UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OREGON
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Mission Statement
We at United Way of Central Oregon fight for the health, education, financial stability, and resilience of every person in our Central Oregon community. Our mission is "bringing people together to improve lives and strengthen our community."
About This Cause
Since the pandemic, there has been a sixfold increase in the need for essential services. That’s why we continue to evolve our priorities to be immediately responsive the unique challenges and new community needs inflicted by the pandemic and it’s economic consequences on ALICE and homeless families and the nonprofits that serve them. Last year, we focused on supporting local and regional agencies as they help our community members adapt, recover, and stabilize. 36 Central Oregon nonprofits were collectively awarded $280,000, with $35,000 of that specifically awarded to organizations serving Crook and Jefferson Counties and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. For our 2022 grant making, we continue to evolve, instilling an equity and value-based perspective and provide a more regionally inclusive process. We have worked with our community to narrow our focus to help address immediate community priorities by supporting community agencies promoting positive mental health & wellbeing, providing culturally specific services, and programs, and offering services to help community members remain housed. Through the United Way commissioned study of financial hardship (ALICE) we know that nearly 40% of Central Oregonians were living on the edge, or already below the federal poverty level, before the COVID-19 pandemic. ALICE describes households that earn incomes above the federal poverty level, but less than what it takes to survive in their community. Before COVID-19, families living on the edge made up: 56% of Crook County, 35% of Deschutes County, and 53% of Jefferson County’s households. 75% of these are ALICE households. The 2021 survey results show that households below the ALICE threshold fared significantly worse than households above the threshold — financially, physically, and emotionally — during the pandemic. Even with the added protective measures of eviction moratoria and housing and food assistance programs, conditions worsened for households below the ALICE threshold. Central Oregonians continue to face housing instability, food insecurity, mental health challenges, childcare crises, domestic violence, child abuse, and the list goes on. How many families with children are struggling? Children add significant expense to a family budget, so it is not surprising that many families with children live below the ALICE Threshold. The reality is that 44% of children in Deschutes County live in households that struggle to afford essentials in their community. Though more families in Central Oregon are headed by married parents, families with a single parent are more likely to have income below the ALICE threshold. In Central Oregon, 30% of the households are headed by a single female, of these, 76% are ALICE households. Our Community Impact grants are designed to support the efforts of nonprofit and community organizations helping to build resilience in individuals and families in our community and support positive mental health & wellbeing, culturally specific services & programs, and services to help community members remain housed.