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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 20, 2004

SCHUMER: $4 MILLION IN FEDERAL AID COMING TO HELP THE HUNGRY AND HOMELESS IN UPSTATE NY

FEMA will send assistance to 46 Counties statewide to help feed and shelter New York’s homeless and hungry with more counties to come; the funds will be used to help individuals and families with non-disaster temporary emergency needs

Schumer: Capital Region needy to get more than $321,000 in aid; Central NY $485,000; Rochester/Finger Lakes $539,000; Hudson Valley $895,000; North Country $310,000; Southern Tier $345,000; Western NY $968,000

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that $4 million in federal aid being sent to help upstate New Yorkers in need of food and shelter. The assistance will be sent to 46 New York counties statewide to help them feed and shelter the state's hungry and homeless people in 2005. The funds will be used to help individuals and families with non-disaster temporary emergency needs and are awarded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFS).

“It’s the holidays and upstate New Yorkers are all gearing up for another cold winter. Unfortunately, for thousands of families throughout the State, the cold weather means even more of a struggle to keep a warm roof over their heads and to put food on their tables,” Schumer said. “This funding is going to help many of those families and it couldn’t have come at a better time. In New York, we have so much to be thankful for this time of year and I’m glad we can come to the aid of our homeless and hungry in their times of need.”

The EFS Program has been working to provide funds to feed and shelter the hungry and homeless for the past 23 years. In each of the counties receiving the assistance, a local EFS board will distribute the funds to select non-profit and government agencies, that run programs to supplement food, shelter, rent, mortgage, and utility assistance for upstate New Yorkers in need. Schumer said that this year’s organizations have not yet been determined but could include the American Red Cross, Catholic Charities, United Jewish Communities, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, the Salvation Army and the United Way of America.

Schumer said that organizations serving the needy in the Capital Region will receive more than $321,000 in aid; Central NY $485,000; Rochester/Finger Lakes $539,000; Hudson Valley $895,000; North Country $310,000; Southern Tier $345,000; Western NY $968,000.

Schumer also released the following county by county breakdown of the federal aid and said that additional counties could be selected by FEMA later in the year for this funding as well:

To view chart click here.

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