Article overlooked good townships do
A recent article and Opinion in the Daily Herald was critical of how township General Assistance department's money was being spent.
The article only compared the staff salary dollars with direct dollars dispersed to clients. We were very disappointed that all the peripheral services provided by the General Assistance department were not mentioned.
The article failed to mention that the salary dollars for Schaumburg Township also covers the costs of running a large food pantry that serves 500 to 600 people and families per month
. Staff picks up large quantities of food from all over the township, unload it, sort and stock it. We are very grateful for all the food donated each month by our community, but staff and volunteers must process and dispense that food.
In 2014, staff answered almost 15,000 phone calls from residents seeking help. So much of helping people is talking to them and assisting them to find the help they need, not just handing them money.
Our trained staff also helped residents get millions of dollars' worth of aid from programs, such as LIHEAP, Access to Care, Mobile Dental Clinic, Christmas Adopt-A-Family, etc.
Less than 1 percent of the average Schaumburg Township homeowner's property taxes fund all of the services provided by the General Assistance department. As the governmental body closest to the residents, we are where they turn to when they need help.
Hopefully the next time there is an article in the paper all the facts will be gathered and there will be a focus on all the positive things that townships do and all the people they help.
Mary Wroblewski, Supervisor
Schaumburg Township