COVID One Year Later
The Salvation Army Continues to Serve One Year After Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Social services organization committed to meeting urgent need while setting
its eyes on addressing “pandemic poverty”
WICHITA, KS (March 31, 2021) - As the nation marks the anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Salvation Army serving Wichita and Sedgwick County continues to address the longstanding issues of homelessness, poverty, and hunger which have intensified and become more complex due to COVID-19. As a record number of families face the ongoing threats of “pandemic poverty,” The Salvation Army remains committed, despite operational and fundraising challenges for charities.
People living in poverty felt the initial effects of COVID-19 more quickly and acutely because they experienced a pandemic on top of already-existing epidemics of need. COVID-19 forced a record number of Americans to seek assistance from The Salvation Army. That was certainly true in Wichita and Sedgwick County. In addition to the significant requests for food assistance is utility assistance, and due to its grassroots structure, The Salvation Army was able to modify operations and resources to meet urgent need in creative and localized ways.
Our service to households for food increased 102% and over 120% more households for utility assistance, serving 2,133 people. Overall our financial assistance for those in need increased by 161% for families, thanks to additional support from Wichita Community Foundation for our Share The Season program helped raise total spending over $450,000. Our Homeless Services experienced a significant surge with a 70% increase of meals served and 12% increase in the average length of stay per person.
As needs evolved over the course of the year, The Salvation Army continued to re-imagine safe ways to meet them, such as providing thousands of pounds of food items curb-side through the year in order to MEET NEED. Through the pandemic, both our Maintenance and Homeless Services teams strived for safety to all our clients, announcing, to date, NO COVID cases occurring. We thank partners at Sedgwick County Health Department and GraceMed for not only providing vaccination services to all clients, providing on-going support of Hepatitis-A and flu vaccinations. We thank Community!
In 2020 – Need was Greater! But, so was the Love. THANK YOU for your unprecedented support.
The Salvation Army will continue to meet the rising tide of pandemic poverty during the current crisis and beyond, but to do so, they are asking for the support of the public. Just $25 a month could be the difference between a family paying their light bill or being left in the dark or receiving a hot meal or going hungry. To help, visit SalvationArmy-Wichita.org.