. About CAI, she added, “They really piece together and try to help the families remove obstacles.”
Furthermore, periodic increases in rent help prepare the family to pay market rate rents – and find permanent housing – by the end of their ROOF lease.
“Our goal is to get people off the public dole,” said Perry. “The family has to want to get out of their situation.”
ROOF is currently accepting new applications for their housing program.
Perry said that ROOF’s work wouldn’t be possible without all of the community support they have been given over the years, from the large grants they have received from businesses like the Institution for Savings and organizations such as the Franklin Square House Foundation, to the individual donations that are so crucial to ROOF’s success.
Then, of course, there are the volunteers. And, in the last six years, there have been hundreds of them.
“We really rely on the community to sharpen properties up,” said Perry, who couldn’t say enough about the commitment area residents have to lending a helping hand. “I can’t imagine doing this somewhere else,” she said.
Perry said that Roof Over Head Collaborative has grown “smartly” over the last few years. But when asked about the organization’s future, Perry can’t give definitive answers – not yet.
“We’ll know it when we see it,” she said.
One thing is for certain, however. It really does take a village to accomplish great things.
If you want to be a small part of the solution to local homelessness, head on over to Orange Leaf in downtown Newburyport on April 8, from 11am – 9pm, and serve yourself a cup (or two) of frozen yogurt with all the fixings. Fifteen percent of net sales that day will be donated directly to Roof Over Head Collaborative.
Additional fundraisers for ROOF include a collaboration with SMILE.Amazon.com, a way for Amazon shoppers to raise money through purchases made via the website, and the PortBury Follies on Friday, Sept. 5 at the Firehouse Center for the Arts. Also stay tuned for information on ROOF fundraisers with Flatbread in Amesbury, and Michael’s and Not Your Average Joe’s in Newburyport.
For more information on ROOF, and for additional ways you can help their mission, visit www.roofoverhead.org.
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