Director Randy Kimpell said the center remains active throughout the day. “We’re open for everybody and anybody, but we’re open from 8:30 to five. You know, even in between the meals, we’re still open. We have a lot of people that come here first thing in the morning and are here till we close it at night.”
Rev. Arthur Butler, president of the Lima Black Ministerial Alliance, said the organization felt compelled to step in.
“We felt like it was very important, because we see struggling families throughout our ministries,” Butler said. “Our kids are in the vicinity, and when they can’t be fed, it’s time for us to stand up and feed our children and to get on board with what needs to be done to protect our community.”
"Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin'-By World" is a workshop offered by the West Ohio Community Action Partnership to help people struggling to make ends meet. The program is based on Philip Devol's book of the same title. It provides an opportunity for participants to discuss how poverty has impacted their daily lives and community. They will also learn about resources that can help them get ahead.
November 12, 2024, press release from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness announced results of the 2024 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, which show a record low in Veteran homelessness since measurement began in 2009 and a 5% decrease in Ohio since 2023. Nationwide, the data shows a 11.7% reduction in Veterans experiencing homelessness since 2020 and a 55.6% reduction since 2010.
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and Ohio has a program that could help people with disabilities save their hard-earned cash without risking their benefits. The Ohio Treasurer's Office offers the STABLE Account and allows people with disabilities to save and invest money without losing their eligibility for programs like Medicaid or supplemental security income. It is not like a checking or savings account, but more like a 401K or college savings account and allows people who qualify to grow their money and to save for long-term disability expenses. It only takes a few minutes to sign up for, and it could be a game changer for people involved.
The USDA announces 1 billion dollars to help with food insecurity across the country. That money will be divided up nationwide and used to support places like the West Ohio Food Bank as they wait for the federal government to pass the farm bill to continue their funding. Half of the money will go to programs that work with farmers, growers, and producers for nutritional food options... The other half of the money will be used for additional food purchases by food banks from retailers and food manufacturers, which have been in decline.
School lunches help kids with food insecurities during the week, but who helps fill in the gaps when they're out of school? That's where the Children's Hunger Alliance steps up to offer food boxes to the kids to help make sure they don't go hungry. Superior Credit Union employees were helping them out by boxing up food that could be passed out to students in the Lima area. They also donated $6,000 to the Children's Hunger Alliance to help cover the cost of the food that they boxed up, providing around 2,400 meals.
August 16, 2024, Press Release from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs: WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced it will award $17 million in grants to help homeless and at-risk Ohio Veterans — along with an additional $3.6 million to benefit Veterans from Ohio and surrounding states — through the Supportive Services for Veteran Families and Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem programs. A total of $806.4 million will be awarded through the two programs nationally.
One in four children in the Lima area aren't getting enough food, and a new partnership is working to change that. The Lima Memorial Foundation's Emerging Philanthropists and the Children's Hunger Alliance are raising awareness of the food insecurities facing the children of our community. Thursday was the kick-off of their partnership, and people in attendance were asked to donate what they would spend on a meal to support the Children's Hunger Alliance to provide healthy food.
