Wright
County Health and Human Services has a program called the Special Needs Fund
that helps Wright County residents in significant financial straits meet their
basic needs when no other resources are available.
The
Special Needs Fund seeks out donations – there is no county-budgeted line item
to put money into the fund – and the staff at Health and Human Services got a much
needed shot in the arm with a $10,000 donation from Wright County Area United
Way.
Christine
Treichler, the Licensing & Therapeutic Services Supervisor for Wright
County Health and Human Services, said that donations such as this and a
$10,000 donation received in December from Wright-Hennepin Electric’s Operation
Roundup are the life blood of the Special Needs Fund.
“I
would say without these generous donations we would have a lot of social
workers who wouldn’t have any resources to offer to clients,” Treichler said. “The
funds go for a lot of different uses. If a client needs a car repaired in order
to get to work or can’t visit their child in foster care or need proper clothing
for a job interview or help with rent so a family won’t be homeless or someone
without insurance that needs medicine. Those are the types of things these
resources are used for.”
Wright
County Area United Way covers four zip code areas – Buffalo, Monticello, St.
Michael and Albertville – and those funds are expended in those areas. At a
time when the struggles of the underprivileged continue to grow and the cost of
living is becoming more of a challenge, donations like the one from the United
Way are what can make the difference in changing someone’s life, whether it’s
to repair a car so that person can keep working or providing assistance to get
someone through a difficult financial time.
“United
Way has been a strong supporter of our Special Needs Fund for years and the
money helps a lot of people,” Treichler said. “We’re fortunate to have a
partnership with them because the support they give is critical to the clients
we serve.”