CRI officials ask county for funds
By PAMELA BRUSTPARKERSBURG - Community Resources Inc. officials requested $80,500 in funding from the Wood County Commission.
CRI officials said all 11 counties served by the nonprofit community action agency will be solicited for funds.
"The requests throughout the 11 counties are based on the percentage of populations of current low-income families living within the county," said Lynn Garber, community services manager with CRI.
Meeting with the commission Thursday, Garber and CRI executive director Steve Ellis updated county officials on the programs and services provided through the agency, which assists low-income families with a number of programs, including the Weatherization Assistance Program, energy assistance and other crisis intervention services.
"We will file your request, we will probably begin work on the county budget in February," commission President Rick Modesitt told the CRI officials. Modesitt asked CRI to provide a breakdown showing all the counties and the amount of any funding contributed from those counties.
County officials said the agency has not funded in previous years through the county budget.
"According to their letter of request some of the other counties provide $10,000," noted Commissioner Bob Tebay.
According to the CRI's letter of request, Doddridge, Ritchie and Roane counties provide more than $10,000 annually to help "augment finances to meet increasing needs."
The CRI officials noted any contribution would be used to support assistance to families and individuals in Wood County.
"We have seen a steady increase in the need for services and CRI has expanded our efforts to meet these needs," Garber said.
Garber told the county officials for the year to date, the agency served 875 families and individuals in the county, and completed 17 weatherization projects in the county.
"We are continuing our weatherization efforts. We just got word we can anticipate an increase in funding for the upcoming year, which will in turn increase our ability to do these projects and our ability to hire more people. Applications are available now for part-time weatherization crews. We are also accepting applications for the Low Income Energy Assistance Program which helps families pay heating bills. We partner with the DHHR to do that. We also have the Energy Crisis Intervention Program, which helps families whose primary heating source is not working. We can go in and replace the furnace. So we are accepting applications for those programs as well. The programs are provided at no cost to the families and individuals receiving the service," Garber said.
Applications for the Weatherization Assistance Program crews can be obtained through the local CRI service office, at 113 Ann St., Parkersburg, or by calling the office at (304) 485-5339, or 485-5525.
The required income guideline to get assistance is 125 percent above the poverty level, for weatherization its 150 percent.
"In general, for a family of four, at 150 percent, it's about $31,000," Garber said.
"We will be looking at bringing on employees within our organization as well as bringing in outside contractors. The weatherization year starts on April 1," Ellis said.
"We are also doing Volunteer Income Tax training. This is a program where we provide free income tax preparation for individuals who qualify for this service Last year we did nearly 1,200 free income tax preparations within the 11-county area we serve," Garber said.
