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Northwest Montana United Way Accepting Applications for COVID-19 Relief Fund

Fund assists people in five-county area directly impacted by pandemic

By Myers Reece
United Way offices as seen in the Gateway Community Center. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon

Northwest Montana United Way is accepting applications for financial assistance through its COVID-19 relief fund, which was established to serve people directly impacted by the pandemic in Flathead, Glacier, Lake, Lincoln and Sanders counties.

The fund uses donations from private donors and businesses.

Numerous Montanans have either lost their jobs or seen reductions in income during the pandemic. Roxanna Parker, Northwest Montana United Way’s executive director, said the relief fund isn’t intended to duplicate services offered elsewhere, such as state unemployment assistance and Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana programs. Rather, it’s a viable option for people whose needs aren’t met through those avenues.

“We want people to use the existing services in the county, and we do have a lot,” Parker said. “But we’re there to fill in the gaps.”

The fund can be used to assist qualified individuals and families in a variety of ways: food and food supplies; prescription and medical supplies; utility payments; mortgage and rent payments; and other items determined eligible by United Way’s unmet needs committee.

Individuals and families can apply for assistance through the fund by calling Northwest Montana United Way at (406) 752-7266.

To donate to the COVID-19 relief fund, visit www.unitedwaycares.org/give, select the basic needs section and choose your gift amount, making sure to add COVID-19 in the memo line. Donors can also mail donations to Northwest Montana United Way COVID-19 Relief Fund, P.O. Box 7217, Kalispell, MT 59904, or call (406) 752-7266 for more information.

“We are trying to help people throughout the five-county area we serve,” Parker said. “We’re helping people living in any of those counties who were directly impacted by the pandemic.”