Lower Cape Outreach Council (LCOC) has partnered with Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC) to offer one-stop access for residents on the Lower and Outer Cape for residents to receive expedited access to all food, housing and other financial services.
HAC will have staff on-site at LCOC’s main office at 19 Brewster Cross Road, Orleans, every Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., and available by phone and email other business hours. Intake staff from both organizations are trained to provide case-work support to clients, including the full complement of services offered by both organizations.
Both organizations have provided client services remotely and online throughout the pandemic and will continue these options.
Since the pandemic shutdown began in March, Housing Assistance saw a 400 percent increase in calls for assistance across the Cape and Islands. To help those who aren’t eligible for state and federal funding, HAC established a privately funded Workforce Housing Relief Fund to provide urgent assistance with past due rent or mortgage payments or other housing-related expenses for current, year-round Cape Cod and Island residents who are losing income due to the coronavirus. Eligibility is available for households making up to 100 percent of the Area Median Income (one-person household up to $67,700; two-person household up to $77,300; three-person household up to $87,000).
Lower Cape Outreach Council has also seen a surge in need from the pandemic: from April through August the number of client households rose more than 100 percent. During those four months, LCOC helped 1,258 households, versus 610 in the same time period in 2019. The number of adults needing assistance rose from 753 in 2019 to 1,635 in 2020. Children in need of assistance rose from 399 to 741, an increase of 85 percent, and seniors in need rose from 197 to 398, an increase of 102 percent.
To learn more about the programs that are available for households making up to 100% of the Area Median Income, visit our website: https://haconcapecod.org/programs/homeless-prevention/
