“The need for assistance since COVID-19 started back in March has been very steady,” Jamie Scanlon, social ministries director of the Springfield Salvation Army said. “What we are afraid of now is the number is beginning to rise again.”
The Springfield Salvation Army is up 282 percent compared to last year from March through October in assisting with social services including utilities, rent, shelter and food, Scanlon said.
She said that she expects the percentage to increase because as coronavirus cases rise, their clients are receiving fewer hours at work and some are being laid off. Utility companies have been able to resume disconnections and landlords have been able to evict clients in recent months causing the need for assistance to increase, Scanlon said.
The Springfield Salvation Army served 749 individuals in 2019 from March through November, Scanlon said. In 2020, the organization has served 2,862 individuals.
Besides social services, the Springfield Salvation Army is planning to assist over 3,000 Clark County children in need this Christmas through the agency’s Angel Tree program.
“Almost 40 percent of the kids that we have this year are new to us - have never used us before,” Ryan Ray, the development director of the Springfield Salvation Army said.
“It just shows you the impact of COVID-19 - people being displaced, furloughed, laid off, jobs shutting down and all of that,” Ray said.
Angel Tree tags can be picked up at the Springfield Salvation Army, located at 15 S. Plum St., or at several Springfield businesses including Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken restaurants, Le Torte Dolci, O’Conners Irish Pub, Texas Roadhouse and the two Walmart stores.
Ray said the Springfield Salvation Army will need volunteers to help with their Christmas toy shop beginning Dec. 2. Residents wanting to volunteer or residents in need of assistance, are encouraged to call 937-322-3434.
Tyra Jackson, executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of Clark, Champaign and Logan Counties described the holiday season as their busiest time of the year.
“We’re seeing a gradual increase again in the last month or so,” Jackson said. “We contribute that to more people are out again because either they are (coronavirus) positive and they’re needing assistance or they don’t have money coming in from work.”
Jackson said they have seen a 74 percent increase from March through September in individuals served compared to the same time period in 2019.
“One of the huge differences this year is that so many people do not have the ability to get to us,” Jackson said.
She explained that as coronavirus cases increase, more individuals are unable to go places. She said Second Harvest Food Bank has been making home deliveries to provide assistance.
“We’re just really networking, reaching out, trying to figure out who needs assistance and trying to provide that support,” Jackson said.
For Thanksgiving, the food bank purchased over 3,000 turkeys and between 1,500 and 2,000 hens for residents, Jackson said. The organization also provided boxes of dry Thanksgiving food items.
Second Harvest Food Bank is planning to do something similar in December, Jackson said.
Residents in need of food assistance, are encouraged to call the food bank at 937-325-8715 ext. 103.
United Way of Clark, Champaign and Madison Counties has collaborated with the Springfield Salvation Army, Second Harvest Food Bank and many other nonprofits to make sure residents in need are in contact with the organization that can best assist them.
Kerry Pedraza, executive director of United Way of Clark, Champaign and Madison Counties said residents can call 2-1-1 or 937-323-1400 to talk with a trained professional who will connect them to essential community services and resources like food pantries, hot meals, shelter and rent assistance.
The United Way has received about three times more phone calls than usual, Pedraza said. The agency reported 119 individuals called requesting temporary financial assistance in October 2019 with that jumping to 297 requests in October 2020. Calls for food access and housing have also increased in recent months as compared to last year, Pedraza said.
The agency started a COVID-19 community fund to provide financial assistance to local nonprofits and to make sure funds are being utilized as efficiently as possible, Pedraza explained. She said money in the fund was donated by private donors and corporations.
All three nonprofits said the local community has been “incredibly supportive” throughout the pandemic.
Ray said with the cancelation of several fundraisers, the community has pulled together and supported the Springfield Salvation Army in any way that they could like participating in the online Kettle Wars.
“It’s unquestionable that the need is rising in Clark County, but what we can’t ever doubt or underappreciate is the community’s willingness to dig in when they are needed the most,” Ray added.
Jackson said that the food bank has seen a 200 percent increase in expected expenses for this year due to leasing additional trucks for distribution, renting more equipment and purchasing more food.
She said the food bank has been fortunate with donations from the community and several corporations, but there is still a gap. She added that the organization is continuing to look for additional funds to meet the growing need.
Pedraza said “Giving is certainly up in terms of people who feel inclined to give from the heart,” but “you take that and you frame that against what the real need is and it still is not enough.”
She encouraged families to help other family members that are in need.
“It’s kind of that old fact that we just need to take care of our own and do what we can in such an unprecedented time,” Pedraza said.
The best way to donate to nonprofits according to the three directors that spoke to the News-Sun is by making monetary donations.
“There’s a lot of people who still need assistance,” Jackson said. “We want people to know that it doesn’t matter where you’re at or where you have been, if you need assistance we are here to help.”
By the numbers:
300: Approximate percentage increase in social services at the Salvation Army
75: Approximate percentage increase in food assistance at Second Harvest Food Bank
3: Times increase in number of phone calls to United Way requesting assistance
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