Cape Girardeau County assistance programs.

Local organizations to turn to for aid

If you are one of the thousands of local families who are struggling to make ends meet, the East Missouri Action Agency, Inc. and the Cape Girardeau Salvation Army may be able to help.

For details on some of the resources available, below is but a partial list of how the Salvation Army distributed assistance and grants to residents last year.

• Funds for rental assistance and security deposits were provided to over 100 of the neediest households in the community in an effort to prevent homelessness and stop evictions.
• Free groceries and food was distributed to over 4,200 area families due to food and canned goods donated to the food pantry.
• Assistance for paying for heating and utility bills was provided to help prevent utility shutoffs to over 100 families.
• Over 11,000 free meals were provided through the Meals With Friends program.
• Due to donations from Schnucks Market, packages of bread, rolls and other bakery items were distributed to 12,585 families.
• The Salvation Army paid for almost 2,000 nights of free lodging to people who were recently evicted within the community. Also, those people who were stranded without shelter due to fires and other disasters also received free lodging.

If you live in Cape Girardeau or Jackson Missouri, to learn more how the Salvation Army can help, call 573-335-7000.

 

 

 

The resources below are managed by the East Missouri Action Agency, Inc., which can be reached at (573) 431-5191.

The Missouri Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is funded by the state of Missouri and the federal government, and the program is administered as part of EMAA's Community Services Department. The LIHEAP program, which focuses on providing families with grants for paying energy bills, has two main components. They include  Energy Assistance (EA), which was designed to help low-income, the disabled, and elderly people with paying for their heating bills. The applicant must meet income guidelines as established by the program and they must also be responsible for their heating bill. The second component is the Energy Crisis Intervention Program (ECIP). This was designed to alleviate crisis situations such as midwinter utility shutoffs. Additional options include Dollar Help, "Round-UP" and Dollar More are privately funded emergency energy bill assistance programs that are sponsored by the customers of Ameren UE, Citizens Electric and Laclede GAS, respectively. Find additional energy bill programs. Read more.

FEMA Emergency Food & Shelter and the Missouri Housing Trust Fund programs will assist low-income families in a variety of crisis situations relating to basic needs. For example, it can provide rent help, free food, funds for emergency expenses such as utility bills, and more.