Many, many people have been affected financially by the coronavirus, and so many of those have reached out to support systems and charities for help.
One of them is the Heart of Florida United Way, which has been inundated with requests for support — at one point in this pandemic calls for help quadrupled. But the United Way has doubled down instead of buckled.
In response to COVID-19, Heart of Florida United Way has established a fund to support residents in just Osceola, Orange and Seminole County whose financial stability is being impacted. The ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) fund supports those families experiencing hardship due to decreased hours or unpaid leave.
To start the process of seeing if your family is eligible, or its priority go to this survey form, which will ask form information about your household and your current financial hardship. Once you have submitted this form you will be placed on a waiting list, and a case manager will contact you if/when additional funds to provide rent/mortgage or utility assistance become available.
If you are on the other side — the ability to donate — Heart of Florida United Way is seeking financial support to aid as many families as possible after making an initial investment of $100,000 to seed the fund. Donations can be made here.
Although the Heart of the Florida United Way offices are closed, many staff are working remotely to keep support to the community as robust as possible. Staff are responding to emails and have remote access to voicemails to continue operations, so please reach out as needed. Email HFUWContact@HFUW.org and the email will be routed appropriately. It is important to continue providing critical support to Central Floridians during this uncertain time.
