News Release

INDIANAPOLIS — In late 2021, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority awarded COVID-19 Impact Grants totaling just under $600,000 to six nonprofit organizations, including YWCA Northeast Indiana, to assist Indiana’s low-income communities in their service areas to prevent, prepare for and respond to the pandemic.

The work supported by these awards continued through June 2022.

YWCA Northeast Indiana  funded “Hope & Harriet,” an intensive, residential treatment program tailored to treat adult women living with a substance abuse disorder. This program served Allen, Dekalb, Huntington, Noble, Wells and Whitley counties.

“Targeting individuals and families affected most by the pandemic, these organizations were able to successfully deliver on the goal of the COVID-19 Impact Grants,” said Crouch. “Focusing on a single project or program that aligned with their missions, each organization was able to make a positive change in the communities they serve.”

Other COVID-19 Impact Grant recipients included:

• Prosperity Indiana — Helped to expand Community Loan Centers to all 92 Indiana counties. CLCs, which provide low-interest small dollar loans and financial education, are an alternative to payday or predatory lenders.
• Fathers and Families Center — Facilitated a “Strong Fathers” class designed to show fathers or expectant fathers how to be outstanding role models for their children, provide for their families and learn critical job readiness skills. The service area for this class was Marion County.
• Foster Success — Assisted young adults — 25 years of age and younger — in becoming homeowners by improving credit scores through their “Credit Build” program, saving for a down payment with their “Opportunity Passport” program and increasing financial literacy and education through their online financial modules. The service area for this program was statewide.
• Hoosier Uplands — Supported Hoosiers with vehicle repairs, vouchers, car payments and other transportation-related expenses through their “Transportation Assistance” in Lawrence, Martin, Orange and Washington counties.
• NeighborLink Indianapolis — Provided free home repairs, ensuring homeowners could continue to safely live in their homes in Marion County.

“We truly appreciate the hard work, dedication, and mission focus each of these non-profit organizations demonstrated throughout this process,” said Jacob Sipe, executive director of IHCDA. “This investment allowed us to support the great work these organizations did to support Hoosiers most impacted by the pandemic.”

The COVID-19 Impact Grants were funded through the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act through the Community Service Block Grant program.