Crawford County Coalition on Housing Needs
When you donate to the United Way of Western County's work, you're supporting programs like Crawford County Coalition on Housing Needs' Emergency Shelter, which helps stabilize local families and individuals after experiencing housing emergencies - like eviction or a natural disaster.
The program provides individual apartments to homeless families, so the entire family is able to stay together comfortably in a non-congregate space, as well as furnishings, supplies, and household goods that guests take with them when they move from shelter to more permanent housing.
The program assisted 40 adults and 16 children last year!
MMC Medical Assistance Transportation Program
Meet Joe. Joe is retired – in fact he has been for years. But he still works nearly full time and he doesn’t receive a paycheck for this work. In fact, Joe works harder and longer than most younger people ever will in their lifetimes; and he loves every minute of it. He gets paid nothing but he wouldn’t trade his job for anything in the world. Joe is a volunteer driver for the Medical Assistance Transportation Program for Community Health Services, Inc. The Medical Assistance Transportation Program is available to give those people with no or low incomes rides to see a physician or receive other medically-related help. All approved trips are free of charge to the client. This service is especially helpful to elderly patients who cannot drive or who have no family or support system to assist them with transportation.
There are patients, however, who require services for which there is no funding or reimbursement due to qualifying criteria, and this is where United Way has always stepped in to fund that gap. Joe uses his own car and he makes trips as far away as Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Hermitage, Erie, etc. There are people who rely on Joe literally for their lives since they require surgeries or procedures. Joe says, “I drive our clients because they have no family like I have. It makes me look at my own life with gratitude for what I have. We are all so fortunate and yet many of us don’t realize it. I hope we can always offer this service to those in need.”
One physician tells this story, “Imagine needing medical attention and being without a ride to the doctor and not being able to renew your driver’s license because you are 90 years old. That’s what happened to Ben, whose wife was the driver for the two of them, and then she passed away. Ben was prepared to walk to the pharmacy and the doctor’s office, because he didn’t know what else to do, until I told him about the Medical Assistance Transportation Program. Now a volunteer picks him up and takes him where he needs to go: the pharmacy, the doctor, and the dentist. And the program helps many others, not just seniors, who qualify and need transportation. Ben is my patient and I am grateful for the Medical Assistance Transportation Program of Community Health Services, and the United Way.”
During the last year the Community Health Services, Inc.’s Medical Assistance Transportation Program made 89,248 trips for 2,591 clients and volunteered 28,235 hours. For United Way alone there were 51 clients who made 281 trips and 291hours worked by our volunteers. Medical Assistance Transportation Program, (814) 333-7090 or (800) 210-6226.
Salvation Army
When you donate to support the United Way of Western County's work, you're supporting programs like the Salvation Army's Emergency Assistance program. The Salvation Army provides for struggling families in the Crawford County community with rental and utility assistance for individuals and families who are at risk of losing their home or getting their utilities shut off. They also assist with emergency housing, furniture, and clothing for families in emergency situations. The program provides aid for individuals and families in the most difficult times.
The program assisted 300 adults and children last year!
American Red Cross
When you donate to support the United Way of Western Crawford County's work, you're supporting programs like disaster response, which helps stabilizze local families and individuals after experiencing emergencies -like fires, floods, and storms. This program provides disaster services for Western Crawford County. The American Red Cross helps residents in need when they need them the most.
The program assisted 60+ Western Crawford County residents last year!
Crawford County K-12 Career Education Alliance
When you donate to support the United Way of Western Crawford County's work, you're supporting programs like CC K-12 Career Education Alliance's STEM camps and Career programs for students on the Autism Spectrum. These programs provide our local students and future workforce with career awareness opportunities and career exploration experiences to help them make better informed decisions about their future career, as well as provide options for the multiple pathways to get there. Our programs also focus on the social and employability skills needed to be successful in the workplace!
The program assists 1000+ children and youth each year!