News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
UCHRA has gone door-to-door at Highlands Residential Communities in Algood and Monterey to hand out Community Services Information in hopes of improving accessibility to services.
Residents of the communities were given information about USDA loans, commodity volunteer support, UCHRA public transportation, and various other UCHRA programs. Putnam County UCHRA coordinator Heather Thomas said the goal of the outing was to break down potential barriers between the programs and those who need them.
“I don’t want anyone to be left behind and to not have had access to the grants they might be eligible for,” Thomas said. “So going out door-to-door is something to just ensure–the 2022, 2023 program year will end at the end of September and I don’t want anyone to fall through the cracks.”
Thomas said barriers to receiving the program benefits can be mental or physical, and that UCHRA can help remove both kinds. She said that often residents don’t necessarily have a lack of knowledge on what is available to them so much as a lack of means for participating.
Thomas said that, though UCHRA is the main member providing the resources and connecting with the residents during these events, they are not alone in their mission.
“Thankfully we have lots of community partners that we connect resources with to make sure we can provide these vital services that low-income, or people with a disability, or someone living in a low-income housing have access to,” Thomas said.
In the future, Thomas said she wants to continue doing events such as this one to increase the feelings of partnership between UCHRA and the community. She said she is proud of the work done by her organization and wants it to benefit as many people as possible.
“Focusing on the services door-to-door we can show someone the access to the resources that can help them improve their lives, and everyone deserves to have access to the programs and services we have here at UCHRA,” Thomas said.
Thomas said there is no schedule for the events, but that they simply visit the areas where engagement is lower than it should be.
