| 4 min | from Sheri Montoye, Executive Director for Faith in Action |
Faith in Action of Chelsea and Dexter has worked for 40 years providing essential and supportive services to alleviate poverty in the two communities. At this unprecedented time, the organization’s services are critically needed for many people, and the staff of FIA wants everyone to know they are here to help.
FIA Executive Director Sheri Montoye answers some of their frequently asked questions.
Q: What are the income requirements to qualify for food from Faith in Action?
Our primary audience is households in the Chelsea and Dexter school districts, and the Scio Farms community near Dexter. We can help anyone who needs food right now; you just have to let us know. Our standard qualifications for receiving general assistance from FIA is that your household falls within 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) rates updated annually (https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines), and these rates were just updated in early 2020. Staff at FIA can help explain this more if the chart online doesn’t make sense to you.
Q: What kind of financial assistance is currently available at FIA, and how does one qualify?
Faith in Action will provide food every two weeks so that you can use any money you do have for other critical expenses. Also, we try to help people stay housed by assisting with rent or housing costs, and we can provide utility support, or assist with critical home repair expenses in some cases. We have also been able to help with vehicle repair in some situations and can explore ways we can help with immediate transportation needs. Again, anyone within 200% of the FPL qualifies for services from FIA.
Q: Has FIA seen an increase in requests for assistance relative to the increase in unemployment in the state?
So far we have seen some increase in the need for services because some people have not been eligible for unemployment benefits, or have struggled to receive benefits they qualified for right now. We expect to see growth in these numbers as the weeks and months continue, and as state and federal supports taper off once the initial rounds of financial supports, eviction bans, and utility shut off bans end.
Q: What kind of donations is FIA currently taking, and are there any specific foods you can use?
We are currently only taking non-expired food, cleaning products, and toiletries – any everyday consumables that you would buy at the grocery store for your own household – as well as money donations which can be done online at www.faithinaction1.org, or by mail, or dropped off to our building Mon-Thurs during work hours. We are NOT able to take household goods, clothing, or other items that we accept during more normal times. For the most up to date needs, please visit our Facebook page or our webpage to see a list with a recent date.
Q: Is there any update about when the clothing section of FIA will reopen and when you will be taking clothing donations again?
Right now, there is no update. This decision will depend on state and county guidelines, and additionally since we are on the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital campus, we will consider the available medical and disease transmission data to tells us when we can both welcome back and protect the health of our staff, volunteers, and all building visitors.
Q: How have daily operations changed in serving clients?
Well, generally, little has changed because we are still here to help people. We have staff ready and have a fully stocked pantry to serve anyone who shows up at our doors. However, we have made a couple of important adjustments specifically due to the covid-19 response.
- We have temporarily consolidated all of our staff to the Chelsea location until further notice but will reopen Dexter as soon as we feel it is doable on our end. No date is set to resume regular Dexter operations at this time – but we will eventually!
- We have shifted our days and hours of operation to Monday 11am-7pm, Tuesday 9am-4pm, Wednesday 11am-7pm, Thursday 9am-4pm, and closed Friday-Sunday. The day/time change expands our service hours for Dexter families, and allows an extra evening pick-up, plus gives us restocking and cleaning time.
- We are NOT taking any donations of clothing, toys, dishes, household items, etc., etc., etc. We just cannot store or manage these things with our limited space. All staff and storage space is now used for essential food and toiletry distribution.
- Since no volunteers or public are allowed in the building, staff are taking food orders by phone. (We only have two phone lines, so leave a message if you get the voicemail, and call back if it is busy or we don’t call back quick enough!) Orders can usually be filled within the hour and will be set outside our front door for contactless pick-up at the front door.
- If people need durable medical equipment, it is ok to call and ask if we have it. If we do have what you need, we can leave it outside for pick-up. Unfortunately, we only have what we have on hand since we generally are not taking equipment donations at this time.
- Any food or financial donations brought to our building can be placed just outside our front door during workdays, and staff will bring it in as we are able; we check often. Envelopes with donations can be placed in our dropbox outside the front door. We do not specifically need anyone to go shopping for us, but if you are already out shopping and have extra room in your cart, we appreciate the donations!
Q: How is the staff doing during this challenging time?
Our dedicated Faith in Action staff is working to meet the continuously changing social rules and the changing needs of our organization and clients. We continuously strategize ways we can address current and future needs as we become aware of the full risks and impacts of this pandemic. The knowledge that our served households could be affected for longer than a year weighs heavily on the minds of staff.
Our staff of just five covers all aspects of FIA, such as answering phones, maintaining pantry inventory, unloading Food Gatherers deliveries, sorting donations, taking food orders, filling food orders, and daily cleaning and maintenance of our building. Several of our staff, like many in our community, have sacrificed planned vacation time, family time, and their own isolation goals and concerns to serve our communities. We are proud to serve in this capacity and happy to be here and working toward our mission for the many people in Western Washtenaw County who need these essential services as they stay home and stay safe.
Q: Who can get help from FIA?
As was mentioned above, we serve anyone in the Chelsea or Dexter school districts or in Scio Farms (food pantry access) who falls within 200% of the FPL, which is updated annually. If you are unsure if you qualify and are struggling with financial challenges, you can call us. If you are stressed and don’t know where to begin this process, you can always call us. It is a confidential call. We specifically ask for information about household income over the past 30 days and will ask for some basic documentation to verify your financial situation. We can also help identify other county resources. Anyone can also call 211 to learn about county resources organized by the United Way, or visit the United Way website https://www.uwwashtenaw.org/
FIA website is https://www.faithinaction1.org/
FIA phone number is (734) 475 3305
