Frederick County Grants United Way of Northern Shenandoah Valley CARES Act Funding

WINCHESTER, VA, September 1, 2020: Frederick County Government is partnering with United Way of Northern Shenandoah Valley and Valley Assistance Network to distribute $300,000 of CARES Act funding to provide assistance for utilities and rent/mortgage to citizens of Frederick County.

United Way and its Valley Assistance Network (VAN) do not provide direct payments to individuals. Rather they work with their partner agencies to provide funding through a coordinated effort to deliver services and distribute funding to agencies that make the most sense for the dedicated uses of the funding. Money will be paid directly to the utility provider or landlord/mortgage company to cover unpaid bills caused by COVID-19 related hardship.

Nadine Pottinga, President and CEO of United Way feels her agency can make sure those most in need get the funds. “Since COVID began, we have seen a 130% increase in requests in Frederick County for assistance through VAN. Most of that has been for rent and utilities.” Through its COVID-19 Relief Fund, United Way/Van has aided 152 families and 372 individuals in Frederick County. Seventy-two percent of those cases were related to housing insecurity.

County Administrator Kris Tierney said, “Providing assistance to help people stay in their home or keep utilities on seemed to be a serious need and we feel the numbers provided by United Way support that. We are pleased they will be able to allocate the funding to those most in need.”

All applications for assistance must be submitted to Valley Assistance Network and proper documentation must be submitted along with the application. Please see their website for more details on qualifying and required documentation: https://www.unitedwaynsv.org/van. Learn more about the United Way’s COVID-19 Relief Fund at https://www.unitedwaynsv.org/covidrelieffund.

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