Press Releases

Bergen's Misery Index Up:
Bergen County's United Way Provides Emergency Relief for Individuals and Families

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ, February 15, 2007- Bergen County’s United Way announced today the award of $390,000 in federal funds under the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP). The United Way administers the program locally on behalf of FEMA. The federal appropriation is based on a “misery index,” a measure of the unemployment and poverty rates. Funding helps support social services agencies serving poor and homeless individuals and families. According to the most recent Point in Time survey of the homeless, almost half of Bergen County’s homeless are children.

“There are more starving, homeless people struggling to survive on the streets than ever before. Two lives have already been lost to the elements this winter. While the grants we award provide an added boost to the outstanding work done by local non-profit agencies, we must do more," said Tom Toronto, President of Bergen County’s United Way.

The funds are used for mass shelter and feeding, food distribution through food banks and pantries, one-month utility payments to prevent service disconnections, and one-month rent or mortgage assistance to prevent evictions or help people leaving shelters to establish stable living conditions.

Grant recipients include the Center for Food Action, the Inter-Religious Fellowship for the Homeless, Christ Church Community Development Corporation, Catholic Charities, Jewish Family Services, Bergen County Community Action Program, the Salvation Army, Shelter Our Sisters, the Social Services Association of Ridgewood and Vicinity, and the Urban League of Bergen County.

EFSP was the federal government’s first response to the growth of homelessness during the deep recession of the early 1980s. The program is intended to help weather financial emergencies and crises. In contrast to programs that assist families only after they have become homeless, EFSP aims to prevent homelessness by providing targeted, short-term assistance to those at risk.

“I’m grateful for the United Way’s assistance during the cold winter months,” said Marsha Mackey, Executive Director of the Inter-Religious Fellowship for the Homeless. “This funding will help countless people make it through the season.”

The Inter-Religious Fellowship for the Homeless operates a family shelter at St. Cecila’s Church in Englewood. With a $50,000 grant from Women United in Philanthropy, a giving circle which Bergen County’s United Way helped launch last October, they have also opened a transitional residence in Teaneck. The first family, a mother and her four children, moved into the home last Saturday.

Bergen County's United Way is a direct service organization that provides vital assistance when it is most needed. Whether it is the purchase of food and clothing for those without, paying for medication, finding housing, or assisting with utility bills, Bergen County’s United Way is how our community uses its head, and its heart to lend people a hand.

With just a call to 2-1-1 or a click onto www.nj211.org , help is available 24 hours a day, everyday. The United Way’s 2-1-1 helpline makes the critical connection to social services and community programs. Warm and compassionate 2-1-1 call specialists are on hand to assist, whenever help is needed. The service is free and easy to use. 2-1-1 is available by cell phone, landline, VOIP and via Instant Messaging online.