Autumn Newsletter

Call Us:

(508) 255-9667

Greetings!

Welcome to the Fall issue of HPC News. Please view my video message below, and thank you as always, for supporting our community in myriad ways. You are keeping HPC vibrant and strong as we carry our mission forward!

With appreciation,

Hadley Luddy

Chief Executive Officer

Advocacy and News

Area housing has been unaffordable and increasingly hard to find for years. The pandemic exacerbated this crisis, pushing the number of clients seeking help from HPC to never-seen-before levels. The people struggling to find a place to live include seniors, working parents, families, and locally employed professionals. What do we hear? “My rental has been sold and I have to be out within 30 days. Where can I go and how can you help me?” The answer is a gutting one: There simply are no available rentals on the Lower and Outer Cape.

Solving this problem—which is both serious and escalating—requires the involvement of both seasonal and year-round residents. We need creative input from residents, local businesses, Realtors, housing developers, community agencies, and our towns. We need to develop short-term solutions quickly while we work on longer-term sustainable plans. The only way to profoundly change this trajectory is for all of us, including new homeowners, to act.

Here is a great learning opportunity with our partners at the Community Development Partnership (CDP) we hope you will join!

The Lower Cape Housing Institute kicks off this week with Housing 101 on Friday, October 15th from 10 am to 12 pm. This workshop is designed specifically to address barriers to housing production on the Lower Cape by providing effective strategies to increase housing in your town. In this training the CDP will cover the basics about: Who needs housing; Why housing is so hard to build; and, What you can do to increase housing production in your town. Housing 101 will also cover the best ways to talk about housing so that you can be an effective agent of change in your role as a municipal official. You will leave this training with the knowledge and language to support housing initiatives as well as a firm understanding of what must be done to solve your town’s housing crisis.

Please call Hadley at HPC to share your ideas and learn how you can advance our mission and become an advocate for our neighbors in need. Take a moment to hear Allie’s story in this national news piece which covered the seriousness of the housing crisis in our region.

Thank you.

Summer Round-Up

REACH Graduate Launches Farming Microenterprise

Every Saturday at the Orleans Farmers’ Market, Krystle McSweeney can be found selling the organic vegetables and flowers she grows at The Dog Patch Farm. She also sells customized floral bouquets for baby showers and rehearsal dinners. And she’s working on ways to grow her business even more!

McSweeney is a June 2021 graduate of this year’s REACH Project, our action-oriented, goal-setting program that provides participants with individualized coaching and mindfulness education. While still participating in the program, McSweeney was selected in the Nauset Conservation Putnam Farms lottery and given the opportunity to plant a 3,500-square-foot plot of land in Orleans to begin her farm. She invested her REACH stipend in that dream.

“It’s something I've wanted to do for over 10 years now. It’s pretty crazy how it manifested itself, [the REACH Project] happening at the same time as the farm,” said McSweeney. Her long-term goal is to build her business into a full-time job. For now, she’s advancing step by step. The next step? An irrigation system for the plants.

McSweeney, who can be found at the Orleans Farmers’ Market from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday, said the mindfulness portion of the REACH Project was important to her success as a farmer. “REACH gave me the time to center and connect myself to the present. It’s an everyday battle, but the mindfulness has been huge and I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity,” McSweeney said. “It’s been a year of wonderful things.”

Fresh Produce is at the Root of Helping HPC Clients

In addition to our ongoing partnership with the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension and Cape Abilities Farm, HPC distributed additional produce and fall offerings with the generous support of the Greenhouse by the Sea and Checkerberry Farm. Our clients have loved their tomatoes and potatoes and other offerings!

Backpack to School 2021 Brings Joy to Local Students

This summer, our staff, and the community rallied to support HPC’s 20th Backpack-to-School, a need-based program supporting local students. The program was a success thanks to our outreach locations at Staples, the Orleans Police Department, Nauset Marine, and Seamen’s Bank branches, as well as the support of community members and visitors who dropped off needed supplies or made financial contributions to the program.

A special shout-out goes to the Nauset Rotary Club, Chatham Coast Guard, and UBS Financial Services. Their annual contributions and volunteer efforts make our program possible. We also extend our heartfelt thanks to volunteers Diane and David Weissman, Susan Carlson, Maryann Campagna, and Cyndy and Maeve Myles. They tirelessly assembled and distributed over 285 backpacks to students at Nauset Middle School on Aug. 27.

WOMR Connects Those in Need with HPC

WOMR in Provincetown enabled HPC Community Support Liaison Mackenzie Perry to record several public service announcements to

benefit Provincetown residents in need. These PSAs inform Provincetown residents about the wide range of supports offered by HPC as well as about special funding to open youth access to substance use treatment.

