Media Release
City of Stillwater contracted with Community Resourcing Inc., commonly referred to as Our Daily Bread, to administer both phases of the Stillwater Resident COVID Impact Assistance Program. There was $150,000 in phase 1 and $490,000 in phase 2 that was distributed to Stillwater residents for utility and rental assistance.
Detailed information regarding distribution of funds and recipients were provided Monday, January 24, 2022, at the City Council meeting. Becky Taylor, Chief Civic Innovation Officer for the City of Stillwater (COS), along with Our Daily Bread (ODB) Executive Director, Rachael Condley, and Kali Barnes, Grant Coordinator, shared that 288 applications were approved and more than 800 residents were helped during phase 2.
“I will always remember one of our recipients, she was the victim of domestic violence and mother of young children, including a one-month old,” Kali Barnes, ODB, explained. “She lost her job due to COVID and needed temporary assistance for housing. These funds covered rent for the month so she was able to afford childcare, which freed up her schedule to secure a new job. This is one of many examples of how impactful these funds were for our families.”
The grant applications opened on Sunday, June 20, 2021 and closed on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021. The total funds distributed in phase 2 covered a total of 623 bill payments (397 utility payments and 226 rental payments). On average, the total amount of assistance received per application was $1,615.25.
“These past couple of years have been challenging for many of our families and we are grateful for our public and private partnerships, working together to help our neighbors in need,” said Becky Taylor, COS. “We are proud of the great work that Our Daily Bread continues to do for our community and thankful to the staff who go above and beyond to support those in need of temporary assistance.”
City of Stillwater and Our Daily Bread have partnered on multiple community projects to increase quality of life, services and amenities for Stillwater residents.
Rachael Condley, ODB, included, “Throughout 2021, our resource center was able to provide multiple services, including Senior Servings, Vaccination Clinics, Baby Mobile, SNAP and Expanded Medicaid Sign-up, Job Board, Laundry, and Shield on Wheels. We were able to assist more than 11,290 households and almost 27,000 individuals. It is an honor to serve Stillwater and area communities and be part of improving the quality of life for others.”
For more information about Our Daily Bread, go to: https://www.ourdailybreadstillwater.org/.
