Family Emergency Assistance
In February, 33 households received financial assistance from ACCA for rent and utilities. The total amount provided for the month was almost $29,000. These payments assisted 103 individuals to remain in their homes. Here are a few examples of neighbors that ACCA has helped this month.
- Two brothers, one in high school and the other in college requested help with their rent. Their apartment lease was in their father’s name but he left the country and remarried and doesn't intent to return. The children were left with unpaid rent and utility bills. The college student is working part time without sufficient income to cover the rent. ACCA paid the back and current rent to help sustain the two young men.
- A single, senior citizen who earned income as a day laborer lost all income when he became sick in November and was hospitalized for three weeks. He has not been able to work since that time, and as a result he used up his savings paying for December and January rent. He will be able to pay his bills once he finds employment. ACCA paid his rent for February.
- After her husband left her last March, the mother of three children had a difficult time meeting household expenses and had to borrow money. Although her ex-husband verbally agreed to pay child support, he has been unable to do so because he lost his job as a driver. Our client was advised to apply for SNAP benefits. ACCA and three other organizations paid the total rent in arrears and utilities.
Food Pantry
For February 2021, the food pantry made 100 food deliveries and 23 gift card mailings. The total households assisted were 123 with a total of 411 clients.
Furniture Ministry
Although the furniture ministry is unable to operate as usual due to the pandemic, we were able to help in a different way this month.
We had one client who had been homeless and had just “graduated” from a transitional housing program when her housing choice voucher request was approved. This single mother with 4 children had found an apartment out of the ACCA area. We have plenty of inventory so ACCA provided the furnishings for her new apartment and she came with a truck and 3 helpers on a Saturday morning. A volunteer came to help them move furniture from one of the trucks directly into her U-Haul. She was exceedingly grateful for the furniture and for our willingness to work with her even though she was not in the ACCA work area.
Transportation
In the month of February, the combined ACCA-Shepherd’s Center medical transportation program provided 38 two-way rides. We were also fortunate to receive an offer to advertise our program with JustServe.org, which matches community service opportunities with anyone who is looking for a place to volunteer.
Rebuilding Together Express
Rebuilding Together Arlington-Fairfax-Falls Church (RTE-AFF) continues to focus on Rebuilding Together Express projects. Express projects are small projects that only require three or four volunteers and focus on safety issues such as bathroom grab bars and stair railings. In recent months RTE-AFF has conducted one to two Express projects in Fairfax County each week. This includes three Express projects completed in Annandale. At this point, there is no plan for National Rebuilding Day projects as we have previously done on the last Saturday in April. RT-AFF continues to consider the possibility of larger projects in the fall if COVID conditions and state guidelines permit.
CROP Walk
Save the date - the 2021 CROP Hunger Walk will be held October 16, 2021. We will decide this summer whether the walk will be in-person or virtual. The Annandale CROP Hunger Walk raised a total of $19,340.00 in check, cash and online donations plus $145 in a matching gift, for a total of $19,485.00. Church World Service shares part of the funds raised with ACCA, and in November 2020 ACCA received two checks totaling $3,717.50.
