Homeless Needs Assessment

November 2009:
Horizons, in partnership with the Adams County Community Network went out to assess the needs of individuals living in various labor camps in the Othello West area. The majority of the individuals living in the area are Hispanic seasonal farmworkers (and their families); very low income and are considered homeless due to their living conditions. The evening before going out the temperature in the region fell below 0 degrees. During the assessment the outside temperature was around 10 degrees. What we found were people in need of heaters, in need of blankets, in need of beds, many huddled in one room to utilize heaters; we also found many of the trailers’s had wood furnaces added to them, without carbon-dioxide detectors. In response Horizons and ACCN brought resources to bear and was able to acquire 25 heaters, over 40 blankets, 3 beds, and a van load of donated winter cloths, within 2 days to give to needy families.