Help Center Helps Family Adjust to Life’s Changes

Carletta has had her share of hard times. In February, Carletta gave birth to a beautiful daughter, but she was born premature and would need to stay in intensive care for the next three months. Then in April, Carletta received news that she had been laid off from the company she had worked at for six years.

With the anxiety of having to “visit” her newborn in intensive care and the responsibility of raising her two other growing children, unemployment was the last thing on her mind. But her impending circumstances wouldn’t let her troubles be forgotten.

Carletta struggled for the next several months, trying to make it on unemployment. With the time she spent with her daughter, she didn’t feel she had time to search for other resources.

“I managed as best I could,” says Carletta. “I learned to do my best…it was very hard.”

One Trip, Many Resources

In October, Carletta made her first trip to the Help Center for Laid-Off Workers. United Way administers appointments and provides emergency financial assistance to workers who qualify for the Center.

“The intent of the Help Center has not been to provide long-range financial assistance but to offer something of a buffer for families as they make the difficult decisions on how to survive their layoff,” says Don Youts, director of community planning at United Way of the Plains.

The Help Center provides a one-stop resource center for laid-off workers Youts says. “The Help Center helps minimize the stress of having to access a variety of social services, especially for the client who may be unfamiliar with the community’s resource network.”

Stability in an Unstable World

Carletta has been using the resources at the Help Center, collecting information, using the City of Wichita’s job listing Web site, and like everyone who comes through the Center, receiving a box of food from the Kansas Foodbank Warehouse. While at the Help Center, she was also told about the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree for her children so, despite their current circumstances, her kids will still have a special Christmas. 

“I’ve been able to find all that our family needs,” says Carletta. “It’s much easier than having to make separate trips for everything.”

With your help, the Help Center is benefiting the entire community one laid-off worker at a time.

“By helping to stabilize families facing ‘disaster trauma,’ we can help with the most basic needs of family unity and stability,” says Youts. “Anything the community can do to help maintain some normalcy for families and children will produce benefits for years to come.”

“The services and help I have received have shown me to really be thankful for all that I have,” says Carletta. “I don’t take ordinary things for granted anymore.” 

Call United Way of the Plains at 267-1321 to find out more about how your money is helping our community.

United Way-Funded Programs That Care

United Way of the Plains is committed to focusing on the issues that the community cares about most.

The Help Center for Laid-Off Workers is possible because of the combined efforts of numerous social service agencies. The Help Center provides limited financial assistance, budget counseling, job resources, health care information, mental health counseling, a food box and more.

Meeting Basic Needs is one of five pressing community issues United Way-funded programs address to meet multiple needs in this community.