FEMA/Basic Needs Grants

FEMA/Basic Needs Grants is sponsored by United Way of South Central Michigan (managed by United Way of Jackson County). United Way of Jackson County manages federal funding from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), providing grants to organizations that help at-risk residents get access to food, assure shelter, provide utility assistance, and meet other basic needs.

Partners & Programs - United Way of South Central Michigan Facebook Linkedin Youtube Instagram Clinical Counseling Voucher Program - Family Service & Children's Aid/Catholic Charities of Jackson, Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties Vouchers for mental health and substance abuse counseling for economically disadvantaged individuals.

Fee reductions help create a financially manageable way for patients to get crucial mental health and substance abuse services. Dungytreei Heritage Foundation Essential needs and services including emergency food delivery, personal care items, housing resources, care management, birth certificates/photo IDs, transportation, child care, after-school arts, and more.

( Grassroots partner ) Education Advocacy - Student Advocacy Center Family-driven, collaborative education advocacy and support to K-12 students to interrupt the school-to-prison pipeline. Services focus on students, particularly those with disabilities, who have been expelled, suspended, informally removed or face frequent removals or reduced services, getting them back in school with a plan of support.

Family Support Program - Child Care Network Child care scholarships that reduce financial burden on high-need families, empowering children with access to quality learning and assuring a solid foundation for children's future success while helping parents maintain stable employment. Financial Literacy/After School Program - Lily Missions Center Educational support and care for children of working parents after regular school hours.

Children learn social and life skills and career exploration. Parents and children both receive financial literacy training, and classes are available to the community at large. Free Tutoring & GED Services Pre-K through 12th grade students and those studying for the General Equivalency Diploma.

Also provides mentoring services and soft-skills training. ( Grassroots partner ) Fresh Food Distribution - South Michigan Food Bank Supply fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat and other healthy items to households in need. Involves two year-round and six seasonal distribution sites in Jackson County, and provides recipes, taste testing, SNAP information and other community resources.

Increasing availability of fresh food and produce through reclamation, community gardens and improved infrastructure. Includes youth education, food justice, environmental education and smart diet choices. ( Grassroots partner ) Free, hands-on science center providing safe and welcoming space for all regardless of income, transportation or disability.

Experience includes animal ambassadors to engage visitors, and a variety of science activities. ( Grassroots partner ) Youth & community center focused on developing strong, foundational connections to the community through youth empowerment, understanding one's purpose and potential, character development, core life skills, personal financial skills, healthy lifestyles and more.

( Grassroots partner ) Jackson Guardian Program - Family Service & Children's Aid Protects adults who are unable to safeguard their own interests and are vulnerable to exploitation, neglect or injury. Services include guardianship (legal responsibility for care), conservatorship (legal responsibility for finances), and representative payee (financial tasks for Social Security-only recipients).

Just Understand My Potential (JUMP) - Family Service & Children's Aid Support financial independence by providing at-risk juveniles with services to promote regular school attendance, employability, improved behavioral choices, better family relationships, and prevention of future prosecution or recidivism.

Legal Services for Basic Needs & Long-Term Stability - Legal Services of South Central Michigan Free civil legal assistance to low-income individuals and families in eviction diversion, domestic violence, employment issues, and access to health care, food and other basic needs. Many Hands Community Services Supporting economic development and economic equality.

Includes The Launch Pad, a mixed-use business incubator empowering local, neighborhood and service-based businesses, especially those serving underserved and underrepresented communities. ( Grassroots partner ) Safe housing and mentoring for girls ages 16-21 in the foster system without a home placement, or aging out of foster care with no place to live, or other girls without safe housing.

( Grassroots partner ) Residential Services - AWARE Inc. Emergency shelter and basic needs for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, along with their families in imminent danger of further abuse. Client advocates help families develop long-term plans for housing, income, physical and mental wellbeing, and resources for children.

Safe & Just Michigan - Nation Outside Advocacy and support for formerly incarcerated people, with focus on civic engagement. Directly impacted peers learn about political and legislative processes and are invited to engaged through voting, advocacy and leadership.

