Below is a copy of the newspaper article that appeared in the Wednesday, Sept. 15 edition of The Delphos Herald.
Congratulations, Sara! You're doing an excellent job of getting the word out about the OBB and all the benefits it offers.
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| AmeriCorps*VISTA Sara Mraz stands behind a laptop directing The Ohio Benefit Bank PowerPoint presentation at a Capacity Building event this summer. Sara plays an active role at all her events, including greeting guests and moving along the presentation. Submitted by Sara Mraz. |
Now, here's the article:
Assistance Program Promoted in Delphos
Written by Mike Ford Wednesday, September 15, 2010 1:39 PM
mford@delphosherald.com
The Interfaith Thrift Shop is the one place in town where those in need can apply for government assistance through one application. The Ohio Benefits Bank streamlines the process of seeking food stamps, energy assistance, prescription assistance and more.
Gayle Loyola of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Food Banks delivered a talk Tuesday at the Eagles. She indicated the OBB is a public and private partnership involving the governor’s office, Second Harvest and several faith- and community-based groups. She also said $1.7 billion in federal tax credits and work-support program funds go unclaimed each year in Ohio because allocation depends on residential requests.
The luncheon was attended by church members, the mayor and city council president, as well as the Thrift Shop Social Services Coordinator Becky Strayer. She has been trained as an Ohio Benefits Bank counselor and said the program enables the thrift shop to point people in the right direction when limited resources prohibit solving immediate problems with cold hard cash.
“We want to be in a position to help people when we don’t have resources ourselves. I don’t want to have to look at someone and say ‘sorry, I don’t know; I can’t help you’,” she said. “I want people to have a backup plan; I want to point them to someone who can help them. So, we became an Ohio Benefits Bank site and will be able to help more people. When someone comes to us for help with rent, utilities or food and they are unemployed, we can go to the OBB Web site and run a quick check to see what programs they may qualify for.”
She says there is a wide array of things people don’t know help is available for.
“We can help people sign their school-age children up for free lunches through the benefits bank. We have free tax-filing service for those who qualify; we can help people with prescriptions to a point and then we can help them find help through other avenues. Also, there is an employment program called Experience Works. If you’re 55 and older and meet the financial requirements, you can get work. For example, say the Thrift Shop needed a worker. We could apply though Experience Works and they would send us someone, then they pay them. So, everyone wins because we get an employee and that person finds a job. This is just one of the programs offered through the benefits bank.”
Strayer said clients often come to her needing help with something like rent or their electricity. Paying the bill for them may not be possible but that doesn’t mean the thrift shop can’t help.
“The first thing we look at is ‘are you employed? Have you applied for unemployment? Have you applied for food stamps?’ Sometimes, you can free up money for rent and utilities by getting food stamps. A lot of people may qualify but don’t know it,” she said.
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