United Way of St. Joseph County Accepting Applications for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Nov. 5, 2013 - PRLog -- United Way of St. Joseph County is announcing that applications are being accepted for St. Joseph County agencies for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP). EFSP funds are earmarked for local nonprofit organizations that support essential services that help hungry and homeless families and those in immediate crisis.  St. Joseph County received an award of $$128,456 for Phase 31 of the EFSP annual grant.

The EFSP is a Federal program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that supplements and expands ongoing efforts to provide shelter, food and supportive services for hungry and homeless people across the nation. FEMA chairs the National Board, and United Way Worldwide is the fiscal agent and staff for the program.

Emergency Food and Shelter funds are unique because they assist families up to 250% of the poverty level and typically most assistance caps at 150% poverty. These dollars are critical for the underemployed and newly unemployed families in our community since this particular population traditionally has difficulty gaining needed assistance. With the addition of these grant dollars, utility and rent assistance will be more readily available for struggling individuals in St. Joseph County.

For many agencies, these grant dollars will offset expenditures that have already occurred. For others, it will create the ability for them to provide more assistance.

For more information on EFSP funding or to download the application, please visit www.uwsjc.org.  To apply, turn in 10 hard copies of the completed application to the United Way offices (1237 E Jefferson, South Bend),  Attn: Barbara Turner, and one electronic copy of the completed application to bturner@uwsjc.org by November 11. Funding hearings will be held on Monday, November 18.

This grant is one of the services provided through UWSJC’s Pro$perity Building Campaign, which works to provide hard working families with opportunities and tools to build their financial assets.

United Way of St. Joseph County is a nonprofit organization working to advance the common good by focusing on education, income and health. It works closely with local agency programs to meet the community needs of St. Joseph County.