CAPE COD, Mass. — Around this time of year, Homeless Prevention Council in Cape Cod is busy matching donor families and businesses with the more than 200 local families in need. Donors buy gifts and clothes to help make this time of year more cheerful for folks going through so much.

"We've got such a community-focused, giving, and thoughtful community that really is aware of the unique needs of the seasonal nature of our economy," said Hadley Luddy, chief executive officer of Homeless Prevention Council.

It certainly is a bright spot during an incredibly challenging year. Like many areas with “seasonal economies” – think beach or mountain towns – her area is going through an affordable housing crisis.

With people now working remotely, families who can afford to do so, have moved away from urban areas to these seasonal economies for the space and pace of life. That, unfortunately, is making housing for people who work at local restaurants, landscaping companies and other small businesses difficult to find.

"This is not just a Cape Cod problem. It is a national problem. Um, so we're hearing stories all the time and actually seeing lots of amazing pilot projects and programs that are popping up all over the country," said Luddy.

While this problem continues to persist, Luddy says that one positive that has developed over the last few months is that residents are becoming more aware of the issue and beginning to understand that this is something that needs everyone’s help to solve it.

"The Cape Cod Times ran a story that really outlined the degree to the severity and how the housing crisis is really affecting people of all incomes, and one of the nice results of the story was we had two people call with rental housing available," said Luddy. "To see people reading the newspaper, making the connection, it goes back to our efforts all the time to say we're all part of creating a housing solution."

She says a lot of the focus now should be on educating people about the problem, but most importantly, on how they can be a part of the solution by using their own resources to create affordable housing.

"We really need to make this whole process much more user-friendly for the person who wants to be a part of the solution, so I think that's much of the first step that needs to happen and then we'll start to see more and more people as they're better informed, bring rentals online," she said.

An invasive species of caterpillars are causing people to break out in painful rashes in Maine and Massachusetts.

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which has declared a public health nuisance, said the browntail moth caterpillar is found only on the coast of Maine and Cape Cod.

The creepy crawlers are easy to identify: They're brown, about 1.5 inches long, white stripes along each side, and two red/orange spots on their back.

The agency said the poisonous hairs of the caterpillar could cause dermatitis, which is similar to poison ivy.

The rash can occur upon contact with the skin or if the caterpillar's hairs become airborne if dislodged from a living or dead caterpillar.

"Most people affected by the hairs develop a localized rash that will last for a few hours up to several days, but on some sensitive individuals, the rash can be severe and last for several weeks," the agency said. "The rash results from both a chemical reaction to a toxin in the hairs and a physical irritation as the barbed hairs become embedded in the skin."

If you inhale the hairs, it can cause respiratory distress, the agency said.

American employers added just 266,000 jobs last month, a sharp downturn from March. 

It's a sign businesses are struggling to fill open positions even as the country recovers economically from the pandemic. 

Construction companies and manufacturers, particularly automakers, slowed hiring last month due to parts shortages. 

Meanwhile, the hospitality sector, which includes restaurants, hotels and venues, is basically begging for workers. 

Lots of jobs are going unfilled because people have changed fields or left the workforce during the last year of the pandemic. And of course, some unemployed Americans are still afraid to go back to work due to the coronavirus pandemic and stubbornly high infection rates in certain parts of the country.

"Here we are in an empty dining room where normally, for lunch, we would be open and serving, you know, a couple of hundred guests," business owner Mac Hay said, "But this year, because of our staff shortage, both with U.S. workers but also workers from overseas, we've we can't fill the demand."

In response, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is calling on Washington to immediately stop paying Americans an extra $300 in weekly unemployment benefits. It's saying that boost is incentivizing some Americans to not return to work. 

The group also said the Biden administration's supplemental benefits means about 1 in 4 Americans is making more money unemployed than they earned while they were working.

This story originally reported by Gage Jackson on Newsy.com.

Small zoos come with a small staff, and amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, many of them are struggling.

The Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, Massachusetts is struggling to afford the cost of feeding and housing zoo animals, especially with no money coming in.

The zoo sits on the southeast coast of Massachusetts on the way to Cape Cod. It's one of the oldest and most unique in the country, sitting only 7 acres in size.

"Everything from Asian elephants to small monkey species, otters, a lot of native species. A diverse animal population here that the community really loves,” said zoo director Keith Lovett of the animals.

It survives on city funds, fundraising, and like most other zoos, admission. Closing was, and still is, a tough financial hit. This is the time of year when Buttonwood makes the most money.

“Being in Massachusetts, we have a seasonality to our attendance and a lot of our fundraising events and well-attended events are in the spring and summer, so there are huge financial implications to that as well,” he explained.

Like other zoos, it's already an expensive operation. People have now been furloughed and positions have been cut. The staff is taking social distancing to the extreme. If anyone gets sick, there won't be anyone to take care of the animals. They're doing virtual events and online fundraisers but can't help but worry about the future.

“If this were to keep going for a few months, with reduced expenses we’ll be able to survive,” he said. “But when you start getting into several months, the second wave, then we’ll be much more concerned.”

Then, there's the breeding programs. Zoos move animals around a lot. But no one is moving anything these days, let alone a newly formed species.

“I will say that zoos are rethinking what animals they breed this year,” Lovett said. “The transfer of animals from zoos, part of the endangered species breeding programs, has basically come to a halt.”

That means your local zoo may be housing different animals when it reopens. As for Buttonwood, they've survived 125 years, and they'll do everything they can to make it to the next century.