Windham Area Interfaith Ministry Creates Neighbor Safety Net Fund

WILLIMANTIC (March 30, 2020) With the economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis becoming increasingly dire, the Windham Area Interfaith Ministry (WAIM) is mounting a campaign to help ease the burden on those in need.

WAIM has created the Neighbor Safety Net Fund with the goal of raising $30,000 to provide for basic-needs emergencies not addressed by other funding sources. The Fund will distribute relief to area residents unable to pay their bills or afford basic essentials because of layoffs, medical expenses, business losses or other COVID-19 related hardships.

“With rent and mortgage payments becoming due for many, staff members at WAIM are growing concerned that people in our area will be making choices between paying for food or paying for rent,” said Victoria Nimirowski, WAIM’s executive director.

“WAIM wants to assist people now, before their debt becomes uncontrollable and they run the risk of future eviction or other crisis. Let’s be sure that no one goes without food, without housing, without medications, without the basics of life during this unsettling time.”

The Neighbor Safety Net Fund will serve residents of Andover, Ashford, Bolton, Chaplin, Columbia, Coventry, Hampton, Hebron, Lebanon, Mansfield/Storrs, Scotland, Willington and Windham/Willimantic. United States citizenship is NOT required.

The Fund will support those most economically vulnerable in the COVID-19 crisis, including laid-off workers who stand to recoup only a portion of their salary through unemployment insurance, and those ineligible for government assistance.

In addition to assisting with the cost of food and housing, the Fund will help cover expenses such as medication, special diets, car payments, car insurance, and more.

WAIM will assist with unpaid utility bills once the statewide moratorium on utility shutoffs is lifted so that the organization's limited staff can focus on other needs at this time. “These bills will need to be paid at some point, and the fear is that many members of our community will not have the means to cover what they owe,” Nimirowski said.

Those wishing to contribute to the Neighbor Safety Net Fund can do so by visiting www.waimct.org and clicking on “DONATE” or by sending checks payable to WAIM to P.O. Box 221, Willimantic, CT 06226. In both cases, contributors should note that the donation is for the Neighbor Safety Net Fund. Donations of any amount are welcome.

“We are a community that cares for one another, one devoted to our mutual wellbeing,” Nimirowski said. “We are asking those who have the means to consider donating whatever they can to help our neighbors in need.”

ABOUT WAIM

The Windham Area Interfaith Ministry (WAIM) is an association of churches, synagogues, fellowships and concerned citizens that help those in need in the greater Windham region.

It serves more than 8,000 clients each year by supplying furniture, clothing, and emergency living expenses.

WAIM’s clients include those who are unemployed, underemployed, undocumented, refugees, recently released prison inmates, those living in transitional or rehabilitative housing and those living with illness or disabilities.

To learn more, visit waimct.org.