Miami County selected for emergency funds

United Way seeking applications from agencies for disbursement

Peru Daily Tribune - Staff Reports

Miami County has been selected to receive an award of $5,277 under Phase 33of the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) based upon the available statistics. This award is to supplement emergency food and shelter programs in the area. The Emergency Food and Shelter Program was established on March 24, 1983, with the signing of the “Jobs Stimulus Bill,” Public Law 98-8. It set up the National Board, tasked with deciding where the funds should go.

The National Board is chaired by the Federal Emergency Management agency (FEMA), and consists of representatives from The Salvation Army, American Red Cross, United Jewish Communities, Catholic Charities USA, National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, and United Way of America, which will provide the administrative staff and function as a fiscal agent. The board will be charged to distribute funds appropriated by congress to help expand the capacity of food and shelter programs in high-need areas around the county.  Since 1983, in its 33-year history, the EFSP will have distributed $4.198 billion to over 14,000 human service agencies in more than 2,500 communities across the country.  Criteria for distribution is based on a formula that includes population, poverty, and unemployment data to determine the eligibility of a civil jurisdiction.

There is no national application process. Poverty data is from the American Community Survey (ACS) (source: U.S. Bureau of the Census); unemployment data is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Poverty figures from the ACS 5-year average period of 2010-2014 were used in Phase 33, according to the EFSP Website. A local board consisting of American Red Cross, Jewish Community, Miami County Helping Hands, Miami Nation of Indians, Peru Ministerial Association, Peru Housing Authority, Peru Township Trustee, St. Vincent De Paul, The Salvation Army, United Way of Miami County will determine how the funds awarded to Miami County are to be distributed among the emergency food and shelter programs run by local service organizations in the area, according to a press release from Debi Wallick, director of the United Way of Miami County.

Any public or private organization interested in applying for Emergency Food and Shelter Program funds should contact Wallick, United Way of Miami County, Inc., 13 East Main, or Jerri Bunker, Peru Township, 352 Washington Ave. for an application no later than Sept. 12.