Families and individuals in Union Station’s shelter programs are required to save 70% of their income. You may wonder, “If a homeless person has an income, why are they homeless?” In many cases, the problem isn’t so much unemployment as underemployment – the income just isn’t enough to afford rent, groceries, transportation, and other living expenses. Even those shelter residents who receive government assistance are required to save 70% of what they receive.
This is where community support helps our clients so much. Donations of toiletries, new clothing, diapers, wipes, baby formula, bus passes, and other items are provided to our clients as needed. Our clients are able to save because they do not have to purchase these items with their own money.
Union Station deposits the client’s money into a savings account for the duration of their stay. Upon leaving, clients are given the full amount they have saved (Union Station does not charge our clients any fees for services). $1,600 is about the average amount saved during a shelter stay of several months, and it is usually used for move-in costs on a room, home, or apartment rental.
And for the client, this imposed savings system results in an amazing shift. Week after week, paycheck after paycheck, they are required to save a percentage of their income. At first, it’s a struggle – saving, budgeting, and prioritizing expenses are foreign concepts. But as their account balance grows, so does their self confidence.
Upon leaving our shelter with his savings in hand, one client recently said, “I’ve never had this much money all at once, and if I had, I would’ve blown it all. At Union Station I learned how to budget my money… no one had ever taught me that before.”
Union Station gives our clients the opportunity to learn important life skills. They rejoin the community as stable and productive members. And that makes the future brighter for everyone!