United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut
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A Safety Net of Services

MACC food pantry  Avon Mobile Foodshare  Men's shelter

If you were suddenly faced with losing everything, where would you turn?

People who are fleeing a dangerous situation—such as a violent relationship, or an emergency like a house fire or flood—can find themselves starting over with literally nothing but the shirt on their back. It may sound like an unlikely nightmare to many, but our community relies on this safety net. In our service area, during September 2008:

  • 1,386 people called seeking help with housing/shelter, a 15% increase over February 2009.
  • 879 people called seeking mental health care, a 5% increase over February 2009.
  • 676 people called seeking financial assistance, a 15% increase over February 2009.
  • 626 people called seeking public assistance, a 9% increase over February 2009.

What we’re doing:
United Way’s Community Investment provides a safety net of services in central and northeastern Connecticut. Many of our neighbors have overcome adversity thanks to this safety net, which provides:
• Information and referral
• Disaster preparedness and response
• Emergency and crisis services, such as shelter and food, and
• Mental and physical health services, such as counseling and home health care.

Recent results:

• In 2009, more than 33,000 people received basic food assistance from programs supported by gifts to United Way Community Investment.

• More than 640 people received Community Investment supported disaster services in 2009 in response to an emergency such as a fire or flood. Ninety-three percent of those served had their needs met.

• In 2009, more than 700 people who received Community Investment supported substance abuse services reduced their dependency on drugs or alcohol. That’s up from more than 300 people in 2008.

YOUR MONEY GOES FURTHER!

The United Way Community Campaign had fundraising and related expenses of just 11.5% in fiscal year 2008, compared with the Better Business Bureau’s acceptable standard of up to 33%.

Caring Club

Increase Your Gift and Get GREAT DISCOUNTS! Increase your contribution to Community Investment by just $1 a week or more, and you'll be eligible for membership in the Caring Club-- giving you special discounts at local and national retailers. Click here to learn more!

QUESTIONS?

Contact your company coordinator, or call the United Way Community Campaign Hotline at 860-493-6895.

A Place to Turn for Help

Helping Families Make Ends Meet with Food and Nutrition Assistance

The young mother of a two-year-old and a three-week-old was referred to a Community Investment supported food pantry for help. Her baby was born with a serious health problem and remained in the neonatal intensive care unit. Meanwhile, the mother could not work, had no food in the house, and was worried about how she would feed herself and her other child on a small disability payment. The pantry’s food services director helped the woman obtain food and prescreened the family for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps). Through the prescreening process, they found that the woman’s extremely low income made her eligible for almost $400 in SNAP benefits. The program’s staff gave her additional information about applying for SNAP and encouraged her to return to the food pantry while she waited for her application to be processed.

Three weeks later, the woman called the program to say that her baby was out of the neonatal intensive care unit and that she had been granted SNAP benefits that would help her family until she returned to work. Now that she has resumed work, she continues to receive SNAP benefits because her income is still low enough to qualify. The food pantry at Manchester Area Conference of Churches, Inc. (MACC), funded by Community Investment, helped this young mother make ends meet in a crisis. And SNAP prescreening, a crucial part of family financial stability programs supported by Community Investment, helped her gain access to additional income supports, providing a more stable financial foothold for her family.

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