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4Community Planning Grant Announced
The United Way of St. Joseph County has received a 4Community Planning Grant of $35,000. This award is funded by the Lilly Endowment through the Indiana Association of United Ways (IaUW). Its purpose is to create a “collaboration” among community organizations to address human service needs. Partners in St. Joseph County include representatives from business, education, social service agencies, government and faith-based organizations. The partnership will be creating a plan to address affordability issues surrounding home heating needs during winter months.
According to Hollis Hughes, President and CEO of the United Way of St. Joseph County, “Heating our homes over the winter months is a basic necessity. With the dramatic increase in fuel prices over the past five years, the community sees low income households annually finding it difficult if not impossible to cover their heating bills. Every October you can pick up a news paper or tune in to a news broadcast that voices concerns about our community's residents and their problems in facing the impending winter heating season. Currently many agencies and programs are responsible for providing the safety net for these residents. This grant will allow us to come together as a community to ensure that our vulnerable populations are receiving efficient and coordinated support services. It will also provide us with an opportunity to address root causes. For instance, how can we as a community more effectively help low income residents achieve gainful employment and self-sufficiency? We believe it is important to address the needs of both the unemployed and the low wage earner, many of whom also require assistance in meeting their basic needs. For those with low wage jobs, effective assistance keeps them focused on their workplace and less vulnerable in their struggle to achieve self-sufficiency and basic dignity.”
The 4Community partners will be conducting research on home heating issues including surveys, focus groups, and key informant interviews. This information will guide the creation of a plan to address these issues through a multi-agency collaboration. When the plan is completed, the community will be eligible for a matching award of up to $380,000 for implementation. Hughes pointed out that the partnership will be asking the community to help raise this match in the coming months. “It's just a great opportunity,” he said. “We can leverage hundreds of thousands of dollars to help some of our vulnerable neighbors, right here in St. Joseph County .”
The community partners collaborating in this initiative are:
- NIPSCO
- Indiana & Michigan Electric
- St. Joseph County Government
- University of Notre Dame
- The Community Foundation of St. Joseph County
- The South Bend Tribune
- The St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce
- The United Way of St. Joseph County
- City of Mishawaka
- Family and Children's Center Counseling and Development Services
- REAL Services
- St. Vincent de Paul
- Stone Soup Community
- United Religious Community (Advocate Centers)
- Little Flower Catholic Church
- Catholic Charities
- Salvation Army of St. Joseph County
- La Casa de Amistad
- St. Margaret's House
- Northern Indiana Workforce Investment Board
- City of South Bend
- St. Joseph County Government
- Home Management Services
- St. Mary's College