Page 31 - Sonoma County Gazette - January 2018

SOS Fire-related Grants for Low-Income Residents
To provide a nancial boost for those a ected by the Sonoma County res, the Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund (SOS) is o ering special assistance grants to low-income residents for up to $3000. The grants aim to help those who lost possessions, jobs or income due to the res: get or keep housing by paying a month’s mortgage, rent or security deposit; cover utility
bills; buy essential household furniture, a wheelchair or other vital health aids; or cover costs of medically required dental care and non-routine automotive repairs for critically needed transportation.
Through April 30, 2018, residents can apply for a special assistance grant at one of the Sonoma County partner agencies listed below.* Aid may be available even if the resident received or will receive other re-related grant monies.
SOS (seasonofsharing.org/) has long provided one-time, nancial grants in nine Bay Area counties to help low-income residents with housing costs and emergency or critical needs. In Sonoma County, oversight of the program is by the County Human Services Department.
Regular SOS grants, under the program’s normal eligibility criteria, are available year-round by application through an SOS partner agency. All grant checks are written directly to the vendor or business – such as a landlord, utility company, dentist, furniture retailer or auto repair business.
For re-related assistance grants only, some eligibility requirements have been relaxed from regular SOS grant criteria:
1) Anyone who has received assistance within the previous ve years is eligible.
2) The applicant’s rent/mortgage does not have to be delinquent. Anyone who requires
3) For anyone who lost a job, work or source of income, being able to show that they can cover rent the following month is waived.
*Where to apply:
• California Human Development, Healdsburg, 433-6652
• Catholic Charities, Santa Rosa, 791-8313
• Committee on the Shelterless (COTS), Petaluma, 765-6530
• Council on Aging (age 55+), Santa Rosa, 525-0143
• Disability Services and Legal Center, Santa Rosa, 528-2745
• Face To Face, Santa Rosa, 544-1581
• FISH of Sonoma Valley, Sonoma, 996-0111
• North Bay Veterans Resource Center, Santa Rosa, 578-8387
• PEP Housing, Petaluma, 762-2336
• Petaluma People Services Center, Petaluma, 765-8488
• Reach for Home, Healdsburg, 433-2107
• Redwood Empire Food Bank, Santa Rosa, 523-7900
• Salvation Army Family Services, Santa Rosa, 542-0998, ext. 270
• SHARE Sonoma, Petaluma, 766-8800
• Wallace House, Cloverdale, 894-2727
• West County Community Services, Forestville, Guerneville and Sebastopol, 823-1640 • YWCA, Santa Rosa, 546-9922
rent/mortgage assistance is eligible.
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