The Salvation Army of Central Oklahoma

PROJECT PURPOSE

The Salvation Army's emergency financial assistance is part of the social services department within the agency. Our emergency assistance team provides monetary assistance for help with electric, gas, water, and other utility needs. There is also rental and mortgage assistance when funding is available. Emergency assistance may be needed for an extended period of a few months to get a household current on their obligations. To ensure the emergency financial assistance can meet the demand of those seeking help, we seek to add two grant-funded case managers. The funding would be to help ensure no one goes homeless because a mortgage bill was not paid or because utilities were shut off. The case managers would work exclusively with clients and will follow up with them at least twice in the following months after receiving assistance. They are a source of hope to our clients and will connect them to other resources in our community.

EVIDENCE

Through the collection of data, our goal is to analyze progress towards a 75% success rate of participants through their Hope score and completed assessments. Every month, the Director of Social Services will analyze the data collected to determine if progress is being made towards established outcomes; and review the resources devoted to financial assistance and adjust accordingly to ensure adequate services. Case management in 2021 saw an increase in financial stability of 50%. We are still in the process of collecting data to help us capture a bigger picture our efforts have made in a year's time.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

The Salvation Army will be serving people in crisis and those one paycheck away from potential homelessness in Oklahoma County. We will be serving those facing food insecurity or those having to make a choice between feeding their children or keeping their lights on. We will be serving people who depend on resources to be able to function in their daily lives and we will also be serving those reaching out for the first time due to being affected by job loss, medical issues, or COVID-19. Foreclosures are an unfortunate outcome of the pandemic with many lending institutions not receiving payments from borrowers. Borrowers may have suffered undue hardship due to loss of job or health to where making monthly payments would mean no food on the table. This is where The Salvation Army can step in and help these individuals through case management efforts to ensure all bills are paid and solutions are implemented to keep clients on a pathway to sustainability.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

Assessments of the client's stability will occur at two weeks and 30 days after the initial follow up to see if further help is needed. Through the collection of data, The Salvation Army will be able to analyze progress towards the 75% success rate of participants through their Hope score and completed assessments. Every month, the Director of Social Services will analyze the data collected to determine if we are making progress towards our outcomes. The Director of Social Services will also review the resources devoted to financial assistance and adjust accordingly to ensure adequate services.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma