COVID-19 Regional Response Fund Allocates $625,000 to Coordinated Outreach Effort Targeting Isolated Older Adults and People with Disabilities

Collaborative effort includes the United Way, Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army, and others to provide needed services

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With grants totaling $625,000 from the COVID-19 Regional Response Fund, the COVID-19 Regional Response Team (C19RRT) brought together a network of 14 nonprofits to provide needed services to older adults and people with disabilities who find themselves isolated during the pandemic, officials with the C19RRT and the St. Louis Community Foundation announced today.

The C19RRT is a collaborative group of nonprofit, governmental, and philanthropic partners created to coordinate a comprehensive response to the needs of vulnerable populations in the midst of the pandemic. The need to assist homebound individuals grew out of concern about their ability to access basic needs when stay-at-home orders were announced and their continued vulnerability as public health measures are eased.

“The bi-state region responded generously to this crisis, and the St. Louis Community Foundation takes seriously our role as coordinator of and home to the COVID-19 Regional Response Fund,” said Elizabeth George, director of Community Investment for the St. Louis Community Foundation. “Our mission is to work collaboratively with groups like the C19RRT and other local agencies to create effective solutions that serve our community in times of immediate need and for years to come.”

The C19RRT worked closely with representatives of the COVID-19 Regional Response Fund housed at the St. Louis Community Foundation, the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities, and determined that leveraging United Way’s existing 2-1-1 system was the most efficient means of connecting individuals in the target group to the food, basic supplies, rent and utilities assistance they need.

“For over a decade, United Way has been connecting people to the resources and services they need through 2-1-1,” said Michelle Tucker, president and CEO of United Way of Greater St. Louis. “Having an already established system and platform in place to leverage allows the organizations involved to move quickly and efficiently to address needs for these vulnerable populations.”

Using United Way’s navigation and assistance platform, the homebound initiative serves older adults and people with disabilities through a four-stage process:

1. Outreach: Designated agencies reach out to vulnerable populations in St. Clair, Madison, and St. Charles counties, along with St. Louis City and County. Inquiries are made about access to basic needs (food, personal care items, behavioral health, rent assistance, and utility assistance).
2. Intake and Referral by 2-1-1: Navigation specialists conduct detailed assessment of each eligible client’s needs to match them with service providers within the 14-agency network.
3. Services: 2-1-1 connects clients to designated agency and resources in their area to address needs.
4. Closed Loop/Service Verification: United Way 2-1-1 verifies service delivery and that client needs are met for these target populations in the designated service areas.

Since launching the initiative on May 8, United Way reports 413 connections through the 14 participating agencies, resulting in services met throughout the metro region for 280 seniors, 63 individuals with chronic health conditions and 70 persons with disabilities.

About the COVID-19 Regional Response Team

Formed in response to the global pandemic, the Regional Response Team seeks to create a centralized, regional system of response to meet the needs of our most socially and medically-vulnerable neighbors. Members of this team are funded in part by the Missouri Foundation for Health.

About the COVID-19 Regional Response Fund – The coalition of businesses, foundations, and individual donors convened by the St. Louis Community Foundation has raised a total of $5 million, with nearly $3 million granted to a total of 141 regional nonprofits working with vulnerable populations.

About the St. Louis Community Foundation

The St. Louis Community Foundation consists of more than 750 charitable funds with total assets in excess of $500 million. Each fund represents a unique charitable giving partnership between an individual, family, or business and designated nonprofit recipients. Over the last 10 years, the St. Louis Community Foundation and its donors made nearly $500 million in grants to charitable organizations, with approximately 95 percent of those dollars remaining in the St. Louis region to support local nonprofits. The COVID-19 Regional Response Fund is managed by the St. Louis Community Foundation.