The economic impacts of COVID-19 have affected many CrossOver patients, in some cases causing food or housing insecurity. Our CrossOver social work team has been hard at work meeting with individuals and families, providing guidance, and connecting them with available resources. Meanwhile, our community has pitched in to help meet these needs.
Last week, members of Spring Creek Baptist Church donated $3,400 in grocery and gasoline gift cards to help support our patients. In May, we also received a grant of $2,500 from the John Randolph Foundation Disaster Response Fund to provide emergency rent assistance and gift cards for gasoline and groceries to our patients. CrossOver’s social work program manager, Anna Cerrato, says that “a record surge in need for assistance has taken place since the pandemic began. Due to widespread unemployment, we’re seeing needs such as food insecurity, housing assistance, and financial need to address past due rent/mortgage and utilities.” Alba is just one of the many patients who Anna has worked with recently, and who was a recipient of the generousity of our partners at Spring Creek Baptist Church and the John Randolph Foundation.
Alba is a single mother of four who is pregnant and was recently diagnosed with COVID-19. She had no food for her children and was several months behind in her rent and utilities. CrossOver’s social work team stepped in to assist her with food, diapers, toiletries, and financial assistance. Alba was also connected to community resources which dropped off food at her doorstop and is currently receiving rental and utility assistance via community resources that social work was able to link her with. Today Alba is recovering well and relayed to us, “I do not know what I would have done without CrossOver”.
We are so grateful for the ongoing support of individual donors, faith communities, foundations, and others in our community, including our valuable social work team. Together, we are meeting the unprecedented need of this time and continuing to provide compassionate care for individuals and families in need. If you would like to provide support to CrossOver families, contact community engagement manager Becca Wethered, bwethered@crossoverministry.org or 804-655-2794 x221, to learn how you, your faith community or business can host a grocery gift card drive for our patients most in need.