Aid agencies get boost

Extra funds on the way for area housing, food assistance

By Naomi Smoot / Journal staff writer

CHARLES TOWN - Agencies that provide emergency food and housing assistance to residents in Jefferson and Morgan counties could soon have some extra cash to help aid in their cause.

"As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, there was additional funding for the National Emergency Food and Shelter program," said Jan Callen, executive director of the United Way of the Eastern Panhandle.

Funding from the stimulus package resulted in nearly $57,000 in additional resources for agencies that provide emergency food and shelter assistance throughout the state, Callen said. Locally, it means an extra $6,945 for agencies in Jefferson County and $2,951 in Morgan County.

"While it might not seem like a lot of money, it will supplement the programs that they already have," he said.

Callen said funds are expected to go to groups, such as the Salvation Army, that help low-income residents pay their utility bills.

Jefferson County Community Ministries, which provides a variety of services including rental assistance and a food pantry, also has benefited from National Emergency Food and Shelter funds in the past, he added. Other groups such as Meals on Wheels, Senior Life Services and Starting Points could also get a slice of the pie, he said.

"This money is specifically to support people who need shelter - they're in emergency situations," Callen said.

The funds come on top of previous federal allocations for local emergency assistance programs. Jefferson County, for example, already received nearly $10,300 in federal emergency assistance funds.

Callen said the money is divvied up to communities based on local poverty and unemployment levels. For that reason, he said it's a "good news, bad news" situation when counties receive more funding than they had in times past, a situation that is playing out this year throughout the Eastern Panhandle.

He said Morgan County usually receives around $2,000 in funding. This year, that sum has jumped up closer to $10,000.

In Berkeley County, allocations rose this year from around $30,000 to $57,000, he said.

Berkeley County, like many larger communities, did not receive additional funding from the Emergency Food and Shelter program as a result of the stimulus package, Callen said. Much of the additional funding that came from the package went to smaller areas, where unemployment and poverty were not quite as high as in surrounding communities, he said.

"These smaller counties in every state, their unemployment level and poverty level (are) usually not as high as the bigger counties that surround them," Callen said.

Those larger areas, he added, already receive a larger funding allocation. In Berkeley County, he said nearly $57,000 in federal funding for emergency food and shelter programs are expected to be provided this year by the federal government.

"There are some counties by their size, their population, their unemployment level and poverty level that get direct funding as a county from the national board," Callen explained.

Callen said his agency will play a role in distributing the extra funds to agencies in Morgan and Jefferson counties. Qualifying agencies are urged to submit applications to the United Way of the Eastern Panhandle by May 22.

- Staff writer Naomi Smoot can be reached at (304) 725-6581 or nsmoot@journal-news.net