Requests for housing help on Hilton Head Island increase for Deep Well charity

Forty-two years ago, The Deep Well Project launched with one mission.

"We started out digging wells for people," said Betsy Doughtie, executive director.

Although that mission has evolved, the Hilton Head Island nonprofit's goal is still to lend a hand to low-income members of the community.

Deep Well has so far assisted about 1,600 families this year, with services including a food pantry, holiday dinners, a toy shop for Christmas and assistance with rent payments, electric bills and home repairs, according to Doughtie.

This year, the top need for Deep Well clients has overwhelmingly been livable housing.

"We've spent more than double of our budget on that," Doughtie said. Livable housing assistance includes installing new roofs, heating and air conditioning units and floors.

A team of about 11 volunteers handles most of those repairs twice a week.

"Our guys can work on a house or mobile home for $150," Doughtie said. "It would easily cost $2,000 if we hired out."

The only cost is for materials, many of which are donated to Deep Well.

The biggest change to the nonprofit this year is its location. Deep Well moved into its new office at 80 Capital Drive in late September.

"It's a more efficient building," Doughtie said. "There is better storage space for donations, and the pantry is better organized."

That extra storage will be particularly handy this holiday season, as the nonprofit has received more turkeys than what is likely needed for Thanksgiving, she said. Any leftover donated food will be stored for Christmas, when Deep Well will have more dinner deliveries and pick-ups.

As of Monday morning, Doughtie estimated 94 families had received Thanksgiving dinners, with at least 20 more picking up meals later that day. Christmas is an even bigger holiday for the nonprofit, she added, with an estimated 225 to 250 local families expected to receive a holiday dinner.

What the community requires the most varies from year to year, Doughtie said, although food is traditionally high on the list. This holiday season, the nonprofit is collecting food as well as items for its Santa Shop, a program in which parents can stop by the office to pick out toys for their children. Last year, parents from more than 360 families selected toys, books, clothes, games and stuffed animals from the Santa Shop.

Doughtie said this is the third year Deep Well has had its clients select toys instead of having them delivered.

"We think it's a good idea to let people come in and pick out their (items)," Doughtie said. "It's about dignity and treating people with respect."

The Deep Well Project will incorporate that same philosophy in a program launching in the new year: Clients will be able to come to the nonprofit to select their groceries.

Doughtie said giving clients choices also helps cut down on waste.

"They get the things they really want," she said.

About 50 people volunteer throughout the year, but that number more than doubles during the holidays.

"This is the biggest time of the year (for us)," Doughtie said, citing Hilton Head's tourism industry and season-dependent jobs. "People have their hours cut in the winter."

But there are some indicators that the economy as a whole has been picking up.

"In 2011, we (had) 2,000 families," Doughtie said. That number dropped to 1,800 last year, a number she expects will remain about the same this year.

She added that the most in-demand needs are also indicative of the local economy's health.

"When the economy dumped, the amount people had to pay in rent actually went down," she said. "Now that the economy is back on track, rents are going back up," leaving families with less money left over for food and other necessities.

Santa Shop gift ideas

The Deep Well Project on Hilton Head Island is now collecting items for its Santa Shop, a program in which parents can stop by the office to pick out toys for their children. The Santa Shop inventory is geared toward children ages 1 to 12.

Items needed include:

- Books

- Board games, puzzles, craft sets, art supplies

- Bicycles, bike helmets and locks, skateboards, ride-on toys, kid-powered scooters

- Sports and bounce balls

- Dolls and doll accessories

- Princess- and superhero-themed items

- Sports logo items

- Nonelectronic gifts

- Kid's clothing, including jackets, sweatshirts, sweatpants, jeans and hoodies

Donations may be dropped off at The Deep Well Project's new office at 80 Capital Drive.

Details: 843-785-2849

Follow reporter Ashley Fahey on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Ashley.

Related content:

• Video: Deep Well Project receives large donation from Food Lion Feeds, Sept. 15, 2015
• Deep Well Project gearing up for busy holiday season of giving, November 25, 2014

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 9:50 AM with the headline "Requests for housing help on Hilton Head Island increase for Deep Well charity."