Boxes crammed kitchen counters and spilled out into the living room on Thursday. Clothes were yet to be hung in closets. But on Danielle Clarke’s second day in a year-round rental home, she was so happy she couldn't find the words to describe it.

Clarke, along with her mother, sister, 4-year-old niece and a friend moved into the year-round, five-bedroom, two-bath rental on Feb. 1. She and her family have been looking for a house to rent for five years.

Prior to moving into her new home, she had been living at the Truro Motor Inn since 2018. Her mother had been there since 2016.

The holiday season is a time of joy and excitement. But for staff and volunteers with the Homeless Prevention Council, it's also a time of purpose.

As the cost of goods and services continues to rise, it can be tough these days for families to cover all of their needs. With the start of a new school year just a few weeks away, that also includes paying for back-to-school supplies.

The housing crisis on Cape Cod is so dire that a local housing advocate said it might be time to winterize motel rooms and bring in FEMA-type trailers to house residents who are temporarily dislocated.

It’s that bad, said Hadley Luddy, CEO of the Orleans-based Homeless Prevention Council.

Jo and Co will headline the council's annual Rock To Stop Homelessness benefit on April 9 at Hog Island Brewery.

Town officials are hoping that businesses respond to a seasonal housing needs survey. The 16-question survey is an attempt to gauge what area businesses want in order to find year-round and seasonal employees.

The Cape’s super-hot housing market has made a difficult rental market even tougher including for middle-income people who have the wherewithal to pay for housing. Advocates say there’s no end in sight.

The annual holiday workshop, which is organized by the Homeless Prevention Council, matches community donors and shoppers with local families to provide toys and clothing for children.

The Outer Cape is slated to see $1.5 million in funds to support housing and addiction relief if a House spending bill passed Oct. 29 passes the Senate and is signed by Gov. Charlie Baker.

The Homeless Prevention Council has so far provided backpacks full of school supplies for approximately 285 students for the upcoming 2021-2022 school year through its annual Backpack to School program.

Homeless Prevention Council case managers find ‘no solutions’

State Sen. Julian Cyr and Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce CEO Wendy Northcross convened a panel of housing experts last week that focused on what individual towns can do about the housing crisis.

As eighth-grader CJ Reid marched down Commercial Street through the West End of Provincetown, he explained his view of the root cause of homelessness on the Cape: housing is just too expensive.

The lack of affordable housing on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket exacerbated an already-dire year during the pandemic, forces island fire departments to rely on firefighters who commute by ferry, and will lead to scaled-back business services in the upcoming tourist season, local officials and experts said Thursday.

The Homeless Prevention Council will hold their third annual Walk for Home event this Saturday, June 12, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

With two carts to fill and a long list, Jonathan Weisblatt starts his Black Friday at 4 a.m., shopping for the Homeless Prevention Council’s Adopt-a-Family program.

In the midst of a pandemic, the Homeless Prevention Council has found another way to connect people in need to resources. As of Oct. 1, the Orleans-based agency is the Lower and Outer Cape outreach partner with the state for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The Homeless Prevention Council held a simple graduation ceremony Monday for 11 participants of a four-month program designed to foster resilience and self-reliance.

The REACH program — which stands for Resiliency, Empowerment, Achievement, Community and Hope — offered personal coaching, counseling and mindfulness training to council clients.

Nonprofit groups on the Lower and Outer Cape are attempting to work collaboratively to help people experiencing financial and food insecurity because of the coronavirus.