OUR RESPONSE AND ACTION IN THE FACE OF THIS PANDEMIC

The trustees and staff of Episcopal Charities, alongside our diocesan family, pause to pray for all those who suffer as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. This outbreak is highlighting the extraordinary economic disparities in our communities as well as the extraordinary efforts of those who are working to support those already in poverty. We are aware that the virus infects rich and poor alike, but we are also aware that low-income communities are at higher risk. Most working people and those already living in economic distress do not have savings to navigate a lack of income and mounting bills. While the federal stimulus aims to provide immediate cash assistance to the most vulnerable, it is clear that both immediate and longer-term support will be necessary as persons face missing paychecks, eviction and foreclosure, healthcare concerns, and food insecurity. 

Episcopal Charities supports a network of social service organizations across our diocese that provide desperately needed services to those in need. Known as Ministry Partners, their work ranges from housing to mental health, services for older persons, educational resourcing for marginalized communities, and much more. 

On your behalf, our Executive Director, Matthew Berryman is in regular contact with Ministry Partner CEOs to see how they are doing in this crisis and ask how we can be helpful. They are a wonderful cohort of leaders whose organizations will continue to provide meals, housing, and other services to vulnerable populations as long as staff and resources hold out. 

Episcopal Charities is committed to the well-being of all our Ministry Partners, and in particular, to those who work at the frontlines of the crisis. In that spirit, there are two ways you can help! Firstly, you can donate to the work of Episcopal Charities to fund our ongoing support of organizations throughout Northern Illinois. Secondly, we are providing below a list of specific needs from our ministry partners, with ways you can help meet each of those needs.

Please reach out if you have any questions! Thank you for joining us in this work.