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From YouTube: VEAP: Serving a community in need
Description
The pandemic left many in our community out of work and created an increased need for food and housing services. Hear from VEAP staff, volunteers and customers as they reflect on the past year.
A
A
D
B
The
past
year
has
been
really
difficult.
I've
been
laid
off
from
my
job
for
a
year
when
they
did
start
hiring
back
at
my
job.
I
had
a
conversation
with
my
manager
because
I
was
only
working
a
few
hours
a
week
and
because
I
do
get
disability,
I
told
them
that
you
know
if
someone
needs
the
full-time
hours
to
take
care
of
their
family
and
that
because
that's
their
only
income.
A
We
have
definitely
seen
an
increase
in
the
number
of
visits
and
the
number
of
people
we
have
served.
We
provided
4.7
million
pounds
of
food
this
year,
that's
about
350
000,
more
pounds
than
we
did
the
prior
year
and
we
were
able
to
serve
27
000
people
in
our
food
distribution.
That's
27,
000
children,
teens,
adults
and
seniors,
which
was
about
a
10
increase
over
last
year
as
well.
A
C
E
They're
they're
not
used
to
having
to
ask
for
help,
and
so
I
think,
there's
a
lot
of
like
shame
around
that
that
they're
working
through
you
know
a
lot
of
folks
who
are
like
I'm
always
employed
and
I'm
not
employed
right
now
and
like
it's,
not
my
fault
and
so
a
lot
of
validating
that.
Yes,
this
economy
is
terrible.
E
On,
like
folks,
were
waiting,
six
eight
weeks
for
their
unemployment
benefits,
and
so
that
was
like
kind
of
an
immediate
spike
and
then,
when
restaurants
shut
down,
we
see
an
immediate
spike
again
july
was
actually
like
a
quieter
month
when
restaurants
reopened,
but
then
closures
in
november.
That
was
another
spike
through.
A
A
partnership
between
the
cities
that
we
serve
the
county
and
even
accessing
funds
from
the
state
we
were
able
to
provide
3.5
million
dollars
in
rental
and
utilities,
assistance
to
1200
families
and
individuals,
which
had
an
impact
on
over
4
000
people,
keeping
them
safe
and
secure
in
their
homes.
Through
this
crisis,
in
2019,
we
were
able
to
offer
150
000
in
rental
assistance
to
about
130
families,
so
going
from
150
000
to
3.5
million
dollars
was,
as
I
said,
just
explosive
growth.
E
A
I
anticipate
is
everybody's
gonna,
be
saying:
oh,
the
economic
impact
of
the
pandemic
is
over.
The
pandemic
is
over.
That
is
not
going
to
be
the
case
for
so
many
people
that
we
serve
on
a
regular
basis.
Like
I
said,
the
people
are
working
in
hospitality
and
restaurants
and
retail
their
jobs
are
going
to
be
the
last
to
come
back.
So
I
envision
the
impact
of
the
pandemic
on
the
people,
who
are
utilizing
our
food
and
housing
programs
to
last
well
into
2022
and
maybe
even
beyond.
A
The
impact
of
this
will
go
further
into
the
future
than
any
of
us
would
want
it
to
so
we're
prepared
for
that
a
year
from
now,
two
years
from
now,
even
as
soon
as
six
months
from
now,
we'll
continue
to
need
the
support
of
the
community
through
volunteerism
through
food
donations
and
financial
donations.
The
impact
is
not
going
to
go
away
anytime
soon,
we'll
continue
to
see
that
ripple
effect
long
into
the
future.
If.
C
A
Of
the
things
that
I've
relearned
is
that
we
have
an
amazing
base
of
financial
donors
as
well.
People
who
give
25
dollars
a
year
to
people
who
give
twenty
five
thousand
dollars
a
year
and
honestly
every
bit
helps
because
the
more
people
who
are
aware
of
the
need,
the
more
people
are
giving
to
the
need,
whether
that's
with
their
volunteer
time
or
with
their
finances
or
with
food
donations.
That
just
increases
this
amount
of
togetherness
and
collective.