A social service agency in Bloomington wants local governments to provide more utility assistance for cash-strapped families.
Tami Foley is interim executive director of Mid Central Community Action (MCCA). Foley said the agency can pay only $350 per family.
“That doesn’t hardly make a dent when people have gotten themselves thousands of dollars behind on water bills,” said Foley, adding some families may not be able to turn utilities on if they have to relocate because of an eviction.
“That’s going to change in the next couple of months and it’s all going to roll into a downward slope,” Foley said. “Hopefully it doesn’t, but that’s unfortunately what we are worried about and trying to stay on top of and get people help before that does happen.”
Gov. JB Pritzker plans to let the eviction moratorium phase out by August.
Bloomington, Normal and McLean County are developing plans to spend COVID relief funds they are getting from the federal government.
Deb White’s legacy
Foley said Mid Central’s COVID relief and other assistance continue uninterrupted following Deb White’s death.
White was MCCA's executive director for eight years and worked for the agency for 20 years. She died last month at age 62.
Foley said the agency had started making succession plans in the weeks prior when White became ill. She said staff made sure they could continue to meet the public's needs to carry on White's legacy.
“Deb has always been an advocate for justice and peace,” Foley said. “She wanted to ensure that everyone who came to Mid Central Community Action or anybody that she met in the community had anything and everything they needed to be successful.”
White started at MCCA in its countering domestic violence program and later worked in resource development before becoming executive director, Foley noted.
Foley added the agency has started to take on more specialized services in the areas of workforce development, and financial and job coaching.
“Part of Deb’s dream was to really focus on our specialties,” Foley said. “We have a lot of staff with special certifications and we want to focus more on those and let some programs go to other agencies that can take on another county because they are doing it in so many other counties.”
Foley added MCCA has offloaded its Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to Tazwood Community Services that will continue to operate the program in Bloomington for McLean County residents.
MCCA will host a luncheon on Wednesday, June 9, to honor Deb White and to celebrate NeighborWorks Week.
