DILLSBURG, Pa. — A York County social services agency, New Hope Ministries, announced $500,000 in emergency aid for those struggling during the pandemic.
New Hope Ministries is a Dillsburg-based social services agency with other locations in Dover, Hanover, Littlestown, Mechanicsburg, New Oxford and the West Shore, and a planned location in Enola. They provide help with food, housing, utility and transportation needs to 21,000 individuals from 8,700 families each year, according to a press release.
New Hope has reported an uptick in need at its seven food pantries. Since the pandemic began, the agency has assisted nearly 4,000 new clients.
Dillsburg resident Tracy Gettys is one of those clients. The mother of three teenage sons was already going through a rough patch after her father and sister had recently died.
“Me losing my father and me losing my sister, it took a toll on my family,” Gettys said. “It was very heavy.”
Gettys lost her job at a long-term care facility to the pandemic. Her youngest son was born with a collapsed lung and is at greater risk if exposed to COVID-19, so she couldn’t risk bringing the virus home from an exposure at work.
In September Gettys’s husband had to depart for an indefinite period, leaving Gettys essentially a single mom. She found herself unable to financially support her family.
“I just—I couldn’t do it anymore,” she said.
Gettys eventually reached out to New Hope, which helped her pay some expenses and find a new job at Giant.
“People are dropping bottom,” she said. “They don’t know where to go, they don’t know who to speak to, but New Hope is really there. It’s a trial, but I’m still going forward with it. I’m still doing positive things and just trying to focus on my family and be there to guide them and show them that we’re not alone here.”
In April 2020 New Hope distributed $100,000 in emergency housing funds. The money was depleted in a month, according to executive director Eric Saunders.
As the pandemic rages on, though, many continue to struggle financially.
“Here we are at the end of the year,” Saunders said. “We have a second shutdown, we have more job losses and we have even more people who have been impacted by the coronavirus. Some of these folks have never had to rely on community services before and we wanted to get the word out that there’s help available.”
The additional $500,000 of emergency funds now available can be used for needs like food, heat and utility bills, and eviction prevention.
The money comes from donations from local churches, United Ways, grants from Adams, Cumberland, and York Counties, and CARES Act funding.
Anyone living in New Hope’s coverage area can apply for the aid.
