The need for financial assistance following the shutdowns and devastation of the pandemic continues in Madison, as the Madison Foundation’s Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N) fund approved another $20,000 over the last month for its COVID Impact Program, which provides direct payments to families who are struggling.

Madison Youth & Family Services (MYFS) has administered the program since early in the pandemic, and MYFS Director Scott Cochran told The Source that he was at one point unsure that the program’s funding would last the winter, and suggested that maybe MYFS tweak the eligibility requirements.

“[N2N] didn’t want us to wind down the program, didn’t want us to change anything as well in terms of how we were distributing the money and how we were processing the application,” Cochran told the BOS. “So we said, ‘Okay!’”

Founded at least in part in reaction to the financial crash of 2008, N2N is funded by the Madison Foundation, with the goal of providing any and all types of assistance to Madison residents who are dealing with a wide variety of critical needs, helping provide everything from heating oil to sanitary products, according to Simpson.

The COVID 19 Impact program was put together in April to specifically address the economic impact of the pandemic, paying direct assistance based on household size. The program does not discriminate based on income level, with pandemic-related hardship and Madison residency the only criteria for receiving aid.

Cochran had previously characterized the program as stop-gap funding as residents transitioned from lost jobs or income, or covered medical, childcare, or other ancillary expenses related to the pandemic. Just under eight months after the initial COVID shutdowns, there is still a powerful and sometimes desperate need for this kind of direct assistance, according to Laurie Heflin, who oversees N2N.

“I don’t see it ending before the end of 2021,” she said.

Since April, N2N has put $70,000 of donations in its COVID 19 Impact fund, and paid out just under $53,000 to 61 Madison families, according to Heflin.

“It started slowly because people did not know there was a COVID fund,” Heflin said. “But as this pandemic is going on, some people have to come back on a monthly basis.”

Though some businesses and individuals have managed to scrape through the peak of lockdowns and restrictions over the summer, Heflin said others are seeing their jobs or income permanently disappear as businesses shutter for good.

It has gotten to the point, Heflin said, where people are calling her directly and either asking for help or telling her to call a friend or family member who is too embarrassed to seek out aid on their own.

N2N cannot legally pay out direct aid, which is why Heflin said they work with MYFS and Madison Social Services to administer the program.

But she said anyone who needs financial assistance should not hesitate to reach out and accept what is available.

“We are living in unprecedented times…where people need help and they just don’t know where to go, and you know, it’s not an embarrassment,” Heflin said. “Just go where there’s help.”

Cochran told The Source that lost wages continues to be the single largest factor for people who apply to the program. He said MYFS has prepared for more stopgap energy assistance using discretionary funding provided by N2N, and also have talked about stipends for families who need help with remote learning child care or study halls, though that need hasn’t “materialized yet.”

Donations to N2N and the fund have also slowed significantly as the pandemic has dragged on, according to Heflin, and she said she is worried that she will be unable to raise the kind of funds that has allowed N2N to do everything it has done so far in the community, especially with cases rising in the state and no end in sight for the pandemic.

“It makes me extremely nervous about raising money...We need it more than ever,” Heflin said. “Those funds are being used up, and now we need to replenish the coffers.”

Heflin said she was particularly worried about schools returning to remote learning, which would leave a lot of parents in need of childcare. Madison parent Cindy Breckheimer recently partnered with N2N, with a little more than $3,000 set aside specifically for childcare expenses.

“We just want to be able to be there for people forever, [or] as long as it’s needed,” Heflin said.

Residents can access an application for the Covid Impact Program at www.madisonct.org/1032/COVID-19-Resources.

Donations to N2N can be made online at www.themadisonfoundation.org or mailed to The Madison Foundation N2N P.O. Box 446 Madison, CT 06443.