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4 Thursday, November 14, 2024 BATTLE CREEK SHOPPER NEWS http://www.thebattlecreekshopper.com

HAVEN

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through The Haven’s doors each

year. “When I go out and speak, I am

never surprised that somebody has

either had a son or a daughter or a

father or grandfather come through

our program in the last 20 years. The

Haven is very prevalent and needed

in our community. Last year we

served 1,800 people.”

Jones added that The Haven’s

numbers are back up to pre-COVID

levels.

“When we were going into COVID

we stayed open during the entire

pandemic,” said Jones. “We actually

registered as a laboratory with the

state of Michigan. We could admin-

ister our own 15-minute

COVID tests right at the

door. That was a game

changer for us. That was

huge.”

The length of stay, on

average is less than 30

days, but some stay as

long as 60 days in order to

get the help thy need.

“We want to address

whatever issue is causing

the homelessness,” said

Jones. “I tell people home-

lessness is not the problem – usually

it’s the symptom of the problem. The

problem can be an underlying issue

of substance abuse or a mental health

issue or generational poverty or a

combination of them all. In 30-

days, we do an awful good job of

trying to get to the root problem and

address it best we can. That’s why

we have community partners with

mental health and substance abuse

treatment programs.”

Jones hopes that those in the com-

munity, those who are first-time giv-

ers and those who have helped in the

past, will offer their support.

“Your support has been crucial in

providing shelter, recovery and hope

to countless men, women and chil-

dren in our community,” said Jones.

South Michigan Food Bank is

commending the announcement of

$1 billion in additional funding for

emergency food assistance by the

Biden administration and the U.S.

Department of Agriculture, says

spokesperson Lori Sunie.

Specifically, the USDA will provide

$500 million for additional food pur-

chases to be distributed through The

Emergency Food Assistance Program

(TEFAP), which helps emergency

food providers like food banks, and

$500 million for the Local Food

Purchase Assistance Cooperative

Agreement Program (LFPA) for

states, tribes and territories to pur-

chase foods for their emergency food

systems from local growers.

“These funds are a welcome relief

to South Michigan Food Bank as we

help address the extraordinary need

for food assistance in south Michigan

amid a decline in resources and a rise

in demand for services,” Sunie wrote

in a Nov. 4 press release.

She added, “One in seven adults

and one in five children are food

insecure. Families and individu-

als experiencing hunger in south

Michigan are working to secure

access to fresh, healthy food needed

to thrive, and these investments

will provide critical resources for

South Michigan Food Bank to assist

them. In support of our neighbors,

South Michigan Food Bank con-

tinues to operate under heightened

need, increasing food purchases and

continuing to use local fundraising

efforts to offset transportation costs.”

— Ann Pulsipher

Local food bank applauds

extra funds for hunger relief

$3,