BY MARY NADER
North Kitsap Fishline

When Yogi Berra said the famous line, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future,” he wasn’t kidding. The future can be wily and often goes in unanticipated directions. This is especially so when thinking about the human services sector and adding into the equation an election year, tumultuous international conditions and an economic recovery seemingly lagging for its lowest-income constituents.

Looking back is easier, and we can surely report that, as we close out 2015, we are making progress. Fishline is seeing a slow, gradual decrease in the number of households needing help when compared to our peak in 2012. Folks are working again, access to affordable healthcare is increasing because of recent reforms and households are getting by through sharing resources and expressing a resilience that is inspiring to see.

But looking forward is what this time of year is about, and from our view at Fishline, we can cite a few factors likely to impact our community in 2016.

We are taking a bite out of hunger: Fishline’s market offers a full range of healthy food items in a respectful, positive setting. NK churches take turns providing hot and wholesome meals for those in need, staggering dates so that a free meal is available somewhere almost every day. Supplementing free school meals, local backpack meals fill the gap so no child is hungry on the weekends. Coffee Oasis reaches out to our homeless youth, offering food in a warm, dry place. Fishline provides for the homebound through its home delivery program.

All these efforts essentially have chronic hunger on the run, and we can be very proud of that. Beyond just filling cupboards, our plans to increase access to healthier foods and offer nutritional advice are priorities for our hunger safety net in 2016.

Housing is a disturbing problem: The impacts of a robust local economy are not all positive – rents and the costs of homes are exploding, inventory is dwindling and, most alarmingly, many local affordable housing units are converting to market-rate housing, forcing seniors, disabled and our low income residents to vacate only to find no realistic alternatives.

Combine that with a chronic shortage of overnight shelters or affordable units to replace those we are losing, and we have one of the most significant economic challenges our community has faced in years. Until we can offer working families affordable housing options that allow them to stay in the community they love and helped build, we have work to do.

Thankfully, local leaders are convening in task forces across our county to combat this crisis, but solutions will take time to implement. The housing prognosis for 2016 is bleak, especially for our lowest-income community members.

Problems are tougher to solve: Very often, a client’s request for rent assistance reveals that other problems exist, such as chronic unemployment, mental illness or substance abuse. While these deterrents are present, lasting progress is unlikely. Fishline and its partners will be very busy in 2016 providing sound case management, coordinating services and encouraging expanded resources.

We will find solutions. We have a special community, bound together by a common vision that includes safety, health and the ability to pursue the potential within us all. As we round the curve into 2016, here’s hoping that this bond will continue to nurture the culture of kindness that brought us this far.

— Mary Nader is executive director of North Kitsap Fishline in Poulsbo. Contact her at director@nkfishline.org.