Lucy is a single mother who has lived at Faith Village in Columbus, OH for many years. Due to the pandemic, Lucy’s work hours had been cut back, and therefore was concerned about her work hours, bills, food, and rent. A future surgery was looming over her, and she needed assistance with rent prior to her surgery. She needed help but was hesitant to ask. 

IMPACT, whose mission is to battle poverty by giving help and opportunities for self-sufficiency, was able to help through their rental assistance program. This encouraged Lucy to ask for help applying for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, which helps low-income people buy nutritious food. The Service Coordinator of Faith Village, Gay, and Lucy then applied for SNAP benefits together. Gay was able to get Lucy’s stamps expedited and a SNAP card issued in three days. Boy, Lucy was happy and could not believe that she got approved!  

Gay and the Property Manager then worked together to help Lucy maintain rent while she recovered from surgery for the following eight weeks.  

In addition, Gay has helped Lucy enroll her son into public school during the pandemic and entered him into the lottery for Kipp High School. 

A big shoutout goes to Gay and all Service Coordinators helping residents become more financially stable and self-sufficient!