Inter-Faith Council for Social Service

Fall 2022 Connections Newsletter

Fall 2022 Connections Newsletter

 After six decades and with your dedicated support, IFC is still going strong -- committed to the dream of our founders: A community that meets everyone’s basic needs, including dignified and affordable housing, an abundance of healthy food, and meaningful social connection. You continue to stand in the gap with us. Thank you for that.

As we enter our 60th year, we are strong and steadfast -- yet we also face the substantial challenges of these times. Inflation is wreaking havoc on already fragile household budgets; skyrocketing rent is displacing our neighbors. The number of people experiencing homelessness is growing, and the economic fallout of the pandemic is a reality. We see it every day among IFC’s members, shelter residents, and staff.


We know that what we need is housing for people with low income, no income, and fixed income. We need a home for the barista who makes our lattes, our restaurant server, our healthcare worker, our gardener. Our non-profit workers, school bus drivers, construction workers, and local retail workers need to live closer to their workplaces. Our seniors and neighbors with disabilities who are living outside during increasingly severe weather on both ends of the thermometer need a safe place to lay their heads.

As a community, we need to be courageous and take bolder steps if we are to realize our vision. We dream big. We don’t settle for band-aid solutions. We don’t stay quiet when people are quietly suffering. That is not us.

So what do we do?

We get fired up about affordable housing. We center people with lived experience and truly listen to what they need. We read and share the powerful stories in this newsletter and take action:

•     Vote for leaders who will support truly affordable housing.
•    Contact council members and tell them that all remaining town-owned land should be considered for affordable housing, and encourage our loved ones and neighbors to do the same.

Together, we can help make our vision a reality. Imagine our buildings no longer needing to house 100 people every night. Imagine no one waiting for a hot meal, no one shopping for free groceries in order to afford medication or shoes.

We can do this because we dream big and we speak up.

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