Early this week Hope Alive – among many other community nonprofits – received official notification from Frederick County that the total funding for the Grants for Human Services Program awards to nonprofit organizations has been cut by 25% for FY2012. This memorandum also warned grantees that the County expects “to see similar reductions to the Grants for Human Services Program of approximately $125,710 or 25% in each of the future fiscal years beyond FY2012.” And don’t forget about the 19% reduction that happened previously in FY2011. The bottom line? It’s no secret that the current Board of County Commissioners’ (BOCC) intention is to cut all funding to Frederick County nonprofit human service organizations. (Hope Alive’s $7,030 county grant was cut from the FY2011 budget, but our FY2012 application was recommended for $4,335 in funding.)
In addition, the BOCC announced in their 2/24/11 work session that an additional $108,536 for Non-County Agencies was “voluntarily” relinquished by the Department of Social Services (DSS). The word from DSS is that the county funding was not “voluntarily” relinquished, but that they were told to do so. So this week, DSS reduced their housing unit from 5 workers to 1.5 eliminating the rental assistance program that prevents evictions.
For some nonprofits, these decisions have far reaching financial impact forcing some organizations to reduce critical services to Frederick County residents. For all nonprofits, the service impact will be devastating placing the escalating demand for services on the backs of the already strained nonprofit sector. Comments from the BOCC in televised work sessions basically state that the nonprofits and churches will need to do more.
I agree with other nonprofits that if you are refused services from nonprofits and non-County agencies due to cuts in County funding, call the BOCC offices to let them know the impact. At Hope Alive we are already seeing the fallout from the BOCC’s earlier decision to relinquish the $2 million federal Head Start grant back to the federal government. The Emmitsburg Head Start program where Hope Alive’s 3 and 4 year old resident children attend half-days, closed its doors this week. Parents were told their children’s names would be kept on the waiting list if and when the center reopens. Thankfully, Hope Alive has a safety net for our children that attended Head Start as they now spend more time in our children’s center, but they will still miss the important supplemental services Head Start provided such as medical screenings, parent support and family advocacy.
On a more positive note, I'm so glad God is in charge and He is our provider and sustainer!
Please plan to attend our upcoming Visions for Hope event on Thursday, April 28th at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center in downtown Frederick. This is an important family friendly and fun fundraising event benefitting Hope Alive’s child development programs. You can read more on our website at http://www.hopealiveministries.org/. Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Showing posts with label county cuts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label county cuts. Show all posts
Friday, March 4, 2011
Friday, June 4, 2010
God works in mysterious ways
The outcome of our appeal to Frederick County’s Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) did not produce the result we expected, but God works in mysterious ways. I watched the BOCC’s work session Tuesday morning to see what the final outcome would be after addressing the Board last Thursday morning. I had asked the Board to reverse their decision to eliminate our funding from the County’s FY2011 budget and vote to reinstate our $6,678 grant-in-aid.
As the budget discussion started, Commissioner David Gray said he wanted to allocate the $1,500 balance in his personal expense account to Hope Alive. Commissioner Hagen agreed with Commissioner Gray’s proposal and said he would like to do the same, but split his allocation between Hope Alive and one or two other charities whose funding was also cut. Commissioner Gardner also supported the idea, but asked that the Board revisit this in two weeks after the finance office could verify the actual balances.
As I sat and watched this unfold, I immediately sensed God’s hand in this – not reinstating the funding as we had prayed and hoped but providing for the needs of the ministry in His sovereign way! God bless them for their commitment to and recognition of Hope Alive’s mission and service to Frederick County.
On a different note, we were notified this week that the state of Maryland has made a policy change (effective May 1) that now allows recipients of Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) – which most of our resident families receive – to have cash resources that exceed the previous limit of $2,000. What this not provides is for TCA recipients to have cash reserves in case of emergencies and to save for the future. This is great news for our families as they strive to save money for first and second months rent and security deposits so they can exit homelessness and have a better chance of maintaining independent living.
