If they had not been volunteering at the ERA Food Pantry on Woodbourne Road, members of the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club would not have met a 74-year-old woman who had been sleeping for days in her car with her dog.
They helped her get in touch with the county’s emergency housing services, which temporarily sheltered the homeless woman in hotels until an apartment became available.
It’s the kind of action that could only happen with the on-the-ground volunteering, to which the 22 members of the Kiwanis Club are accustomed. Those opportunities have been harder to organize in 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic threw a logistical monkey wrench into their routines.
“We worked through the middle of March, and everything was going as it usually does,” said Jill Saul, president of the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club. “Then everything fell apart from the pandemic. School was no longer in session, and that is who we usually work with to find families in need. We had to work harder to reach out to families, and we had to quickly learn how to use Zoom and social media to coordinate.”
The volunteers have adapted to health and safety guidelines to maintain a presence in the lives of needy families and individuals in the Lower Bucks County area, Saul said. They help pay electric bills, donate, package and distribute fresh produce every two weeks at the food banks on Woodbourne Road in Levittown and Wood Street in Bristol Borough, and provide any other assistance they can manage.
When the elderly homeless woman moved into her apartment, she did not have a bed and had to sleep on the floor, Saul said.
“I met another club member at the furniture store, we put on our masks and went in and bought a mattress, box spring and bedding,” Saul said. “We took separate vehicles to the apartment and got her situated. Now, she’s volunteering at the food bank.”
The ongoing pandemic forced the cancellation of one of the club’s largest annual charitable events, the Kiwanis-Herald Sesame Place Classic 5K. It’s one of two opportunities the Kiwanis Club has each year to make a large impact for as many people in need as possible.
There was no way the volunteers would miss their second chance this year to make a huge difference with the annual Give A Christmas fundraiser. The Levittown Bristol Kiwanis Club and the Bucks County Courier Times have partnered to raise at least $120,000, to be distributed as $25 vouchers that can be redeemed at partnering grocery and department stores.
Vouchers can be requested by completing applications and mailing them to Kiwanis Club of Levittown-Bristol Foundation Inc., PO Box 862 in Levittown. Club volunteers will then review the applications and send out the vouchers to eligible families.
It’s an arduous process that, in the past, was completed at one of the volunteer’s homes. Now, with social distancing guidelines in place, the volunteers found a larger space at a local VFW post to comb through the paperwork.
“We will keep the masks on, avoid touching our foreheads and noses, and basically observe the CDC guidelines,” Saul said. “We’ve been doing great work considering the obstacles. We love doing it, but we don’t want to put ourselves and our families at risk.”
Maintaining that balance between helping the growing number of people needing assistance and keeping staff safe and healthy has been one of the big challenges for Rachael Neff, director of Bucks County’s Department of Human Services.
Like thousands of businesses across the country, the department was forced to close its main offices at the start of the pandemic. Staff members have been meeting and coordinating efforts remotely from home, but that option has not been viable for everyone.
“Some positions need to come into the office, and some are out in the field,” Neff said. “We have in the Children & Youth services that have not stopped conducting home visitations, for example.”
The department received about $5 million from the $109 million of federal funding allocated to Bucks County by the CARES Act, a coronavirus relief package passed by Congress over the summer. That money has been used to provide computer equipment to human services staff, deep-cleaning services for department offices and support various public resources.
“Our senior centers had to completely shut down at the beginning,” Neff said. “They have since partially re-opened for volunteers and staff to prepare meals that are then delivered to the seniors that need them. We are also using the space to conduct classes over Zoom. The CARES funding has been used to keep those activities running.”
The spread of the coronavirus and its impact on everyday life has increased the amount of activity experienced by public service agencies, Neff said. The Bucks County Opportunity Council’s food pantries have seen visitors increase to 500 from 250 cars a week. Family Service Association of Bucks County, which manages the county’s Housing Link hotline, has seen calls increase to 600 a month. Families and individuals experiencing a housing emergency can call at 800-810-4434 for assistance.
“There is absolutely a higher need of people that need shelter and are getting on the wait list,” said Julie Dees, acting CEO of the Family Service Association. “People are also calling with general concerns about the pandemic, or they are feeling anxious about what is happening. We’re there to listen, and, if necessary, redirect them to other professionals that can help them.”
The increased volume prompted Dees to add a few more employees to the call center, which now has 18 staff members and volunteers to handle the load. The goal is to make sure every person that calls reaches a live voice on the other end and not the voicemail, Dees said. As heavy as the volume has become, Dees said they should be receiving even more calls.
“There are a lot of people experiencing the loss of housing for the first time, and they have no idea who to call for help,” Dees said. “There are so many non-profits and agencies working together to make sure we are getting needs met. If people need food, housing, if they are having an emergency related to drugs and alcohol, we want to make sure we can wrap our services around the community.”
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