Community Outreach Programs Provide Assistance
Low-Income Assistance Helps People Survive Economic Recession
Jul 11, 2009
Crisis, hardship, and poverty create overwhelming circumstances, and people often need help getting back on their feet. Community outreach programs target these individuals and families, making sure that they have food, a heated home and a warm coat during the cold months, as well as the opportunity to learn new skills.
Utility companies often include information about these services on inserts that come with the bill. Churches, Goodwill stores, and YWCAs can sometimes direct people to agencies that provide social services. People with computer skills can search the Internet for websites of local community outreach programs. During slow times, a librarian may be willing to help locate information.
Service Agency Programs
- Food Banks: Also referred to as food closets or food pantries. Some food banks have no requirements while others ask people to sign up once a year and provide qualifying information. Particular dates are set each week or month for food distribution. Some food banks deliver emergency baskets that supply two or three days’ worth of food to people in crisis.
- Soup Kitchens: Soup kitchens offer a hot meal to those in need.
- Produce Co-ops: Individuals and/or communities plant gardens and either distribute the produce that’s harvested to the needy or distribute it to local food banks.
- Clothing Drives: Many communities collect gently used clothing for residents in need to choose from. In colder regions, distributions include winter coats and gloves.
- Weatherization Programs: Usually run through a local government or nonprofit organization, weatherization programs help residents lower heating bills by doing furnace repairs and increasing home insulation, installing weather stripping, and similar home improvements.
- Skills Training: Training programs help low-income individuals become more marketable in their job search. Often the programs are in computer literacy, covering topics such as Microsoft Word & Excel, Windows navigation, and basic keyboarding. More general workshops help people write résumés and learn interviewing, budgeting, customer service, and telephone skills. The Community Food Bank of New Jersey has a culinary job-training program which serves a double purpose. The students learn food-service skills while making meals for hunger-relief programs.
- Financial Workshops: Sessions teach community members how to create a personal budget plan, set up bank accounts, accumulate and protect savings, avoid bad credit or unmanageable debt, understand tax credits, and fill out tax forms. Follow the link to find the National League of Cites’ list of Financial Literacy and Counseling Programs.
Government Programs
- Savings Match: Matching funds are provided through some state departments. For example, in Pennsylvania, the Department of Community and Economic Development offers the Family Savings Account program. Participants must meet income guidelines and usually need to participate in a financial literacy course. There are typically restrictions on the amount saved and what the savings can be used to purchase.
- Low-Income Energy Assistance: Many utilities participate in programs that help people who have financial need pay their utility bills. Some programs require that the individual receive a shut-off notice in order to qualify; others simply have income requirements.
Utility Company Programs
- Payment plans allow customers to pay a past-due amount over a particular period of time, while budget plans balance out payments over the course of the year.
- Distribution of energy-efficient light bulbs.
- Consumer education initiatives include home visits to evaluate utility usage and appliance efficiency, online self-help tools to help consumers evaluate and manage utility usage, and distribution of consumer guides designed to help control and lower energy bills.
Outreach employees and volunteers provide more than functional services. They also offer direction and guidance in locating programs and filling out applications to ease frustration and confusion as people muddle through what may be a lengthy and complicated process. While these services help people survive the devastating effects of income loss and tragedy, perhaps most importantly, the kind words of agency representatives help people manage the accompanying despair.
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