Shelters get federal stimulus aid

AIKEN - Federal stimulus money is on the way to help area emergency food and shelter efforts, and local agencies say it couldn't come at a better time.

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Annette M. Drowlette/Staff

Volunteer Sheryl James fixes plates at the Salvation Army's soup kitchen in Aiken. The kitchen is getting federal funds.

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Annette M. Drowlette/Staff

Robert Williams eats lunch at the soup kitchen. The number of people who come to eat has increased 66 percent this year compared with last year.

"The need is real. The need is constant," said Capt. David Repass of the Salvation Army in Aiken.

A total of $48,763 has been approved for Aiken County by the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program, which has $100 million available nationwide for food and shelter programs as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The United Way in Augusta is receiving $69,163 for similar programs in Richmond County.

To qualify for the stimulus funding, agencies must be nonprofit, have an accounting system, practice nondiscrimination, have demonstrated a capacity to deliver emergency food or shelter and must have a volunteer board if they are private voluntary organizations.

Organizations in Aiken and Richmond counties must apply for funds by Friday.

The Aiken County funding will be distributed through the United Way of Aiken County to qualified agencies that apply.

Applications can be picked up at the Aiken County office at 235 Barnwell Ave. or in Richmond County at 630 Ellis St. For more information, call (803) 648-8331 in Aiken County or (706) 724-5544 in Richmond County.

Capt. Repass said the number of people his organization is helping has increased. In the fiscal year that ended Oct. 1, his organization saw a 5.78 percent rise in the number of meals its Park Avenue shelter served, he said.

There also was a 26.9 percent rise in requests for shelter in the same time frame.

"Last year alone, the shelter began 349 new cases for persons who had not been at our facility in at least 12 months," he said, adding that that's a 66 percent increase from the previous year. He said many of those are directly connected to the recession.

In Aiken County, a local board of community representatives will determine how the funds are to be distributed, according to the United Way.

In Richmond County, Brooke Howell, of the United Way's Augusta office, said its funding also will be used to help those in need in tough economic times.

"This is a challenging time for nonprofits in general," she said. "So I think it's definitely welcome. ... I think the hope is that funds will be targeted toward areas in need."

Reach Preston Sparks at (803) 648-1395, ext. 110, or preston.sparks@augustachronicle.com.