Clarke County is known for assisting those who are in need. With inflation creating a burden on numerous families in the area, there are various programs in place that could help alleviate some of the struggles that families are facing.
One group who does a great deal to help the people of Clarke County is the Multi County Community Service Agency. They use funds attained from the state and grants to provide assistance to low income families.
“Our programs are to help low income individuals and families rise up out of poverty to self-sufficiency,” explained Ronald Collier with Multi-County. “We do that by running these different programs that are funded through the Mississippi Department of Human Services.”
One of the services they offer through the MDHS is Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). They also offer food and have another program to deal with water assistance, Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP).
“We can pay utilities for people who make 60% of the median income in the State of Mississippi,” continued Collier. “We have our community service block grant funds. We are also able to pay mortgages and help people with rental assistance. We have a supplemental food program for seniors where they get a box of food and a box of cheese. We do credit counseling through our partners, one of which is BankPlus in Clarke County. We have a program with Harmony Water where we are capable of helping some of the residents of Clarke County pay supplemental water bills. In particular, Multi-County has a water program called LIHWAP and is based on 60% of the median income. We’ll pay water bills whether they are in the red or if they are current if you are eligible based on the guidelines.”
While there are requirements to use the various services, anyone is able to apply and try to receive the benefits Multi-County has to offer.
“We really need more people that are in need to access our services,” declared Collier. “The number to Ms. Jefferson’s office is 601-776-3461. She can get you an appointment because we work by appointment either in person or by phone. With the onset of higher gas, higher water bills, higher utility bills, and high food costs, there are more people who need services. Our desire and our goal are to serve those individuals.”
Multi-County and the Mississippi Department of Human Services aren’t the only ones who offer assistance to families in need for the county. There are more localized groups who also offer help; however, the more local groups rely on donations in order to function.
The Clarke County Baptist Center does what it can to assist those in need as long as it has the funds to do so.
“We can help people with water and power bills if it’s local and they live in the county,” explained Bethany Morgan with the Baptist Center. “We can do it once a year, and we can only do it up to a certain amount if we have the money. We don’t ever give the money to anybody, though. We pay the utility companies directly instead.”
Another program in the county that is able to help citizens with food costs is C.A.N. They also depend on donations and grants.
“C.A.N. is Clarke Assistance for the Needy, and it’s been around since the early 1970s. We give out food to people in need, and we get our money from grants and donations. We buy food from Mississippi Food Network when available. We put enough food in the bags that should be able to help feed somebody for at least a couple of days,” proclaimed Bethany Morgan. “That’s our goal: to make sure that nobody in Clarke County goes hungry. When a car comes up, we’ll get the person’s name, how many people are in the family, and their ages and write it down. Then, we give them a sticky note with our stamp on it and let them know when to come back for the next round. If you’re 60 or older, you get a bag and a box. You can only get it once a month. Our main thing now is just making sure we keep food until this crisis goes away.”
They are doing everything they can to help supply some of the needs for families in the area, but they are also open to accepting donations to help them achieve their goal even more while inflation is so high.
“If anyone wants to donate to the ministry, they can send the money to the Clarke County Baptist Center and just mark it as C.A.N., or send it to P.O. Box 195 in Quitman,” informed Bethany.
Even Quitman School District’s SWAT programs have developed a solution to help alleviate some of the burden involving food costs. Over the past year, they have built and placed blessing boxes outside of the Quitman Public Library and Quitman Police Department that contain various nonperishable items for families to take and/or leave donations.
While inflation is not something that anyone enjoys dealing with, there are different things that are in place that can help families cope with the ever increasing cost of living.
