United Way awards $171,384 in COVID relief for Putnam County

United Way of Central Indiana (UWCI) has announced it awarded $171,384 in COVID-19 relief to human service organizations focusing their efforts on housing and food insecurity in Putnam County.

These grants were made possible through the generosity of individual and corporate donors, as well as a grant from a sponsored project of Indiana United Ways, with funding provided by Lilly Endowment Inc.

This latest round of grants builds on the ongoing COVID-19 relief efforts by the United Way, which has now totaled $409,717 in Putnam County.

A local workgroup was established to identify needs within the community and determine organizations that were currently meeting those needs. The looming end to the eviction moratorium and the expiration of unemployment benefits were two contributing factors in the workgroup focusing on housing and food insecurity during this sixth round of COVID funding for Putnam County.

“We are pleased to support these local nonprofits who continue to meet the needs of Putnam County residents during the pandemic,” UWCI Community Relations Director Chris Flegal said. “United Way is committed to making sure families are supported through these challenging times as we continue to monitor the situation locally and mobilize resources for the greater good.”

While the latest United Way grants are focused specifically on food insecurity and housing, earlier rounds of funding supported everything from PPE and sanitary supplies, transportation, mental and physical health, childhood education and well-being, food insecurity, housing, utilities, senior care, legal services, victims of domestic violence and legal services.

“We are honored to receive funding from United Way of Central Indiana,” Beyond Homeless Executive Director Lea Durbin said. “This grant will help us increase our efforts to provide safe and secure housing to women and children who’ve recently found themselves homeless, provide utility and other housing-related assistance to families so they can stay in their home and not end up in further crisis, as well as support our work in establishing our Putnam County’s first homeless shelter for men.”

Putnam County Recipients and Grants

Putnam County Pantry Coalition — $50,000 

Family Support Services of West Central Indiana/360 Coalition — $50,000 

Beyond Homeless — $50,000 

Putnam County Community Foundation, Patty Pack Fund — $18,000 

Putnam County Senior Center — $3,384 

Total: $171,384