Maximize K-12 youth and ages 18-24 through educational, physical cultural, collaborative and innovative programs, including mentoring, to promote physical, social and economic wellbeing. ( Grassroots partner ) Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative - Jackson County Health Department TPPI works to reduce the teen pregnancy rate and address contributing factors for Jackson County’s young people.

TPPI, which United Way helped create, is a community-wide effort in collaboration with the Jackson County Health Department and various sectors across the community. The Transparency Project - Jackson County Health Department, Partial To Girls Quarterly, one-night event to empower girls from low-income households who have been victims of trauma. Provides a safe, inclusive space to confront, share and work toward overcoming traumas.

Extension of Partial To Girls. Trusted Advisors - Great Start Collaborative Supportive model using individuals living in high-poverty areas who are trained and trusted to help others in need navigate support systems in housing, food, employment, health care and other needs. Women Taking Action - Partial To Girls Women-led effort to assure children and families are safe and have their basic needs met.

Focus involves responding to immediate needs without navigating complicated systems. ( Grassroots partner ) YPOP Explorers empowers youth through programs engaging them in the "ABCs of Success" (art, business, culture) and service, markets, gardens, and technology.

( Grassroots partner ) 2-1-1 is the community’s hotline to help – dial 2-1-1 from any phone, 24/7, and you’ll connect with a specially trained call specialist who can access a comprehensive database of health and human services, and find you the help you need.

Program Assistance Center In partnership with Consumers Energy, Michigan Energy Assistance Program and other utility providers, United Way is providing assistance with past-due utility bills for customers throughout Michigan.

Enrollees also qualify for assistance with developing a household budget, connecting with money management courses, and providing an array of other services to help them develop individual pathways to financial stability. The nation’s leading organization working to build awareness, solutions, and leadership for racial justice.

United Way has worked with local partners to send groups of community members to Race Forward conferences and bring new ideas for equity back to Jackson County. Jackson Collaborative Network A collective impact network of more than 500 community partners working together to improve outcomes for residents in Jackson County, Michigan. United Way helped form this network, and provides funding to support the backbone staff.

The Michigan Department of Health & Human Services offers an online system allowing Michigan residents to seek and apply for public benefits, and also to explore additional resources which could help them resolve issues they are having (with income, food insecurity, quality housing, etc.). United Way is a “Navigation Partner” able to assist applicants.

United Ways across the nation are focusing on the unique needs of ALICE -- people who are Asset Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed. Some 42% of Jackson County households are either in poverty or struggling to make ends meet. ALICE families may be working one more more jobs yet still unable to achieve financial stability.

The ALICE Report helps us better understand their situation and develop targeted strategies to give them a better shot.

We fund two key efforts: Bridges Out of Poverty , a leading national program that provides a family of concepts, workshops, and products to help employers, community organizations, social service agencies, and individuals address and reduce poverty in a comprehensive way; and technical assistance and capacity support for nonprofit partners.

A Business Resource Network through which Success Coaches are embedded at local companies, helping workers navigate support programs and resolve virtually any challenges they’re having at home or on the job. This helps them be successful, improves productivity and strengthens employee retention for local companies.

True Community Credit Union and United Way of South Central Michigan have partnered to offer free online tools to help people better understand financial issues and manage their personal finances effectively. Resources involve learning to budget, creating a spending plan, steps to take when you lose your job, effectively managing debt, and much more. Try the tools yourself!

We assist with expungement efforts, which is the court-ordered erasing of certain qualified criminal convictions, allowing previously incarcerated people to rebuild their lives. This work involves expungement fairs, advocating Clean Slate laws and expungement expansion laws, and working with a grant from the Jackson Community Foundation to set up Expungement Assistance Services at the Jackson District Library.

We collaborate with the Decriminalization of Poverty Workgroup. Each year, United Way of Jackson County manages federal funding from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), providing grants to organizations that help at-risk residents get access to food, assure shelter, provide utility assistance and meet other basic needs. Our community wrestled with the personal and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

United Way and the Jackson Community Foundation created the COVID-19 Response Fund to help cover critical needs (food, shelter, household essentials, preserving the social safety net). We also helped form the Jackson COVID-19 Action Network to identify and rapidly respond to needs.