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United Way Disaster Fund Targets The Pandemic

United Way of Battle Creek and Kalamazoo

Efforts continue to help families in Kalamazoo and Battle Creek that are strugglig during the coronavirus pandemic. They include the regional United Way's Disaster Relief Fund.

Alyssa Stewart of the vice-president of impact and engagement at the United Way of Battle Creek and Kalamazoo.

"Our disaster relief fund is really focused on supporting those households with the supports they need to insure that they do have food, that they are sheltered in a safe place, and that their basic needs are being met."

Stewart says fundraising for the fund is open-ended because the COVID-19 crisis is too.

"We don't know the amount of need that there truly is. We're excited to say that currently we have raised just over $1.1 million to be used across the region."

Stewart says the United Way is coordinating with he Kalamazoo Community Foundation's Urgent Relief Fund to get resources to the community as soon as possible. Among other things that includes a joint application form for nonprofit organizations seeking grants.

"No one is exempt from this scenario. We are all potentially at risk, and so we are working to deploy these dollars as quickly as we can and to also fund-raise, because we know that this is going to be weeks and months, potentially, of impact that families in our community are facing."

Stewart says the COVID-19 pandemic is falling hardest on people who were already having a hard time before it started. A recent study looked at what are known as "ALICE" families. That stands for "asset-limited, income-constrained, employed."

"With COVID-19, many of those ALICE families have experienced the loss of a paycheck, or maybe even two paychecks, in their household. And so, a lot of these families that were on the precipice of disaster are really facing challenging situations."

Contributions to the United Way's Disaster Relief Fund can be made on its website. Call 211 if you need support services.

Andy Robins has been WMUK's News Director since 1998 and a broadcast journalist for over 24 years. He joined WMUK's staff in 1985. Under his direction, WMUK has received numerous awards for news reporting.
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