Grants available for Tri-Cities unemployed

The Tri-City Salvation Army in St. Charles is lending a hand to those who have recently lost their jobs or had their hours cut significantly.

Major Steven Koehler, who heads up the local chapter, said the organization has made about $18,000 available in the form of grants for locals who have fallen on hard times. The grants can be earmarked for expenses such as rent, utilities and food.

"People are finding themselves unemployed for the first times in their lives," Koehler said. "You really have to swallow your pride and ask for help where help's available. And it's a very easy process to receive help from the Salvation Army."

The program is in response to the nation's economic downturn and is centered in the Salvation Army's Midwest region, based in Des Plaines. Locally, Koehler said, requests for assistance are up 30 to 40 percent from the same time last year. The local chapter serves Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles and surrounding areas.

"This is a unique program, and the first time we've done this to my knowledge" he said. "Hopefully the funding will last for a while. There is definitely a need in the Tri-Cities."

Eligible candidates must be able to prove they have been unemployed since October, or that their hours were "severely reduced" in the last eight months.

Koehler said grants will be dispersed either directly to utility companies and landlords, or given in the form of food vouchers and items from the Salvation Army food pantry.

"We're keeping in the backs of our minds, too, that kids will be returning to school soon, and families might need money for haircuts and school supplies and things like that," he said.

The funding is possible because of individual donations and support from groups such as the Tri-Cities Exchange Club, Koehler said.

For more information, call (630) 377-2769 or visit the Joe K. Anderson Salvation Army Community Center at 1710 S. Seventh Ave., St. Charles.