Financial assistance requests made to the community group Barrier Busters, a group of over 90 Washtenaw County social services agencies, have tripled during COVID-19.
From March 18th to June 30th, more than $200,000 in direct assistance was provided to 346 households in Washtenaw County to help people pay their rent and cover utility and medical bills. Moonson Eninsche is the human services supervisor for the Washtenaw County Office of Community and Economic Development and says over half of the people making assistance requests come from an immigrant household.
Moonson Eninsche: We recognize that a lot of the federal stimulus that has been provided, as far as the increase in unemployment, or the additional stimulus checks that households received, some immigrant families may not qualify or they may believe that they don’t qualify.
Barrier Busters has been able to meet the demand for assistance, thanks to partnerships with the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, Washtenaw County, and other local groups.
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— Jorge Avellan is a reporter for 89.1 WEMU News. Contact him at 734.487.3363 or email him javellan@emich.edu
