A pause on federal funding could prevent Licking County agencies from distributing emergency aid to people in need.
Money distributed through the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) – a program funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that began in 1987 – provides a non-disaster safety net to help local agencies support individuals and families who are or who are at risk of experiencing homelessness or hunger.
Tens of thousands of dollars that the United Way of Licking County distributes are currently on hold, said Executive Director Deb Dingus, adding that all of United Way’s emergency food and shelter programs receive funding through this program.
Locally, these dollars have been distributed to organizations like the Licking County Food Pantry Network, St. Vincent de Paul’s outreach program, the Salvation Army, Catholic Social Services, the Bhutanese Community Center, Newark Homeless Outreach, Meals on Wheels, and other local organizations that provide emergency assistance.
“We have a housing crisis,” Dingus told The Reporting Project. “We have an economic crisis.”
And now, she said, there is the threat of losing federal funding for safety net services.
Cory Stutes, program administrator and community impact director for the United Way, learned of the pause through a notice posted on the program website.
Part of the challenge in the delay is the “extreme lack of clarity,” Stutes said.
Right now, “The biggest effect locally is the lack of information,” Stutes said. “If there’s a significant delay or the program is cut, we’d see some impacts locally.”
Dingus said that they were told in December to get ready to disperse funding in January, and then they were told that the program was on hold.
Dingus said that there is a possibility that the funding could come back. Right now, she said, “We’re all just waiting.”
Dingus spoke with The Reporting Project last Tuesday evening in the sanctuary of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church on the second night of the activation of the Licking County Warming Center. During the winter of 2024-25, the warming center has been activated on 17 nights, and volunteers have seen a significant uptick in the number of people – including families with children – relying on the emergency service.
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She estimates that tens of thousands of dollars that were designated for safety-net services here are on hold. The last several disbursements have totalled between $90,000 and $120,000.
Trish Perry, of the Newark Homeless Outreach, said that during the last funding period, her organization received $6,410 from EFSP. The organization used the money to serve meals on Saturdays and to bring food to people living in hotels.
Melissa Anderson, executive director of the Licking County Coalition of Care, said that EFSP helps the organization pay for emergency hotel stays for people transitioning from homelessness to stable housing.
“The housing supply is so depleted,” Anderson said, “it’s forcing us to keep people in hotels longer.”
Anderson said theirs is one of only a few organizations in the county that funds emergency stays.
And 100% of their clients are Licking County residents, she said. Recently, Anderson said, they are seeing more people who fit into the ALICE demographic – “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed,” meaning people who earn above the federal poverty level but less than what’s needed to survive in the current economy. These are working people who live paycheck to paycheck.
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“Without the funding, we’ll have to take a hard look at our programming,” Anderson said.
A national board composed of American Red Cross, Catholic Charities USA, The Jewish Federations of North America, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, The Salvation Army and United Way Worldwide sets policies and guidelines for distribution of EFSP funds.
The national board distributes it to local jurisdictions based on population, unemployment, and poverty data. Local boards do the administrative work – conducting the application process and telling the national board how to distribute funds. Funding can be used to pay for food, lodging, rental or mortgage assistance, utility payments, as well as transportation and supplies used in the work of feeding or sheltering people.
For now, the United Way of Licking County staff is uncertain about when they will be able to request applications.
This story was updated at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25 to correct the amount dispersed to Newark Homeless Outreach during the last funding period. The Reporting Project regrets the error.
Jack Shuler writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.