Have hard economic times impacted IOCP’s ability to respond to people’s needs?
Unfortunately, yes. First, we are seeing trends among the people we serve as a result of the economy. • Families who haven’t used IOCP services for up to eight years are back. • Families who in the past have only used the food shelf are now requesting emergency financial assistance for rent, utilities, and car repairs. • The loss of a job or reduction of hours has caused an increase in people accessing our services. • Some former donors are now finding they need some form of help. • The number of new clients remains steady; we think some people who are newly struggling may not know about IOCP. Second, IOCP’s budget for this year shrank by $200,000, forcing us to revise our emergency financial assistance eligibility guidelines (see below). These changes narrow the number of clients who qualify and, over time, reduce the number who ask. 1. Establishing priorities We have established priorities of need when deciding between multiple requests for assistance, focusing eligibility around men
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