As families struggle with economic anxiety, town considers how to help residents
By Carol Britton Meyer
Some Hull residents are experiencing the crunch of inflation and related challenges in different ways, Select Board Chair Jennifer Constable told fellow board members recently.
A WOLFE AT THE BORDER. Craig Wolfe, a familiar face around Hull, has been working to help migrants at the southern U.S. border in El Paso in his role as a Red Cross Disaster Team supervisor. He reports that the Red Cross and partners are providing different levels of services, such as shelter, food, blankets, cots, and safety in this large-scale operation. The Red Cross’s mission is to prevent and alleviate human suffering in all parts of the world. [Courtesy photo]
“We’ve had a number of inquiries about what kinds of assistance are available; this is not unusual [in times like these],” she said, following up her comment with a query to Town Manager Philip Lemnios about what services “are out there” to help individuals and families who are facing food insecurity, financial hardship, and other issues.
He noted as an example that while the price of eggs has tripled, “incomes haven’t.”
“We have a large senior population on fixed incomes who are not keeping up with the rate of inflation,” she observed.
An outreach worker is part of the Anne M. Scully Senior Center staff, Lemnios explained, “and we have a veterans’ agent and a board of health [on hand to provide certain types of assistance]. There’s always a need for services.”
Board member Irwin Nesoff noted that Wellspring Multi-Service Center on Nantasket Avenue is another source of help in many forms.
Lemnios noted that the holidays are “acute” times for the police and fire departments due to the number of calls for assistance. “This period is fraught with a lot of emotion,” according to Lemnios. “The long and the short of it is that we offer the same set of services available in other communities our size.”
He suggested that checking with Council on Aging Director Lisa Thornton could help define whether there has been an uptick in requests or demands for services at this time.
“I’m not sure there has been,” Lemnios said. “Seasonally, we know that there is an increase in requests for help, such as fuel assistance.”
Lemnios also mentioned that the Hull Municipal Light Plant doesn’t shut off service to customers who are late with bill payments during the winter months.
“Perhaps we could have some kind of contingency that provides [additional assistance], but towns [of our size] are not designed to provide safety net services,” Lemnios explained. Such services are offered to some degree at the state level. “Trying to provide them locally is [overall] an inefficient way [to go about it].”
At the same time, providing generator backup to Hull residents during the winter months to ensure they don’t go without electricity during a potential National Grid power outage is one way to meet citizens’ needs locally, Lemnios pointed out.
“Generators allow people to shelter in place during [a severe weather event] so that they don’t have to find a way to get to a warming shelter,” he said.
There is no short answer.
“There are indices that there is a need [for services] as shown in the [recently completed] needs assessment,” Lemnios said. The study focuses on the preferences, evolving needs, opinions, and interests of Hull’s 55-plus population.
This information is particularly meaningful in light of the town’s growing senior population.
In addition to needing services, some seniors and other residents also have other concerns.
For instance, the needs assessment report indicates that most Hull residents who responded to the survey wish to remain in town as they age but have concerns related in part to being able to afford increasing taxes and the availability of public transportation and affordable senior housing.
The study also shows that Hull has the highest proportion of older residents and the smallest physical space in terms of senior center square footage than its peer communities, and the lowest median household income for residents ages 60 and older.
A large number of older residents indicated that the nearest person they could call for assistance “is at least 30 minutes away,” Lemnios reported. “Nothing good can come from that.”
He noted that the state is currently making it easier for people to qualify for certain benefits, but that some people “put up pride or other barrier” to seeking this assistance.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP (formerly called food stamps), assistance is available if certain income and other guidelines are met to help address food insecurity, and “people who qualify should take advantage of this benefit,” Lemnios said. “Many people need and deserve it, and many individuals, especially seniors, have been paying for them through their taxes for many years. It’s innocuous. The SNAP card looks like a debit card. This program is designed so people [in need] don’t have anxiety about one of the most basic requirements for survival – food. It’s really a shame [when people don’t access benefits for which they are eligible].”
That said, Constable noted that many households are “on the cusp and don’t [quite] qualify.”
Lemnios intends to ask Thornton to include information about available social services in the newsletter for seniors.
Constable emphasized the importance of being “kind to each other,” especially during these challenging times.
“It’s as simple as that for starters,” she said.