BASIC NEEDS: Safety net
Why it Matters
The demand for services to help individuals and families in southeastern Michigan is rising. Throughout the past 10 years, the population of Detroit has decreased by 14%, the employment rate in southeastern Michigan has decreased 24%, and housing values for the region are down 41%. The Safety Net is the set of programs and services that provide for basic needs. Approximately 40% of the children, adults, and families of southeastern Michigan are either in the Safety Net or at risk for entering. The need for the Safety Net still outpaces the services that are provided.
Why it matters
Across the region, families must decide whether to pay for rent or food. Parents are weighing the cost of child care against the income they can make at a job. Seniors have to choose between paying for their heat or purchasing their needed medications.
Being able to meet their basic needs, like access to safe housing, adequate food, and medical care, enables individuals and families to build a stable life thus providing greater stability in our community. United Way is addressing the deep need in the region by investing in basic services and working towards a more efficient system for providing these services.
What we've done
In 2008-2011, UWSEM focused its efforts on meeting Basic Needs in a variety of categories, including Child Care, Crisis Support, Housing and Food.
Throughout the 2008-2011 investment cycle, UWSEM investments were used to:
- Provide 16,703 homeless individuals with shelter;
- Assist 3,964 households in preventing foreclosure or eviction;
- Offer 10,229 victims of domestic violence or child abuse with aid;
- Provide 48,801 individuals with substance abuse treatment.
In addition, over 297,000 additional individuals and families received services to stabilize housing, feed their families, gain legal assistance, meet their health care needs, and help in their time of crisis.
Our goals for this year and the future
2011
- During the 2011 – 2012 investment period UWSEM will focus agency investments on improving the way individuals access the resources and services that can help them, streamlining and improving efficiency of service delivery, and supporting members of our community unable to meet their basic needs.
2018
- Work with the community to create a high-performing service delivery system focused on moving people toward self-sufficiency thus creating value for the community.
- Investments will focus on programs that have integrated a variety of services to move individuals and families from a point of crisis toward self-sufficiency.
- UWSEM will be a catalyst for bringing public, private and non-profit sectors together to improve systems in order to allow individuals and families to access the benefits and services they need with ease.