Emergency Assistance

Emergency Assistance

Could This Be You?

American Winter

CSA's Changing Client Demographics

Poverty is a government defined term based on the total income a person or family receives. It's also a relative term dependent on where one lives. Based on data for 2012 from the US Department of Health & Human Services the national poverty guideline for a family of four is $23,050. For Santa Clara County the "self-sufficiency standard" for 2011 for a family of four is from a low of $55,633 to a high of $95,802 with childcare being the major variant.

The average income for a CSA client family of four is $21,614. They are not unemployed. They are literally the working poor who struggle to make ends meet and are constantly one paycheck or financial/medical/automotive emergency away from becoming a permanent underclass with little hope of stability, let alone upward mobility.

"CSA is the community's safety-net that provides critical support services that preserve and promote stability, self-reliance and dignity." — CSA Mission

CSA's safety net includes:

  • Emergency financial assistance for rent, utilities, prescriptive medication, dental care and eye exams.
  • Back-to-School distribution of backpacks, school supplies and shoe vouchers.
  • Holiday Sharing opportunities with food, clothing and toy distributions.

SETH and FAMILY*

Seth had lost his job and had been receiving unemployment benefits (UI) for some time which allowed him and his wife and two children to "get-by" until he found a new job. But it still took additional help from relatives and friends with food, diapers for the kids, laundry etc. to just get-by. When his UI benefits were unexpectedly discontinued he called the Santa Clara County help line 2-1-1 and was referred to CSA.

By now he had received a 15-day shut-off notice from PG&E. CSA was able to provide financial assistance immediately to bring the PG&E account up-to-date. In addition the CSA case manager pre-screened the family for CalFresh (food stamps) benefits which would give them $668/month to buy food and set up the appointment for them with the CSA on-site CalFresh representative. The family was also registered with the CSA Food & Nutrition Center to receive additional food support.

A follow-up appointment was then set up with the CSA case manager to review necessary documents to provide one-time rental assistance to further help the family stabilize their financial situation. When clients first came to CSA they were desperate; they couldn’t even afford food for their children. By the end of the in-take assessment the case manager reported they were so relieved with the help available that they literally shed tears of happiness.


*Client’s name changed to protect privacy and dignity.



For more information about Emergency Assistance, contact our Emergency Assistance Coordinator.

The Changing Demographics of People in Need of Safety-net Services

Martha is a 61-year old woman, with no family in this area, who has had a contract for teaching at a local community college. While she made $12,000 each quarter she still found herself struggling to pay for rent, utilities and food. She was embarrassed to both acknowledge the need and then actually to seek safety-net services from CSA. But her living situation had become too stressful to stand on pride. CSA assisted with rental assistance and Martha does access our Food & Nutrition Center. Now, however, her contract to teach has ended and, while stable for a way, she now has to look for a new job.
  
Sam is a married man with 2 children in grammar school. He worked as a Software Engineer until laid off and is now having a difficult time finding a new job. The family income had been from his unemployment insurance and his wife's job. Unfortunately, now, she has been laid off, too. They have already exhausted their savings and they still have the mortgage on the house but are unsure how much longer they can hold unto it. CSA has assisted them with financial rental and utility assistance and with access to our Food & Nutrition Center to help stabilize their crisis while they try to find new jobs.