Often the work of this ministry is challenging, so it was nice to have some encouraging news this week! Please continue to keep us – and the growing numbers of homeless families needing help – in your thoughts and prayers. Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
As the budget discussion started, Commissioner David Gray said he wanted to allocate the $1,500 balance in his personal expense account to Hope Alive. Commissioner Hagen agreed with Commissioner Gray’s proposal and said he would like to do the same, but split his allocation between Hope Alive and one or two other charities whose funding was also cut. Commissioner Gardner also supported the idea, but asked that the Board revisit this in two weeks after the finance office could verify the actual balances.
As I sat and watched this unfold, I immediately sensed God’s hand in this – not reinstating the funding as we had prayed and hoped but providing for the needs of the ministry in His sovereign way! God bless them for their commitment to and recognition of Hope Alive’s mission and service to Frederick County.
On a different note, we were notified this week that the state of Maryland has made a policy change (effective May 1) that now allows recipients of Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) – which most of our resident families receive – to have cash resources that exceed the previous limit of $2,000. What this not provides is for TCA recipients to have cash reserves in case of emergencies and to save for the future. This is great news for our families as they strive to save money for first and second months rent and security deposits so they can exit homelessness and have a better chance of maintaining independent living.
Often the work of this ministry is challenging, so it was nice to have some encouraging news this week! Please continue to keep us – and the growing numbers of homeless families needing help – in your thoughts and prayers. Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Friday, May 28, 2010
County grant update
Here's an update on Hope Alive's County grant status. I learned on Monday that the only opportunity we'd have to appeal the board's decision to cut Hope Alive's grant would be at the Board of County Commissioners' weekly work session. Resident Monica and I attended Thursday morning's session and both spoke on behalf of Hope Alive.
I emphasized the significant increase we're seeing in requests for services with a 36% increase from January to April over the same period last year. I talked about our current financial position of operating on a bare bones budget from a 28% reduction in 2009 forcing us to reduce the number of families we can serve in 2010 until we raise more funds. I stressed our need for the County's recommended $6,678 grant-in-aid so we can continue offering core services for our community's homeless families. As I told the Commissioners and shared in last week's blog, this grant equates to 508 bednights that we cannot provide this year if the grant is not reinstated for FY2011. I asked the board to reverse their decision and vote to reinstate the recommended grant-in-aid to Hope Alive.
Commissioners Gardner, Young, and Gray recognized the important service Hope Alive provides to the community and praised us for the significant work we've accomplished in our short 3 1/2 years since opening our doors. Monica followed my comments by sharing her devastating struggle of homelessness and said that without Hope Alive she would be dead - literally. She eloquently urged the Commissioners to vote to reinstate our grant so no other family would have to face what she was able to avoid.
You may have read in Thursday's Gazette the formal stand the Commissioners have taken against Commissioner Thompson's actions of requesting 12 nonprofit organizations to sign letters of credit for repayment of their grant awards to fund the employee's retirement trust. Hope Alive was one of those nonprofits that received Commissioner Thompson's email and letter of credit. Thankfully, Citizens Services and Commissioner Gardner confirmed that this was not sent from the board and Commissioner Thompson acted alone. No further comment here about this strange action by our esteemed public official.
The Commissioners have heard your voice - so thank you so much for your advocacy on our behalf. The final budget vote will occur next Tuesday, June 1. We are so grateful for the support and encouragement received through this process from so many wonderful county employees, elected officials and of course our wonderful Hope Alive supporters. When Monica and I left the hearing room, we felt completely at peace - leaving it in God's hands as to what the final outcome would be.
I've written a lot lately about the needs we're seeing in the community. May will be one more month that we'll see more than 30 requests for services so the increase over last year continues to rise.
Have a great holiday weekend. Until next week ...
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
I emphasized the significant increase we're seeing in requests for services with a 36% increase from January to April over the same period last year. I talked about our current financial position of operating on a bare bones budget from a 28% reduction in 2009 forcing us to reduce the number of families we can serve in 2010 until we raise more funds. I stressed our need for the County's recommended $6,678 grant-in-aid so we can continue offering core services for our community's homeless families. As I told the Commissioners and shared in last week's blog, this grant equates to 508 bednights that we cannot provide this year if the grant is not reinstated for FY2011. I asked the board to reverse their decision and vote to reinstate the recommended grant-in-aid to Hope Alive.
