5-24-21 BOC Budget Work Session - Laserfiche WebLink

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Johnston Lee Harnett - Community Action 6:45 p.m. Marie Watson, Executive Director of Johnston, Lee, Harnett, Community Action stated that the agency is 55 years old. JLHCA provide a crisis program, a head start program and this year hopes to increase the head start number, weatherization to weatherize houses, and assists the homeless serving 9 counties. During the pandemic they helped the community by offering assistance through Project Hope which helped people avoid eviction. Funds received from the County are used for direct services or programs. The State sets a cap on what can be spent in each county, so funds are needed from donations, foundations such as United Way, and organizations to help the agency to become self-sufficient. Books are used to track how much is spent in each county. Marie has been with the organization for 42 years. Project Hope helped provide 1,072 vouchers between February and last month. About 208 people currently work for JLHCA. To get access to services offered by JLHCA, everyone has to go through 211. 173 people are waiting with the agency to get access to housing. Of about $18 million in revenue received only about 1% goes to Lee County. The funding allocation is based on the federal poverty guidelines. One of the challenges is getting people to apply for assistance through the available programs. HAVEN - 7:00 p.m. Joy Moseley, Executive Director of Haven and Kim Weathersmith, Board Chair for Haven provided an overview of the organization's services. Haven's mission is to end abuse for domestic violence and sexual assault victims. Haven's numbers increased in 2020. Haven currently provides the only shelter in Lee County for domestic violence and sexual assault victims along with core advocacy. Haven operates with 10 staff members. In 2020, they provided a safe place for 173 clients and over 6,000 nights of safe shelter while also providing educational opportunities and skill building to help them build their lives. Haven operates a 24/7 crisis hotline. A court advocate and volunteers assist people who go to the courthouse and have managed to assist with 50 protective orders in addition to helping the clients through the court process. They also provide referral services to sister agencies in town. In 2020 Haven saw an increase in clients coming to shelter so they have partnered with First Health to get a peer support specialist to assist clients in their path of healing. Commissioner Carver asked if some thought was given to apply for ARPA funds due to direct losses related to COVID. The Chair responded that grant funding was received including Payroll Protection Program money and funds that had to be justified directly to COVID related expenses. 3