Life is difficult when you worry about where you will be able to sleep tonight or how you’ll get enough food for your family. It’s even more difficult when you have to worry about COVID-19.
As you probably already know, Community Link is still serving our customers every day during this extraordinary time for our nation and the world. Many supporters have contacted us to ask how our families are faring and what they can do to help. We wanted to share how we are helping during this unprecedented time.
- In keeping with CDC guidelines, our staff is working remotely. We’re reaching out to customers by phone and video chat in 16 counties in North Carolina. We are currently focused on helping housed customers get enough to eat. Many of our customers are single mothers, with children home full-time now because of school closures.
- We are able to use our grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to place online orders for groceries in locations where that service is available. We arrange for those orders to picked up at stores or delivered to customers’ homes. This is a lifeline for families who typically depend upon meals at schools to get their children fed.
- Other customers live in food deserts. Still others are elderly or living with a disability. We want to ensure none are hungry. We are also connecting individuals and families with mental health and other resources they may need
- In coordination with other agencies, we are continuing to serve homeless customers. We identify housing for them and conduct virtual inspections to ensure properties are safe. This need has taken on added urgency as we seek to limit community spread of COVID-19.
- Community Link expects to receive many urgent calls from new customers for help in the days ahead. Hourly workers in service industries have been placed on furlough (or may be soon), with little or no income coming in. Other workers simply aren’t paid if they can’t be at work, and they can’t afford an unexpected childcare bill for someone to look after their school-age children.
