By WHITNEE ICE
St. Joseph Post
Help is available for those impacted by COVID-19.
The Salvation Army says it has assistance available for residents affected by the COVD pandemic. Salvation Army assistance is available for people to make ends meet on mortgage, rent, and utility payments. Funds are available to any residents impacted economically by the COVID-19 pandemic including losing their job or hours being cut.
Major Ronald Key with the Salvation Army Chapter in St. Joseph says the Army supports the community by meeting the needs of individuals.
"We're just here to help people that are in need whatever that may look like, whether it's a chronic need or whether it's a one time need like the COVID, so we're here with our doors open to help that, just so that people don't have to go hungry or be homeless, or not have clothes to wear let's say so, those are the primary things that we try to meet that need for," Key tells St. Joseph Post.
This coronavirus pandemic has done more than just affect the health of area citizens, it's had a negative economic impact as well.
"So if they've been affected by COVID in a way such as maybe they've lost their jobs, or maybe they've been put on part-time, or hours have been cut," says Key. "Where before it was just generally emergency assistance so they would be kind of a different criteria were the COVID money is restricted to people who have just been affected by COVID."
Key says they have some funds right now to help residents with rent and utilities.
"They would need to come in and get an application, fill that application out, bring us all the information we need, and then we could process that and determine whether they are eligible or not for that funding, if so then we either can pay the rent or pay utilities," says Key.
The Salvation Army has money available to assist with rent payments, utility bills, even clothing, and food. Key says anyone can apply.
"We'll have to do initial paperwork for them, to see if they fit the criteria let's say, and then at that point, if we can help then with what they need, we will do that or we'll refer them to another agency that might do somethings that we don't do," says Key.
Assistance isn't automatically granted. The process takes time. Key suggests applying now.
"The quickest way to do it is to come to the office and get the paperwork," says Key. "We ask them to bring it back as quick as they can because it takes about a three-day process to go through that, do what we need to do to release the money, so the quicker they can get that back to us the better, the quicker it is for them."
Key says there are several options when it comes to deciding how to make a donation.
"They can go onto the website and it will direct them to the St. Joseph page," says Key. "They can mail it to us, they can walk it into us, they can do it online so there's a lot of different ways for them to do it."