Economic Hardships of Pandemic Continue to Impact Neighbors “It’s been hard. But… I was blessed to have them around.” Alfreda is generous in her gratitude for St. Vincent de Paul. When the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency in March 2020, the discount store where Alfreda was employed part-time was forced to shut down. Alfreda was temporarily laid off, as store management monitored state and federal guidelines and made plans to safely bring people back to work.
The loss of hours at work quickly made an impact on Alfreda’s finances. She was unsure how she would be able to make the payments for her monthly rent and utility bills and worried that she could lose her apartment. That’s when she made a phone call to St. Vincent de Paul. “When you’re down, you don’t want to be bothering people. But I was blessed. I called them and they reached back out to me,” she says. “You know when you call St. Vincent de Paul they will call you back.” Alfreda was then connected with Vincentians at St. Cecilia Conference, who were able to provide Alfreda with financial assistance to cover several months of utilities bills over last spring and summer.
Unfortunately, the pandemic continues to take a toll on neighbors’ finances, especially for those like Alfreda, who work in the retail and service industries. According to Sunnie Johnson-Lain, Director of Services at St. Vincent de Paul, neighbors have reported ongoing challenges with securing childcare, missing work due to COVID-19 exposure, and simply being offered fewer hours at work. “COVID is definitely still wreaking havoc,” Johnson-Lain says. A year after the pandemic started, nearly one in five adult renters nationwide report that they are still not caught up on their rent, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, using data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. At St. Vincent de Paul, from October 2020-February 2021, requests for assistance with rent were up nearly 78% over the same time period the year before.
The good news, according to Johnson-Lain, is that St. Vincent de Paul has been able to offer help to many through its Homelessness Prevention Program. “Not only have we been able to help more people, but we have also been able to help with more [resources],” Johnson-Lain says. Excluding March (for which totals were still being tabulated at time of publication), nearly half a million dollars in rent assistance has been extended to neighbors in 463 households during the first half of Fiscal Year 2021 – a dollar value over four times more than what was provided in the first half of Fiscal Year 2020. Another $114,000 was extended to 264 households in utilities assistance – six times more than the year prior.
Introducing Brian Combs, Director of Operations Brian Combs never knows what challenges he’ll face each day as he steps into his office at St. Vincent de Paul. Since being hired to fill the revamped Director of Operations role in August 2020, Combs has quickly become the designated point-person for dozens of critical needs that keep SVDP operations running smoothly. Whether he’s onboarding a new hire, troubleshooting tech problems, or – as was the case on a recent morning in March – removing a bat from a staircase in the Liz Carter Center, Combs says he tries to take each challenge in stride. “A huge positive is that there’s a great group here to support me. This is a tight-knit community that I can really lean on for help.” Combs is no stranger to juggling multiple responsibilities at once. In his most recent position with Sheakley, a local human resources management company, Combs facilitated all-encompassing human resources operations for roughly 40 clients, the largest being SVDP and its 350+ employees. “I probably received about 200 emails per day,” Combs recalls. “It was challenging because every [client] manager has their own way of doing things… But, as the consultant, my job was to get the job done while making sure all sides were happy.” Now, as SVDP’s Director of Operations, Combs is setting his sights on several big goals, including boosting 401k enrollment, developing strategies to support staff retention, and enhancing employee safety and security. “Security in general is big for me. I want people to feel safe when they’re here.” After piloting company-wide training on cyber security to kick off 2021, Combs says he expects to roll out more learning modules in the months ahead – on topics ranging from diversity & inclusion to emergency evacuation procedures. Brian can be reached at 513-762-2090 or bcombs@SVDPcincinnati.org. SVDPCINCINNATI.ORG
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