Person-to-Person’s (P2P) COVID Response: The First 365 Days
When most offices were shifting to work from home, the staff and volunteers at Person-to-Person (P2P) doubled down. You can think of it in the same way firefighters instinctively run into a burning building instead of away from it; in March 2020, the P2P team ran headfirst into the pandemic, knowing that the our services would be needed more than ever. Our casework and food program teams in particular, were on the front lines, and determined to support every individual and family that requested our assistance.
As long as there is a need, P2P is here to help.
In addition to P2P’s existing clients, we soon received new clients because of the economic toll of the pandemic. Full-time workers that lost jobs or had severely reduced hours; part-time workers that lost jobs; hourly and temp workers such as Uber drivers, hospitality workers, babysitters, and house cleaners—all now without the income to keep themselves and their families safely housed and put ample, nutritious food on the table.
The two programs that P2P experienced the most significant increases with since the start of the pandemic are food assistance and emergency financial assistance. To put it into context, the P2P food program distributed 71% more groceries in the 12 months after the pandemic started: enough groceries for more than TWO MILLION MEALS. That translates to 5,831 meals a day.
Emergency financial assistance increased an astounding 178%. As the people we serve lost jobs, experienced reduced hours, or succumbed to the COVID themselves, making rent payments became more and more difficult. In the first 12 months following the start of the pandemic, P2P issued $1,043,897 in emergency financial assistance, mostly for rent, to help keep families safely housed during this crisis.
Supporting our community during this crisis would not be possible without our incredible team of staff and volunteers, community partners, and donors. We are confident that continuing to work together we can provide the essential services to the individuals and families most impacted by COVID.