Mackenzie has weekly office hours at the HPC office at Provincetown Methodist Church. She can help local residents apply for fuel assistance and housing programs, connect with mental health and substance use services and learn about other services for which they may be eligible.

Fall Panorama

Community Partners Raise Funds to Benefit HPC’s Work

Nauset Newcomers, founded in 1977 to help forge community between new and established residents, is holding in-person meetings again. After 18 months of pandemic social distancing, the organization hosted a public gathering on Sept. 15 at Wellfleet Theater. HPC Development Director Margaret Hardt Frondorf was on hand, along with representatives from four other charities, to accept a check from Nauset Newcomers and thank its members for their support.

The Nauset Rotary Club each year helps purchase needed gift cards for HPC clients. Rotary Club members also volunteer to collect donations and supplies for HPC’s special programs. By seeking grants to match its fundraising efforts, the Nauset Rotary Club is multiplying the resources it has available to help families in need.

Ruthie’s Boutique in Provincetown is anchored by a mission to support local nonprofits. The boutique and its volunteers included HPC in their donation line-up this year. HPC CEO Hadley Luddy accepted their thoughtful generosity.

HPC was named as one of three organizations to receive the proceeds from the 2021 Baptist Church Silent Auction, held Oct. 2-10. The silent auction focuses on helping local Cape Codders. HPC is immensely grateful to the Brewster Baptist Church for its generosity and to the many volunteers and donors who made the fundraising event meant for people in need.

Special thanks to HPC volunteer extraordinaire, Don Murray, of the St Peters Gay Ministry in Provincetown for collecting $1,245 for HPC’s Adopt-a-Family program at their local Stop and Shop. Funds will be used to provide adopted families with $100 food cards to make their holiday season especially bright.

Addison Art Gallery’s holiday open house will feature new works, lots of treats, and sales to benefit HPC. Mark your calendars for the Dec. 11 event, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Addison Art Gallery, now celebrating 25 years of operation, is known for its new, innovative, and original artwork.

Upcoming Programs

The holidays are fast approaching! Be a changemaker this year by joining HPC’s 2021 Adopt-a-Family (AAF) holiday program. Volunteers help HPC provide children—from newborns to teens—with new clothing and special gifts matched to each child’s interests and holiday wishes. Now in its 26th year, Adopt-a-Family is a signature HPC Program aimed at ensuring children and families in need have an opportunity to celebrate the holidays with joy.

Here are the multiple ways you can help:

Be matched with (thus “adopt”) a family to shop for. You can pair up with families with multiple children or a family with just one child. You commit to purchase clothing and gift items from the family’s wish list (about $200 per child);
Send a donation to HPC and our Holiday Shoppers will make purchases for you;
Donate to the Adopt-a-Family Bike Fund (about $150 for bike/helmet combos);
Purchase a gift card to be used to fulfill a requested gift for a child and/or buy grocery gift cards to allow families to widen their holiday celebrations.

Adopt-a-Family Important Dates:

Nov. 1: The Adopt-a-Family program begins. Contact Ramona Carlow, our Adopt-a-Family program chair, at 508-255-9667 x160 or by email at adoptafamily@hpccapecod.org to discuss ways to get involved. Alternatively, you can kickstart the program by donating online before Nov. 1. Be sure to specify your donation preference—such as AAF Holiday Shopper or AAF Bike Fund—in the “comment” section of the donation page.

Nov. 15 to Dec. 3: The Holiday Workshop will be open to accepting wish-list gifts, gift cards, and financial contributions. The workshop is located at Skaket Corners, 9 West Road, in Orleans (at the former Olympia Sports Store). We look forward to seeing you there along with our volunteer elves helping to make this year’s Adopt-a-Family the best ever!

Holiday Workshop Hours:

Monday-Friday 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

On Nov. 16, Nov. 23, and Dec. 2, the workshop will also be open from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. (Please note that during Thanksgiving week, the workshop will be closed from Wednesday to Sunday, Nov. 24-28.)

Helping Community Members as Cold Weather Moves In

Our community outreach efforts are expanding. Keep a close eye on our website and our social media announcements for updates.
We’re thrilled to be back in Harwich all day on Tuesdays at the Family Pantry and the Harwich Community Center. See our outreach hours here .
We are sharing critical information with existing clients and community members about the Emergency Broadband Benefit, which offers a $50 emergency broadband subsidy to connect households to the internet.
We are guiding clients through the Fuel Assistance application process.
We are introducing SNAP food benefits to families on a tight budget. SNAP benefits allow people to hang onto the funds they need to meet rent payments, helping them to stay in their homes and prevent homelessness.