United Way campaign helps support fight against housing, food insecurity

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Lexi and her boyfriend, after years of hard work, had staked out a healthy, stable life for themselves and their infant daughter. 

Lexi, a lifelong Centre County resident who Penn State News is only identifying by first name, had worked hard to overcome the long-lasting impacts of growing up in a broken home. Her boyfriend had started a promising job as a truck driver with his family’s small business. Together, they felt poised to build a foundation to provide their daughter with a happy, healthy life and the kind of security Lexi lacked during her own upbringing. 

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. 

The pandemic had costly economic impacts across the nation, including for her boyfriend’s family and their business — ultimately leading to the loss of her boyfriend’s job and, in turn, their housing. They found themselves living in a hotel room, their savings rapidly dwindling and facing the prospect of living out of their car to avoid sleeping on the streets. 

“I said to myself, ‘What are we going to do? We can’t live out of a car. We have to take care of our daughter. She comes first, no matter what,’” Lexi said. “That’s when I reached out to Housing Transitions.” 

Housing Transitions is a local nonprofit organization and a partner agency of the Centre County United Way that works with individuals and families experiencing homelessness, or who are at risk of homelessness, to provide shelter and support to achieve long-term housing security.  

Not only did Housing Transitions provide temporary shelter for Lexi and her family, the agency also enrolled them in a program that helped them find more permanent housing, paid for their first month’s rent and security deposit, and offered a period of rental assistance. The program also works with their individual situation to set and meet goals to achieve more permanent housing stability. 

And since the United Way’s network of partner agencies collaborates and works together, Housing Transitions connected Lexi with additional critical resources, such as the State College Food Bank. With the support of resources funded through the United Way, Lexi and her family have been able to get back onto their feet, achieve housing and food security in the present, and begin planning for their future. 

“I cried the first time I saw the apartment; I never thought we would live somewhere so nice,” Lexi said. “And the food bank has been amazing — they gave us meats, fresh vegetables, canned foods, even diapers and baby products. We have been so blessed. I want to help people realize how important this is.” 

A steadily increasing need 

Every year, one in three Centre County residents access the services provided by the Centre County United Way’s network of partner agencies — services that are supported by the Penn State United Way Campaign. Donations from the Penn State community make up approximately 40% of the total dollars raised for the Centre County United Way each year. University community members are encouraged to visit UnitedWay.psu.edu to learn more, and to consider supporting the Centre County United Way through a monthly payroll deduction. 

The United Way partner agencies who work together to fight food and housing insecurity —including Housing Transitions, the State College Food Bank and the YMCA of Centre County — report that the number of people in need of their assistance continues to increase, often as a direct or indirect result of the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“You look at the rising cost of food, and you have people still not working and now their employment benefits are all gone, or only one member of their family was able to go back to work and now they’re not making the same income they were before,” said Mel Curtis, director of the YMCA’s anti-hunger program, which provides food distributions and deliveries across Centre County. 

Morgan Wasikonis, executive director of Housing Transitions, and Allayn Beck, executive director of the State College Food Bank, have both also seen an increasing number of people in need of assistance. Although life may have returned to some form of normalcy for some, Wasikonis and Beck are seeing first-hand every day that many families are still facing difficulties in making sure they have continued access to food and shelter. 

“It’s important for people to realize that people experiencing housing insecurity and food insecurity are not a separate subpopulation of people,” Wasikonis said. “They are our friends, our coworkers, our neighbors. They’re people we see and work with every day. You never know when someone might need help.” 

And when someone needs help, the United Way’s network of partner agencies works together to meet all of an individual’s needs. If a client comes to Housing Transitions who is also struggling with food insecurity, they will be connected with resources like the food bank or the YMCA’s anti-hunger program. The same principle applies if they need  mental health support, or if they’re facing health or medical concerns — they are connected with a United Way partner agency equipped to empower and support them. 

“By supporting the United Way, you are supporting the whole family of partner agencies,” Beck said. “Each of us work together to solve the whole problem, not just help people with only part of their situation, so that we can meet all of the needs in our county and our community.” 

For Lexi, she wants people to know that, not only do these resources exist, there is no shame in reaching out when you need them. 

“Sometimes you get to the point where you have to choose if you’re going to pay bills, if you’re going to eat or buy hygiene products or buy diapers for your daughter,” Lexi said. “I wasn’t totally comfortable reaching out at first, but I did it for my daughter, and it’s made such a difference. Please, don’t be afraid to reach out.”