Athens nonprofit the Ark is reaching out to the community for assistance.
The Ark is currently holding its Summer of Stability fundraiser. The organization is hoping to prevent the increase in the number of evictions and utility disconnections during the summer months. Ashley Stewart is program coordinator at the nonprofit. She says this year, the numbers are higher than usual.
“We just are seeing a heightened increased need at the Ark that we haven’t seen before," Stewart said. “I actually have some statistics about that. Just to give you an idea, since June 1, we’ve received over 270 requests for rent and utility assistance. Last year from June 1, to July 28 we had about 180 requests, so there’s been a 50% increase just in a year.”
Stewart says the mission of the organization is to bridge the gap when low-income working families are hit with unexpected financial emergencies.
“We just want to keep low-income people housed and have dignity. It’s really important for us to prevent homelessness because once you are evictied, it’s really, really, really hard to get back into housing. Our homeless centers in Athens are already at capacity everywhere.”
Visit www.athensark.org
