Financial concerns and stress for some families continues growing during the ongoing pandemic.
Nonprofit and community organizations in Cy-Fair, such as Northwest Assistance Ministries and Cypress Assistance Ministries, have worked to fill in gaps for local families with food, school supplies, financial assistance and mental health services for all ages.
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Food Assistance
Cypress Assistance Ministries,
a nonprofit for low-income families in need of assistance is seeking donations and volunteers in order to continue providing to the local community.
“In order to serve the people who find themselves in crisis we need the money to help them with their rent, mortgage or utilities, plus money to continue to pay the rent and utilities on our buildings and personnel costs,” said Janet Ryan, director of development for Cypress Assistance Ministries. “The community continues to be generous in their donations of food. CAM’s greatest need at this time is money and volunteers.”
CAM is also serving an extra ZIP code that lost their local assistance ministry, Bear Creek Ministries.
“With BCM closed, people who are struggling in that area have no local ministry providing assistance, so CAM makes food available to that zip code, 77084, as well and that is the area demonstrating the most need,” Ryan said.
CAM is also in need of financial donations to help clients with bills and food.
Families in the 77065, 77095, 77429, 77433 and 77084 ZIP codes can receive free food with an ID and proof of residence at the food pantry from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday-Friday. The CAM food pantry is located at 11265 Huffmeister Rd. in Cypress.
CAM is continuing to offer school supplies for CFISD students including backpacks. CAM will be giving the backpacks out Mon.-Fri. from 10 a.m. to noon. Families must bring a photo ID, proof of residence and school registration.
For more information, visit www.facebook.com/cypressassistance.
Cy-Fair Helping Hands,
a nonprofit dedicated to homeless and low-income communities, is also providing food for Cy-Fair area families. On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and the first and third Saturdays of the month Cy-Fair Helping Hands provides perishable and non-perishable foods from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with a drive-thru model.
For more information, including how to donate, visit www.facebook.com/CYFAIRHELPINGHANDS.
Northwest Assistance Ministries, or NAM, serves hundreds of in-need families a week through their onsite food pantry with both nonperishable and perishable foods and is using a drive-thru model.
NAM is providing food assistance Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at their main building.
NAM is in need of food and financial donations. Frozen meat, fruit and vegetables, and canned and dry goods are needed for the food pantry.
“Northwest Assistance Ministries has seen a consistent increase in requests for rent and food assistance,” Chief Advancement Officer Brian Carr said. “NAM’s pantry is getting dangerously low on food. We are seeing a great need from the Greenspoint area and the zip codes nearest 77090.”
NAM is holding another community food giveaway Tuesday, Sept. 22 at Ecopark-IAH, 16152 JFK Blvd, Houston, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. or until food runs out.
NAM is also hosting free immunizations from Christus Health Living Mobile Clinics on Sept. 17 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at their main building. Appointments must be made at 281-885-4649, original shot records must be brought and all guests must wear a mask.
NAM is located at 15555 Kuykendahl Rd. in northwest Houston. For more information, visit www.namonline.org.
Financial services
NAM
also provides financial assistance for clients needing help with bills or other expenses after losing their job due to COVID-19.
“Because of the way our funding is structured, our advice to our clients is to use to use the unemployment (payments) for your utilities, for your prescriptions, for some groceries and allow us to subsidize the rent because we can make that one payment to the landlord and get that caught up,” Carr said.
NAM has launched an online application process for rent and mortgage assistance, where applicants can submit all appropriate documents without visiting the nonprofit.
“We are very proud of this client centered innovation to our client intake process,” Carr said. “We will be able to handle a hundred or more completed applications every Monday without the clients leaving the safety of their homes.”
For more information, visit www.namonline.org.
The Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce
has a community resources page, www.cyfairchamber.com/wearecyfair, where small businesses can apply for SBA loans, catch up on the most recent mandates on COVID-19 from the state government and individual instruction for navigating loan and benefits application.
The chamber of commerce also hosts community luncheons, committee meetings and seminars over Zoom, open to the public per an RSVP. For more information, visit www.cyfairchamber.com.
Mental health assistance
Shield Bearer
counseling sessions are being held through remote teletherapy sessions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The nonprofit works with different financial situations to provide counseling for a variety of mental health challenges including grief, abuse, addictions and relationship issues.
According to the organization’s Facebook page, Shield Bearer has experienced an increase in the demand for mental health services and is seeking financial donations to help the organization continue meeting clients’ needs.
For more information, visit www.shieldbearer.org.
Senior Pastor Floyd Smith with
Igniting God’s Vision Ministry
, a 19-year-old ministry in the Cy-Fair area, said the ministry has continued to operate the recently launched Turning Peer Pressure to Peer Power program and counseling for the local community.
“We’ve launched this ministry enough to where we’re already dealing with the issues they are struggling with,” he said. “Our goal is to save money to get our own building or land so we’ll be able to bring them and go through the counseling process. My concern is on the counseling side and what people are going through at this time not only with the teens but also with the pandemic.”
Cy-Hope
also offers counseling and speech therapy both in-person and through telehealth. In-person appointments require clients to wear a mask, practice social distancing and wait in their car until the beginning of the appointment.
To schedule an appointment, call 713-466-1360. For more information, visit www.cy-hopecounseling.org.
