As we start the Holiday Season, there is much optimism over the potential of vaccines for COVID-19. However, the realists among us recognize that the next few months will be a challenge as we endure continued economic issues for many families and the cold and flu season.
The pressures on local non-profits and churches to respond to individual and family needs has been great. With CARES funds, grants and individual donations, assistance with food, housing and other basic needs have been flowing. But it is never enough to meet all the unique situations. The community is asked to continue to help others less fortunate than themselves.
The passing of the Children’s Services Council initiative will provide a great opportunity for the community to address priory needs. But funds will not flow for more than a year. Though the CSC may receive an advance from the County Commission to begin hiring a director, establishing an office and initiating a needs assessment, grants to provide additional services and programs will be much later. In the meantime, non-profits will continue with last year’s or less funds as City, County and State budgets are affected by the pandemic.
We will continue to try to capture the data available to keep needs and concerns on the table and look for any input on those data sets from interested citizens.