17 Mar Update and a plea for your help

Dear friends and supporters,

I wanted to send you an update regarding our operations during the COVID-19 outbreak. Inter-Faith Housing Alliance and our programs are considered essential services and we are here to serve vulnerable families in our community. However, we are modifying our activities to ensure our families, staff, and volunteers remain safe and healthy.

Food Cupboard

Our food cupboard in Roslyn is still open, but have modified our food distribution process. To respect recent state and county directives, we have changed our model from a choice cupboard to a pick-up cupboard. Families who come to the cupboard are given three to four bags of food. We have seen a dramatic increase in need and served 23 families (61 people) on Saturday alone.

We plan to continue to operate six days a week, as we expect to see increases in demand for the cupboard as school closures begin. We are in need of many items (more info and here), including brown paper bags and lunch items for children who will be home from school over the next number of weeks.

Shelter

Our shelter continue to support our 13 families. We have increased cleaning and social distancing measures to ensure our spaces stay healthy.

Our families have been struggling since the outbreak, especially with school closures. Many have lost access to child care and their ability to work. This outbreak will take many months for our families, who are already in vulnerable positions, to recover from.

If you are fortunate enough to continue to have a steady income during this time, we ask that you consider making a donation to support our families. A donation of any amount will help our families during this difficult time.

Volunteering

We are limiting the work of our volunteers, but we are looking for on-site volunteers who could offer child care services for our families. This would be a fantastic opportunity for any college students who are now home for the semester, and who have not been exposed to anyone with COVID-19. If you or anyone who know are able to help, please contact me at meichelberger@fpmontco.org or 215-606-3426.

We have a few additional volunteering opportunities that respect the need for social distancing; please contact Sue Zomberg, our Community Resource Manager, at sue@fpmontco.org or 215-606-3421 to learn more.

Thank you again for your ongoing support of Inter-Faith Housing Alliance and our families. We know this outbreak is hard on many, but we ask that you continue to support the most vulnerable in our community.  Stay safe and healthy!!!

Sincerely,

Marsha Eichelberger
Executive Director