Emergency Food and Shelter funding recipients for Logan and Mason counties announced

 

[November 03, 2020] 

The Joint Emergency Food and Shelter Program Committee for Logan and Mason Counties in Illinois is pleased to announce the following recipients for EFSP funds as a result of awards made during the Phase 37 and CARES Phase of this Federal Funding Program.

In Logan County, the Salvation Army 360 Center has been awarded $10,553 which will be used to assist Logan County residents with rent and utility assistance and also support the food pantry at the center. A portion of the funds will also be used to support the Veteran’s Transitional Bridge Program which is housed at the Center in Lincoln, Illinois and provides housing and transitional assistance to local homeless Veterans.

The Center for Youth and Family Solutions has been awarded $15,046 to support local families in their Foster Care, Intact Family Care Programs, and participants in other programs in Logan County. These funds have been provided through the CARES Act and will be used to provide food, supplies, rent and utility assistance for families that the organization supports who have been affected by COVID-19.

Illinois Ability Sports has been awarded $6,250 to support the organization’s Backpack Program in Mason County. This program provides backpacks of food that are distributed each week to local children in Goofy Ridge, Buzzville, Bath, Havana, and Kilbourne children in the Havana/ Midwest Central area School Districts. This food makes sure that these children have meals for the weekends when they are not in school. Currently, around 250 children are being served each week.

Other programs that benefit those in Mason County also received financial awards under CARES. The Salvation Army 360 Center received $5,500 to help with food, supplies, rent/mortgage and utilities assistance for those in need in this area. The Fulton-Mason Crisis Center received $1,500 to help those in crisis with rent/mortgage and utilities assistance and the Center for Youth and Family Solutions received $ 2,296 to help Foster Care and Intact Family Care Programs with assistance in that county.
 

The Emergency Food and Shelter Program began in 1983 with a $50 million federal appropriation. The program was created by Congress to help meet the needs of hungry and homeless people throughout the United States and its territories by allocating federal funds for the provision of food and shelter.

The program is governed by a National Board composed of representatives of the American Red Cross; Catholic Charities, USA; The Jewish Federations of North America; National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA; The Salvation Army; and United Way Worldwide. The Board is chaired by a representative of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

During its 38 years of operation, the program disbursed over $5.03 billion to over 14,000 local providers in more than 2,500 counties and cities. Each year, the governing board awards grants to counties based on the poverty level in that county and the unemployment rate.

Under Phase 37 and the CARES Phase of this program, a total of $15,816 was awarded to Mason County and $25,599 to Logan County. Applications for this funding were accepted, reviewed by the Local Board, and awarded based on the amount of funding available and the applications received.

A Local Board made up of representatives from various local agencies and organizations determined how the funds awarded to Mason and Logan Counties in Illinois were to be distributed among the emergency food and shelter programs run by local service agencies in the area. The Local Board is responsible for recommending agencies to receive these funds and any additional funds made available under this phase of the program.

Members of the Joint Local Board for Logan and Mason Counties are:

• Patricia Becker, United Way of Logan County (Chairperson);

• Emily Davenport, Logan County Board Chairperson;

• William Dolan, The Salvation Army 360 Center;

• Greg Griffin, Emergency Shelter and Disaster for Mason County, Illinois;

• Lyn Hruska, The American Red Cross Serving Central Illinois including Logan and Mason Counties:

• Dr. Paul Kasa, First Presbyterian Church in Lincoln, Illinois;

• Dorothy Kreiling, Mason County Board Representative;

• Brian Liesman, St. John Lutheran Church in Bath, Illinois;

• Wendell Lowry, Logan County Catholic Community;

• Rachel Oney, The Salvation Army 360 Center serving Logan and Mason Counties;

• Joe Schaler, Veteran’s Assistance Commission in Logan County;

• Stephanie Swearingen, Community Action Partnership of Central Illinois serving Mason County;

• Charli Uhlrich, Community Action Partnership of Central Illinois serving Logan County;

• Tracy Welch, Acting Mayor of the City of Lincoln in Logan County

This board will continue to work with future awards to ensure this financial assistance is placed where needed in our communities. If you have any questions about the EFSP Funding or the process, please contact Patti Becker at 217-735-4499 or [e-mail]. 

[Patti Becker
Administrative Director
The United Way of Logan County]