United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut
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A Safety Net of Services

MACC food pantry  Avon Mobile Foodshare  Men's shelter

If you were suddenly faced with losing everything, where would you turn?

People who are fleeing a dangerous situation—such as a violent relationship, or an emergency like a house fire or flood—can find themselves starting over with literally nothing but the shirt on their back. It may sound like an unlikely nightmare to many, but our community relies on this safety net. In our service area, during September 2008:

  • 2,528 people called seeking help with utilities/heat, a 98% increase over September 2007.
  • 721 people called seeking food assistance, a 56% increase over September 2007.
  • 751 people called seeking mental health counseling, a 37% increase over September 2007.
  • 1,304 people called seeking financial assistance, a 17% increase over September 2007.

What we’re doing:
United Way’s Community Investment provides a safety net of services in central and northeastern Connecticut. Many of our neighbors have overcome adversity thanks to this safety net, which provides:
• Information and referral
• Disaster preparedness and response
• Emergency and crisis services, such as shelter and food, and
• Mental and physical health services, such as counseling and home health care.

Recent results:
• Information and Referral: Last year, United Way 2-1-1 received more than 149,000 calls from people in central and northeastern Connecticut in need of assistance. More than 70% of those calls were requests for emergency services, including food, shelter, and other crisis situations. Thanks to this round-the-clock service, all callers were directed to the community resources they needed.

• Disaster and Emergency Preparedness and Response: More than 43,000 local residents were trained in disaster preparedness last year, increasing their ability to prevent and take appropriate action during an emergency.

• Emergency and Crisis Services: More than 50,000 people received emergency and crisis services such as food or shelter last year. Ninety-nine percent of those who sought crisis services had their needs met.

• Mental & Physical Health Services: Almost 8,000 people (nearly three out of every four) improved and/or stabilized their mental health through Community Investment supported programs last year.

YOUR MONEY GOES FURTHER!

The United Way Community Campaign had fundraising and related expenses of just 11.5% in fiscal year 2008, compared with the Better Business Bureau’s acceptable standard of up to 33%.

Caring Club

Increase Your Gift and Get GREAT DISCOUNTS! Increase your contribution to Community Investment by just $1 a week or more, and you'll be eligible for membership in the Caring Club-- giving you special discounts at local and national retailers. Click here to learn more!

QUESTIONS?

Contact your company coordinator, or call the United Way Community Campaign Hotline at 860-493-6895.

A Place to Turn for Help

Helping Families Make Ends Meet with Food and Nutrition Assistance

The young mother of a two-year-old and a three-week-old was referred to a Community Investment supported food pantry for help. Her baby was born with a serious health problem and remained in the neonatal intensive care unit. Meanwhile, the mother could not work, had no food in the house, and was worried about how she would feed herself and her other child on a small disability payment. The pantry’s food services director helped the woman obtain food and prescreened the family for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps). Through the prescreening process, they found that the woman’s extremely low income made her eligible for almost $400 in SNAP benefits. The program’s staff gave her additional information about applying for SNAP and encouraged her to return to the food pantry while she waited for her application to be processed.

Three weeks later, the woman called the program to say that her baby was out of the neonatal intensive care unit and that she had been granted SNAP benefits that would help her family until she returned to work. Now that she has resumed work, she continues to receive SNAP benefits because her income is still low enough to qualify. The food pantry at Manchester Area Conference of Churches, Inc. (MACC), funded by Community Investment, helped this young mother make ends meet in a crisis. And SNAP prescreening, a crucial part of family financial stability programs supported by Community Investment, helped her gain access to additional income supports, providing a more stable financial foothold for her family.

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