Housing Initiatives of Princeton (HIP) is seeking donors who have an extra or unneeded car to donate for clients who need one to get to work.
HIP helps low-income working families and individuals avoid homelessness by providing transitional housing and temporary rental assistance. It also offers supportive services to help clients get back on their feet.
Many of HIP’s clients have cars, but they are often old and unreliable.
“They would be given to clients on a case-by-case basis,” said Lori Troilo, HIP’s executive director.
A client recently contacted HIP to report that her car needs a significant amount of work that she cannot afford.
The single mother, who is living in one of HIP’s transitional housing units, said a mechanic told her that her car is not safe and that she should not be driving it at all, Troilo said.
“‘I have no money saved and so even to get it fixed, I would need to get a loan or something. Even though it is dangerous, I need to be able to get to and from work,'” the woman told Troilo.
A client’s need for a reliable car is no different than anyone else’s need, Troilo said.
“It is for transportation to and from work, to pick up children from school, run errands, travel to class or the doctor’s office or to attend back-to-school night,” she said. “Having a car also means clients do not need to depend on the frequently unreliable public transportation system or to spend hard-earned dollars on costly ride-share programs.
“There is no question that a lack of public transportation and our reliance on personal vehicles poses a significant barrier for low-income individuals in their social and economic mobility.
“This, in turn, contributes to the stigma that economically disadvantaged people are the ones who mostly use public transportation,” Troilo said.
A reliable car opens up opportunities for low-income persons, she said. Clients who have a car can consider a better paying job or an advancement opportunity in a town that is not serviced by a bus.
Troilo said HIP’s rental units are located on or near a bus line, but the bus system can be unreliable. Sometimes, a bus is delayed and that causes a problem for a client. If the bus is late, the client loses time and earnings at work.
One client has a young child whose school bus comes after the New Jersey Transit bus to the client’s workplace, she said. The client could not leave her child alone, so she had to change her work schedule to accommodate the bus transportation.
“If the client had a reliable car, she would not face losing time and money at work,” Troilo said. “It would also mean not having to take two buses and spending hours in transit to go on an errand.”
While HIP prefers that donated cars are in working condition, it can consult with a mechanic to determine whether repairs to a non-working vehicle meet safety requirements and makes economic sense.
Anyone interested in donating a vehicle can get more information by sending an email to [email protected].
