The tragic fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good added another heavy weight to our community. In this moment of extreme shared stress, I’m grateful for every family, friend and neighbor showing up to care for one another.
We as a community are hurting, and when our community is hurting, United Way is here.
Greater Twin Cities United Way has a history of bringing people together and creating unity through understanding and connection. In this moment of grief, we continue moving forward.
I’d like to share a few insights from the Minnesotans reaching out to us 24-7 through our 211 resource helpline and the conversations we’re in daily with nonprofits, employers and public officials.
Families need food and to stay housed. Many 211 callers have told us they are unable to work for fear of ICE, or that the primary earners in their families have been inappropriately detained or deported. In addition to parents losing income, kids are missing school meals. Finding ways to keep families fed and housed is key to avoiding catastrophic impacts.
Nonprofits are adapting, even while strained. The ICE surge is compounding the impacts of recent cuts to housing, food and health care funding. Our partners are striving to meet spikes in need while creating new services like mobile food delivery for families sheltering in place.
Answering the call. 211 provides referrals to food, shelter, trusted child care and other essential services through a confidential, warm human connection. We’ve responded to significant surges in requests for rental assistance (up 146%) and food (up 197%). And our incredible team has answered more than 17x the typical number of Spanish-language calls, ensuring critical information is easily understood in times of personal crisis.
Speeding funds where they’re needed. In addition to ongoing flexible funding to our nonprofit partners, we’ve recently dedicated $285,000 toward emergency funds for efforts like:
We don’t know when this emergency will end. But with every insight shared and connection forged, our response becomes stronger.
Your support for our annual fund makes all our work possible. Thank you. You may have heard that we’ve also created the Community Response Fund. To date, we’ve raised $650,000, and because of our profound connections in community and relationships with more than 100 nonprofits, we are uniquely positioned to get dollars into community quickly during this emergency. Your support will help local people access food, stay safely housed, and more.
United is the way we show up for our community.
United is the way we help our neighbors.
United is the way forward, together.
