There are a lot of things coming together at the same time this fall at United Way. Right on the heels of our annual “United We Sleep Event” is our Tri-Annual Community Investment process. I think of this as a unique opportunity for us to talk about the great importance of working together collectively in our community to effect broad and positive change. This month I am going to address the idea of a community safety net and how you can get involved in supporting opportunity for all in Greater Nashua.

Taking a step back, what is a “safety net?” Traditionally, government and economic sources define the safety net as those programs which ensure that truly no person falls through the cracks. Classic examples include welfare programs like SNAP (food stamps), Section 8 (housing vouchers), Medicaid (health insurance), and food pantries. The existence of these programs – food, clothing, shelter – help to make sure that people do not starve to death, freeze to death, or die without healthcare. I think we would all agree that these are very important needs.

Beyond these baseline needs, what I define at United Way as our community safety net goes a step further to helping people to get back on track and have a pathway to success. The United Way safety net tends to focus on the building blocks of a good life – health, education, and economic mobility – and the programs we support tend to provide a “hand up” in life. To use the adage, these are the programs which give people a fishing pole so that they can become independent and self-sustaining.

If we are truly honest with ourselves, we would admit that any of us can fall on hard times and be in need of help to get back on our feet, and that’s what our community investment process focuses on. Currently, the program is providing funding for thirty-eight different programs at 23 different agencies, providing almost $400K per year of funding, and collectively working toward creation of a system of universal supports, from birth to death and across all facets of life. Let me provide a scenario for you to consider illustrating how this system works:

Bill and his wife Linda, and their two children live in Nashua. They both work and their kids are ages 3 and 6. Bill’s job is as an auto mechanic and Linda works in retail. With the cost of rents, childcare, medical bills, and inflation-driven living expenses there is barely anything left over at the end of the month. Things are tight… but going all right until Bill’s brother Fred is injured at work and sustains a traumatic brain injury. Fred comes to live with the family and needs to be taken care of during the day, so Linda must leave her job to take care of Fred. Making matters worse, when the property owner finds out that Fred is now living there, he increases the rent. And they find themselves on the verge of homelessness. Faced with a loss of income and increasing costs, the family has a number of tough decisions to make. Think about this situation for a moment and decide whether you believe it is far-fetched or realistic? In my own family, we have had unforeseen circumstances – loss of work, medical needs, etc. – that are not that dissimilar.

What can the family do and what resources are supported by the United Way community safety net? Let me give a few examples:

• If the family becomes homeless, they can turn to Family Promise (or Front Door or Marguerite’s Place if the family is a single mom) for transitional housing to get stabilized for a period of over a year. While there, they can save up money, go back to school, and find meaningful employment to get back on their feet.

• After school care for the older child can be provided by the Boys and Girls Club or the Police Athletic League so that their older child is in a safe and nurturing environment while not in school.

• Their younger child, a girl, can go to school and after school care at Marguerite’s Place, Girls Inc., or the Adult Learning Center so that she is cared for and ready for Pre-K when the time comes.

• Their brother, Fred, can go to the Adult Day Program at Gateways during the day to enjoy socializing and learning in a caring and supportive environment.

• And when the family needs to get their teeth cleaned or a cavity filled, they can go to the Dental Connection for these critical services.

These are just a few examples of how the safety net wraps around each person and the whole family. Taken together, the effect is to work to make sure that people do not fall further down the ladder and instead are able to get back on track. This system works to prevent homelessness and extreme poverty. By helping the individual and the family, we are also helping ourselves by keeping our communities safer and stronger.

So, when I am asked what the United Way Sleepout is about, I will often talk about this system of supports and collaborations. At this year’s event, on October 14/15 we are planning to highlight the work of all our twenty-three collaborative partners and introduce our partners to each of you. Participants will get an opportunity to learn from community organizations about their work and find ways to get involved, either directly or through United Way. So, I invite you to sign up and join us at this year’s United We Sleep to End Hunger and Homelessness by simply going to www.tinyurl.com/2022uws and clicking on the “Join Us” button. I assure you that by doing so you will be treated to a healthy dose of goodness, because GREAT THINGS HAPPEN WHEN WE LIVE UNITED!

Mike Apfelberg is president of United Way of Greater Nashua.

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