Even as New Jersey moves ahead in stage two of the phased reopening plan the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues its economic toll on families.
Princeton families facing economic hardship during the current crisis still have an available resource to receive financial assistance through a local fund from the Princeton Children’s Fund.
The PCF’s Coronavirus Relief Fund financial support goes directly to locally disadvantaged families in need of assistance for areas that include utilities, rent, child care and medical expenses, according to PCF.
Applications are approved for financial assistance through the fund’s steering committee.
“We believe the average request, which was $957.95 during the week of June 13, is quite close to where it will remain. There will continue to be fluctuations but we suspect they will fall within a range of $950 to $1,000 as the average award,” said Felicia Spitz, president of the Princeton Children’s Fund, Inc.
So far, PCF has been able to raise more than $420,000 for fund since it launched and has approved 234 applications. Assistance is not just a one-time option for applicants, they can also apply for a renewal.
“Given our remaining funds and our average rate of applications, we anticipate that we will be able to help for another six to nine weeks. That said, we are seeing early signs of partial return to work and plan to reduce awards commensurate with applicant earnings to facilitate an easy transition,” Spitz said. “Very few, if any, applicants will go from unemployed to fully re-employed with the staged opening plans.”
She added that the need for the fund will be closely tied to when the economy returns to pre-COVID-19 levels.
“It is truly impossible to accurately project or maybe even speculate in absence of a cure or a vaccinated population. It seems unlikely that the need will disappear in 2020, however there is a state program that will be coming online this summer and that program may serve some of the people we are currently serving,” Spitz said. “If residents do not respect recommendations about masks and social distancing as we reopen, this will surely carryover into 2021.”
When the Coronavirus Relief Fund first began PCF set a short-term fundraising goal of $500,000. Financial donations from 800 donors, Princeton University Relief Fund, Princeton Area Community Foundation have helped PCF to almost reach the current goal, according to PCF.
“We are close to achieving that mark. We will revisit our long-term fundraising goal once we understand the scope of the NJ State Relief program and determine if residents are working to prevent a second wave by wearing masks and observing social distancing guidelines,” Spitz added.
For more information about PCF’s Coronavirus Relief Fund, visit www.princetonchildrensfund.org.