We’re determined to increase prosperity and wellness within our communities by deploying services and programs that target needs such as housing and homelessness, food security, energy use, child development, family well-being and health.
In 2021, Feeding Umpqua, UCAN’s Douglas County regional food bank, distributed 1,500,000 pounds of emergency food to a network of 17 pantries, 7 community kitchens/shelters and 7 additional partners. Our partners in turn made this food available in 26 locations throughout Douglas County. Local residents received 105,753 congregate meals and 22,230 food boxes prepared with food from Feeding Umpqua.
Feeding Umpqua offered emergency food directly to residents of 5 remote Douglas County communities: Days Creek, Tiller, Camas Valley, Elkton and Diamond Lake.
Our Women, Infant and Children (WIC) program helped meet the nutritional needs of an average of 3,000 households a month in Douglas County, serving a total of 3,327 unduplicated households. These households received free WIC foods. They also received:
Feeding Umpqua also provided nutrition related programming to 521 individuals.
Our Housing Stabilization Service Department met Josephine and Douglas County residents’ housing needs in a variety of ways, including:
We also housed 276 individuals in our own transitional and permanent affordable housing units.
Household Utility Bills Paid
UCAN’s Energy Assistance staff met the needs of a record number of households last year. 3,410 households had their utility bills paid, including 1,790 who had past due bills remedied. UCAN’s Weatherization program made repairs and took other measures to keep 23 homes warmer, healthier and safer. UCAN also provided energy education to 403 households so that they will be better able to keep their houses warm moving forward. We also helped operate emergency warming shelters in Grants Pass and Roseburg in December.
UCAN’s Head Start program served a total of 511 children in 2021. Infants, toddlers and children ages 3-4 not only took part in activities carefully designed to prepare them to succeed in kindergarten, they:
At the same time, Head Start family service staff helped parents to better support their children’s education.
UCAN has two home-visiting programs, Healthy Families and Nurse Home Visiting. Nurse Home Visiting operates in Douglas County, while Healthy Families serves Lake, Klamath and Douglas County. These two programs, which offer resources, education, support and much more primarily to families with young children, offered 2,286 visits to families in 2021. Because of COVID, staff offered most visits virtually.
UCAN’s Non-Emergency Transportation department provided 15,701 rides to Medicaid patients so they could attend healthcare appointments. When needed, we also took patients’ caregivers along on the rides. Our Housing Stabilization Services department offered support services to 576 individuals quarantining due to COVID. These services ranged from arranging for food deliveries to addressing housing needs. This support allowed those served to successfully maintain isolation during the pandemic.