ERLANGER, Ky. — Inside a modest Erlanger storefront, Karen Zengel helps make miracles happen.
“I'm not sure how much we can do, but miracles do happen,” said Zengel, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul of Northern Kentucky. “We're blessed to be able to even try to help.”
At the helm of the organization for nearly a decade, Zengel said demand for services has never been higher.
"So we're finding within our community that affordable housing is very difficult to come by, and prices are rising in the grocery store," she said. "It was really putting a lot of people in a pinch, and they were struggling to be able to afford their basic needs."
St. Vincent de Paul of Northern Kentucky was the recipient of a recent $20,000 grant, which will help sustain its efforts with emergency rent and utility bill assistance.
Over the last year, the organization has helped nearly 10,000 Northern Kentuckians keep the lights on and stay in their homes. The total cost is equivalent to about $1 million.
"The rent cases can be overwhelming," said Dennis Coyne, a Vincentian, or volunteer. "Sometimes, we find people that literally have thousands of dollars in back rent, sometimes even thousands of dollars in utility bills."
Zengel said that over the last three years, demand for the organization's services has skyrocketed by 50%.
"If an individual is in a home and they've been able to afford that home, we want to keep them there," she said. "Because it's not likely that they're going to be able to find a home if they lose that home."
It underscores the ongoing housing shortage facing Northern Kentucky. Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties all rank among Kentucky's top 10 counties with a housing gap, per a recent Kentucky Housing Task Force meeting aimed at solving the state's affordable housing crisis.
St. Vincent de Paul Northern Kentucky's assistance office is open between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Monday through Friday. You can call the helpline at 859-341-3219 or visit its website here.
"Please don't hesitate to call. We have volunteers who will pick up the phone, hear the challenge that you're facing and try to get you some help," said Zengel.
