Valentine’s Day announcement includes new housing units in Cobb County, increase in Save It Forward food allotments.
Thanks to a Valentine-™s announcement, life will be sweeter this year for families in need as MUST Ministries makes significant strides in expanding programs. MUST-™s efforts to meet the ever-growing demand for services to families experiencing poverty includes new housing opportunities and additional food distributed in schools.
According to Exec. VP Chris Fields, barriers to stable housing can be significant, particularly for those with a disability. -�For close to a decade, MUST has provided supportive housing to those who have a disability and are experiencing chronic homelessness.
-�Today, we are announcing the opening of 10 additional apartment units in Cobb County to assist our neighbors in need. These new units will house both families and single adults whose head of household has a disabling condition and who have been chronically homeless. The expansion of the MUST program represents a 50 percent increase in our supportive housing program in Cobb.-�
-�We have more applications than beds, but approximately 24 people, including children, will have stable housing in the program expansion,-� said VP of Programs Rachel Castillo.
This is the first time HUD has awarded a new supportive housing project for Cobb in nearly a decade, Fields stated. -�MUST is very excited to expand our housing program and offer more stability for those in poverty. We are beginning to take applications now and plan to begin serving new households this month.-�
The apartments in South Cobb are part of a two-year grant MUST hopes will be extended. The housing is on a bus line and also features walk-in closets and other amenities that raise the level of dignity and provide hope.
In addition to more supportive housing, families in the MUST Save It Forward (SIF) program will be receiving more food. MUST-™s SIF program is a food pantry program in conjunction with Marietta and Cobb County Schools that allows students and their families to get 75 pounds of food and toiletries each month. The program not only provides much needed nutrition to children and their families, but also has been shown to improve learning and health for those children in this program.
-�We are excited to announce the addition of five more pounds of food for each family between mid-February and the end of the school year,-� said Fields. -�Eliminating hunger in families is a strategic focus for MUST, so this increase is part of our continued effort to partner with our schools and community to serve hungry families.
MUST is now serving almost 2,000 people a month through the MUST SIF program. A counselor or social worker helps identify those children in greatest need, and MUST provides the food and toiletries using a couponing program with community shoppers.
The program has grown by 20 percent in terms of families served this year, said Paula Rigsby, Director of Children-™s Programs at MUST. -�We expect it to continue increasing. In addition to canned goods and toiletries, MUST works hard to provide frozen meat and fresh produce.
-�We are so grateful and blessed by the support of our wonderful community and volunteers, coupon shoppers and donors and are honored to be able to increase the amount of food and toiletries provided to the families served by this program. Eliminating hunger allows school children to reduce absenteeism, while improving grades and social skill development.-�
For more information on how to get involved in the MUST SIF program, email [email protected].