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Damiana Fomalont never saw herself becoming a statistic. But she recently learned a lesson that she wants to share with others: In a flash, you can find yourself homeless.

Two months ago, Fomalont — who was seven months pregnant at the time — found herself laid off from a new job and losing her downtown Frederick apartment. She had few prospects.

"I didn't know what to do, I was very panicked," she said. "I thought ‘I'm a respectable citizen, I've worked my whole life.' It really can happen to anybody."

This is one of the messages that The Religious Coalition of Emergency Human Needs — the county's largest provider of nongovernmental assistance, and Fomalont's lifeline during her near-homeless ordeal — sought to reinforce this week in their observance of the sixth annual Homeless Awareness Week.

The coalition kicked off the week with an open house at the Alan P. Linton Jr. Emergency Shelter — the largest and only year-round shelter in the county — where the poor economy is steadily increasing clientele, including many who have never found themselves in dire situations before.

"This week is about making people aware of who the homeless are," said the Rev. Brian Scott, executive director of the coalition. "It's also about making people aware that they're not all stereotypes."

The organization provides help with utility and healthcare costs, warm beds during the winter months, homeless prevention programs, and emergency care and resources for the homeless from the emergency shelter.

Fomalont got help from the coalition with a security deposit for her new Emmitsburg apartment, and her first rent payment.

"I wasn't really used to it, but I was working with them and going out and getting food stamps and medical assistance," she said. "I just needed to learn how to accept help. Now, I have room for the baby and I'm smiling."

The coalition runs the only cold-weather shelter in the county, from November through March. The 80-bed shelter, which Scott said 274 homeless people used last year, is scheduled to open tonight. Beginning Dec. 1, the organization will offer a day shelter for the mentally and physically disabled.

Scott said he believes the declining job market is sending more people to the coalition, adding that a "point-in-time" count of Frederick County's homeless showed a little more than 300 people are now homeless in Frederick.

In October, Scott said the coalition saw a 30 percent increase in new clients, all of whom had either never sought social services before, were recently unemployed or had run out of savings.

Also in October, nearly 400 families sought assistance for supplemental services, such as healthcare and utility payments, compared to 300 families who sought that service during October 2008.

Scott also said that more families are looking to stretch their money by going to local food banks. He said through partnerships with local food banks, the coalition assists about 1,300 families per month.

Scott said that he hopes the snapshot provided by the coalition in observance of Homeless Awareness Week will inspire Frederick residents to get more involved in the fight against homelessness.

"We're always trying to make people aware about how [they] can make a difference and help a neighbor in need," Scott said.

For more information on volunteering at The Religious Coalition, contact 301-631-2670 or visit www.thereligiouscoaltion.org.

E-mail Erica L. Green at egreen@gazette.net.