Despite many unprecedented challenges last year, the Washtenaw County Office of Community and Economic Development (OCED) expanded essential programs to ensure residents had access to emergency food and shelter, financial support for rental and utility assistance, and other free supports to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 while supporting resiliency during the global pandemic. The OCED 2020 Annual Report, which details activities from January through December 2020, highlights the department’s crisis response, program adaptation and expansion during the pandemic, community investments, and ongoing partnerships and collaborations throughout the year.
“Last year OCED, along with other Washtenaw County departments and many community partners, acted quickly to provide an emergency response with the start of the pandemic,” said Teresa Gillotti, OCED Director. “We shifted our focus to assisting County households, community businesses, and community partners surviving and persevere during an unprecedented public health crisis and the economic hardships that persist.”
Highlights from 2020 include:
The Barrier Busters Network provided 1,145 families with direct assistance to maintain their housing and health
The Senior Nutrition Program delivered nearly 295,000 meals to homebound seniors and served 15,572 at Senior Café locations with no gaps in meal delivery due to the pandemic
The Eviction Diversion Program prevented eviction for 510 families by providing a total of $1.6 million in rental assistance
Washtenaw County provided seed money resulting in more than $1.3 million raised to support businesses during the pandemic through the Washtenaw Small Business Resiliency Fund
The Foster Grandparent Program and SummerWorks Youth Employment Program both went virtual in 2020 – Foster Grandparents adapted quickly to new technology and found creative ways to engage with students and with other volunteers, using their Grandpads (tablet devices) and 15 youth completed a paid virtual internship
The Housing Improvement Team continued to provide critical services for residents and assisted more than 150 households with home rehabilitation, furnace tune-ups, and weatherization services.
OCED convened the Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, Asian Pacific Islander and Other People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs steering committee to learn from other successful programs in the county and region, and set a vision and goals for economic opportunity work in the County.
To view the full report, visit https://www.washtenaw.org/DocumentCenter/View/21800/2020-OCED-Annual-Report.
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