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Highlands Today

County Awarded Grants For Shelter, Food Aid

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By JIM KONKOLY

Highlands Today

Published: March 6, 2009

SEBRING - Highlands County's safety net became a little stronger this week with the addition of $57,000 in federal grants for emergency shelter and food needs.

Three grants of $19,000 each were awarded by FEMA to the county's housing and human services departments and the Salvation Army.

"We're happy that we have a little more to work with because, certainly, the needs are staggering out there," said Mary Foy, human services director.

The county housing department will use its $19,000 grant to pay a month's past due rent for people who qualify, said Teresa Hofer, acting director of the housing department.

But, Hofer said, this additional money won't come close to meeting the needs. For many months, she said, an average of five to six people having been calling the housing department every weekday seeking help with rent payments.

No rental assistance has been available since November, when last year's FEMA grant of $8,500 for the housing department ran out, Hofer said.

"It's definitely going to help," Hofer said about the new grant. But, she added, "it will probably just touch the surface of what actually is needed."

The rental assistance will probably be available in about two weeks, Hofer said. People seeking it have to make an appointment by calling 863-402-6648.
Foy said human resources plans to use most or all of its FEMA grant to help eligible people pay utility bills.

"We're looking at using our grant primarily for utility assistance, but we do have some flexibility," Foy said. "If (the) housing (department) runs out of money for rent, I will have some flexibility to help them."

Growing unemployment has put more people in need of assistance, and while the FEMA grant will help, it won't solve the problem, Foy said. As with the housing department, to apply for aid through human services a person needs to make an appointment by calling 863-402-6509.
Foy said her department, like housing, will have to limit its allocation of the grant each month.

"We need to be very careful to try make that (grant money) last as long as we can, and do absolutely the worst cases," she said.

Recipients of the FEMA money can only receive it one time and from only one of the three agencies for the year, both Foy and Hofer pointed out.

Last fiscal year, FEMA awarded these emergency food/shelter grants at $8,500 each to the county housing and human services departments. Foy said the amount was more than doubled this fiscal year to $19,000 per agency due to the county's rising unemployment and poverty rates.

At the Salvation Army, Major Mary Holmes said the grant will be used for people enrolled in its relief programs.

Guidelines for use of the grant by Salvation Army have not been set yet. But, Holmes said, some of the funding will go towards food purchases to supplement the distribution of U.S. Department of Agriculture commodities.

Job losses are behind more people seeking aid from the organization, Holmes said.

"We're seeing an increase from people who had been in construction," she said. "And the service industry has cut back in hours for their employees, and of course we've seen a couple of places close."

Highlands Today reporter Jim Konkoly can be reached at 863-386-5855 or jkonkoly@highlandstoday.com

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