Commissioners Gardner, Young, and Gray recognized the important service Hope Alive provides to the community and praised us for the significant work we've accomplished in our short 3 1/2 years since opening our doors. Monica followed my comments by sharing her devastating struggle of homelessness and said that without Hope Alive she would be dead - literally. She eloquently urged the Commissioners to vote to reinstate our grant so no other family would have to face what she was able to avoid.
You may have read in Thursday's Gazette the formal stand the Commissioners have taken against Commissioner Thompson's actions of requesting 12 nonprofit organizations to sign letters of credit for repayment of their grant awards to fund the employee's retirement trust. Hope Alive was one of those nonprofits that received Commissioner Thompson's email and letter of credit. Thankfully, Citizens Services and Commissioner Gardner confirmed that this was not sent from the board and Commissioner Thompson acted alone. No further comment here about this strange action by our esteemed public official.
The Commissioners have heard your voice - so thank you so much for your advocacy on our behalf. The final budget vote will occur next Tuesday, June 1. We are so grateful for the support and encouragement received through this process from so many wonderful county employees, elected officials and of course our wonderful Hope Alive supporters. When Monica and I left the hearing room, we felt completely at peace - leaving it in God's hands as to what the final outcome would be.
I've written a lot lately about the needs we're seeing in the community. May will be one more month that we'll see more than 30 requests for services so the increase over last year continues to rise.
Have a great holiday weekend. Until next week ...
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Thursday, May 20, 2010
County cuts Hope Alive's grant
You may have read in today's Frederick News Post that Hope Alive’s recommended $6,678 grant from Frederick County Grants to Human Service’s program was eliminated from the FY2011 County budget based on a 3-2 vote by the County Commissioners (Commissioners Gardner and Hagen voted against the cut). According to the News Post, Commissioner David Gray changed his vote yesterday to partially restore funding to the Frederick Arts Council and the Frederick County Hepatitis Clinic. We are advocating on our behalf – and ask that you help in this effort – to have Hope Alive’s $6,678 grant restored to the FY2011 County budget. Here’s why …
1. Hope Alive is a “first-tier” primary service provider for Frederick County's homeless population. Frederick County needs Hope Alive to serve the growing number of homeless families.
2. From January to April of 2010, Hope Alive saw a 36% increase in requests for services over the same period in 2009.
3. The County grant of $6,678 may only be 5.6% of our operating budget for family shelter services, however, the impact will be significant with our already strained operating budget that has prohibited us from operating at full capacity in 2010.
5. This grant amount represents 508 bednights that will not be available for Frederick County’s homeless women and their children.
6. We already have an underserved homeless population in Frederick County and this will further reduce available services to meet the desperate needs of homeless families.
We understand the County budget balanced before the cuts to nonprofits were made. These cuts go against Frederick County’s Grants to Human Services program recommendations. There was no appeal process or time for public comment for affected nonprofits.
Please help advocate for Hope Alive’s critically needed shelter services by contacting Commissioner David Gray by close of business Monday, May 24. We know that with God all things are possible. Thanks for your committed support to Hope Alive and the families who are struggling to survive right here in our own backyard. With your help, let’s watch what God can do! Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
1. Hope Alive is a “first-tier” primary service provider for Frederick County's homeless population. Frederick County needs Hope Alive to serve the growing number of homeless families.
2. From January to April of 2010, Hope Alive saw a 36% increase in requests for services over the same period in 2009.
3. The County grant of $6,678 may only be 5.6% of our operating budget for family shelter services, however, the impact will be significant with our already strained operating budget that has prohibited us from operating at full capacity in 2010.
5. This grant amount represents 508 bednights that will not be available for Frederick County’s homeless women and their children.
6. We already have an underserved homeless population in Frederick County and this will further reduce available services to meet the desperate needs of homeless families.
We understand the County budget balanced before the cuts to nonprofits were made. These cuts go against Frederick County’s Grants to Human Services program recommendations. There was no appeal process or time for public comment for affected nonprofits.
Please help advocate for Hope Alive’s critically needed shelter services by contacting Commissioner David Gray by close of business Monday, May 24. We know that with God all things are possible. Thanks for your committed support to Hope Alive and the families who are struggling to survive right here in our own backyard. With your help, let’s watch what God can do! Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
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