Member Spotlight: Self-Help Enterprises Responds To COVID-19 Crisis
On March 20th, Self-Help Enteprises (SHE) closed their offices to the general public and transitioned over 90 staff members from working in the office to working remotely. Although SHE has faced many changes and challenges in the past month, the organization has seamlessly pivoted their efforts to meet the current needs of their tenants and the surrounding communities.
One of the newest efforts that SHE has piloted during the pandemic is delivering sealed boxes of food to seniors and very low-income families that are sheltering in place. On average, SHE delivers 100 food boxes per week to households in Tulare County such as Richgrove, Lindsay, Woodlake, Dinuba, Goshen, and Visalia.
SHE has worked in partnership with different organizations throughout the county such as Tulare Food Link and Proteus to successfully obtain and distribute the food boxes. Coordination is also required with the property management staff at AWI to determine the best delivery times for each apartment complex.
Other COVID-19 response measures include:
Bottled water donations – SHE worked with partners to secure major donations from Nestle and Pepsi and continued critical deliveries of bottled water to residents in each community
Raising money for families – SHE started a COVID-19 fund to directly assist families in need, which already stands at $50,000 and growing
Retooling counseling services – housing counseling staff pivoted to providing coronavirus crisis assistance for people struggling to make mortgage, rent, and utility payments
Recently, SHE secured funding for eight weeks through the CARES Act from our partner Central Valley Community Bank. These funds will help keep staff members employed. SHE has not had to make any staff reductions.