Guest Spot: Joyce Beckenstein
Storm clouds over CAST
When a summer storm rolls in, North Forkers know what to do: secure the shutters, stock up on essentials, charge the phones. The storm comes. It passes. Life moves on.
But some storms aren’t weather-related. Perfect storms — rare and devastating collisions of forces — often refer to human hardships: personal losses, financial crises, homelessness, physical and mental illness. When those storms hit, Southold’s Center for Advocacy, Support & Transformation is there to help.
Now, however, CAST is bracing for a perfect storm of its own.
For 60 years, CAST has been a lifeline for vulnerable and lowincome residents of the North Fork and Shelter Island. It serves families with young children, seniors, veterans, individuals with life-limiting illnesses and disabilities, and the working poor — people who simply can’t make ends meet.
CAST depends on federal funding, grants, major institutional and private donations, and the everyday generosity of small contributors and dedicated volunteers. These resources help provide food, housing, education, health care and job training to those most in need. But looming cuts in federal support and growing uncertainty are threatening this notfor- profit organization’s ability to continue its mission.
Expected reductions in the federal Emergency Food and Shelter Program will mean less food and fewer emergency housing resources. Cuts to agricultural subsidies will decrease the amount of fresh local produce donated to CAST’s vital food pantry. Assistance for utilities is disappearing, medication costs are rising and possible reductions to SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, could strip many children of their only reliable daily meal. Consider one mother’s reality: She’s raising five children — including an 18-monthold with special needs — while managing type 1 diabetes. Her medical expenses are increasing, and the cost of caring for her family is becoming unmanageable. Add to this the effects of high tariffs, inflation and a volatile stock market. Consumer spending and charitable giving are down. Local businesses are confronting higher costs and lower sales, forcing staff cuts that in turn send even more people to CAST for basic needs. And these are only the early signs of the storm. According to 2023-24 data from the New York State Education Department, between 33% and 65% of students in the Greenport, Southold, Mattituck-Cutchogue and Shelter Island school districts are economically disadvantaged. That means countless children are growing up with limited opportunities — at a time when CAST anticipates a $400,000 to $600,000 reduction in revenue for 2025.
Ironically, CAST’s crisis reflects a broader truth: Any one of us can be caught in a perfect storm. That’s why your support — through donations and volunteer hours — has never been more vital.
Ms. Beckenstein is a journalist and longtime Mattituck resident. She formerly wrote on the arts for this newspaper.
