JOHN WRIGHT • jwright@murrayledger.com
MURRAY — When the United Way of Murray-Calloway County launched its Community Fund initiative in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers said it had one thing in mind — to actually use it.
That is happening. Wednesday, Murray-Calloway County Board Vice Chairman Paul McCreary reported that the fund so far has distributed more than $15,500 to residents in the community experiencing financial hardships due to the pandemic. When reached Wednesday morning, McCreary said he had just completed a $600 transaction for a woman with two children.
“She works part time and her son was in the hospital two months ago. The landlord told me this morning that she was a pretty good payer until her son was in the hospital. Now she’s two months behind,” McCreary said of how the $600 authorized Wednesday will go to assist the mother with her rent.. “And that’s kind of typical of what we’re seeing.”
McCreary said that the fund was activated in early April.
“The applications for assistance have been heartbreaking. We have been able to turn the applications quickly through our committee and get the assistance they need. In one case, we were able to find an applicant with some local work,” he said of the idea that was created through discussions between himself and Murray-Calloway Board President S.G. Carthell. “It has blossomed into an unfortunate reality for too many people.”
But it is here and it is being used and McCreary also said that, so far, it is being funded in a way that relaying this money to those who need it is happening without much delay.
He said that, as of Wednesday, the fund has about $13,000 available with about $11,000 more expected to be arriving soon from the United Way Global Emergency Food and Shelter Program. Much of that $13,000 is from community contributions.
“We need this fund to be robust because we’re going to need it when this COVID thing is done, and it will be someday,” he said. “This fund will remain for whatever else comes up. If, God forbid, we should have some storm or a tornado, that fund will be used for people displaced.”
So far, the vast majority of the assistance has been for people having trouble paying their rent expenses. The other main use has been for assistance with paying utility bills. About $1,200 has been used for utilities..
He said that now that the fund has become known in the community, the local UW office is averaging about two cases a day.
McCreary recalled another case from a few months earlier that very well have been the last thing the client ever experienced.
“I had an old man call me and he didn’t have a computer and could barely talk, and said, ‘I need help with my rent and I need glasses and I’m not very well, and I need a car so I can go to my medical visits.’ I found last month he had passed away,” he said. “But we helped him with his rent.”
Anyone needing assistance can go online at https://www.mccunitedway.org/covid-19-family-application or phone 270-978-3628. McCreary also said that anyone wishing to donate to the fund can go online at https://ww.mccunitedway.org/donate.